Divided (#1 Divided Destiny)

by Taitrina Falcon

  “I want power, total and complete power. Domination over everything and everyone,” Yannick admitted. “I was once the Emperor’s servant. He granted me immortality so that I could serve him forever. An eternity as a slave. The Emperor is gone and I remain. I will build my empire, and I will have my power.”

  Yannick watched the conflict play out in flickers of expression on Esteban’s face. A moment’s silence passed. He saw the moment the marine made his decision.

  “You might as well just kill me. I’ll never help you.”

  Yannick laughed. “There are eleven other men in your unit. I want my answers, but I do not need you to help me. If you do not, I will just move on to the next. The only thing I truly need from you is your screams.”

  Yannick summoned a wave of water from the ocean. The salt stung the cuts and Esteban groaned in pain. Yannick smirked. He could tell Esteban didn’t want to give him the satisfaction, but he was only human, and a man could only take so much. A spark of magic pooled in his hand once more; rather than a whip, he fashioned a lightning bolt. Esteban screamed and convulsed from where Yannick was still holding him frozen in the air.

  “I can do this all day,” Yannick repeated, settling in for a session. This was going to provide hours of fun, and maybe even the answers he wanted.

  The presence of these outsiders proved there were more worlds beyond this one. The Emperor had ruled over everything and everyone in this world. Legend stated that the Emperor had created this world, had been the birth of all magic. That was entirely possible, but his empire had been restricted to this land. Yannick thirsted for more, to be greater.

  If his empire, his dominion, could span multiple worlds, then he would prove greater than the Emperor. He would finally shake off the last of the shackles that had bound him. He would take his rightful place as ruler and have the power he craved.

  This Earth was going to bow down to him.

  Chapter Nine

  Termont, the main city of Kaslea, could be seen from quite a distance. Once Leo and Mathis cleared the forest, there were fields, a large farming effort between them and Termont on the coast. The distance was deceptive as the ground flattened out, but Leo could tell that Mathis was correct—they would make it before nightfall.

  Leo couldn’t make out any detail at first, but what he suspected was the palace could be easily differentiated from the rest of the city. It towered above all the other buildings, with large turrets topped with red tile and fluttering flags, showing the same crest that Mathis had on his tabard. It was of a dove on an anchor, fitting for a peaceful naval kingdom. The colors on the flag were light powder blue and golden yellow, bright and cheerful.

  They drew closer and started to meet others on the road. Leo drew a few curious glances, but as he was accompanied by a knight of the realm, none dared speak and impede their steady progress forwards. The city was protected by a wall, which encircled the city outskirts in a half semi-circle, only broken when it reached the sea. It was constructed of wood, which, while not stone, could be quite strong. But wood burned, and it would hardly hold back a dragon.

  The palace itself was constructed of stone; there were a few other stone buildings dotted around the city, though the vast majority of the construction was wood. That made sense. There was a huge forest to provide materials, while stone was in shorter supply and much harder to transport and fashion. He suspected that the other stone buildings were municipal or belonged to nobles, or knights of high ranking. That was always the way of things—those in power had the best. It had been the practice since the dawn of time.

  The medieval impression got stronger with each new—well, old—thing he saw, from what the peasants were wearing to the construction of the city. It was like every magical fantasy movie he had ever seen. He didn’t want to draw that parallel, as he still didn’t believe in magic, and this wasn’t a movie, but it all seemed so familiar, even though it was supposed to be alien.

  Mathis dismounted before they reached a large archway, one of the guarded entrances to the city. There were two knights in shiny silver armor and clean tabards on either side of the gate. Unlike Mathis, they had their helmets on, the faceplate down—faceless, immovable sentries.

  Not having ever worn an armored helmet, Leo didn’t know for sure, but from the outside it seemed like vision would be impaired. However, they were probably there more for deterrent, as an obvious security presence. Leo looked up, hoping to see a security tower, complete with spotter, and he wasn’t disappointed. The knight up there was even equipped with a bow and arrow, though his real weapon would be the bell to sound the alarm.

  Leo followed Mathis through the archway. He was grateful for the guide; the guards might have been there as ceremonial mannequins, but their swords looked sharp. He was a stranger here, one that stood out especially, and the unknown tended to make people nervous. Leo wasn’t sure whether he would have even made it into the city without Mathis, or if he would have made it in as a free man as opposed to a prisoner.

  The answer to that question was resolved not two minutes later when Leo saw the most welcome sight he’d seen since this whole mess started.

  “Don!” Leo called across the packed marketplace.

  Sergeant Don Young was standing on the edge of the market. There was a row of shops behind him, set back from the main marketplace by an awning-covered walkway. He was leaning against one of the wooden support posts, just like he had been waiting for Leo to show up. Best of all, Don looked unharmed; he was still wearing his tactical vest, his assault rifle was still clipped to his chest, and even his fatigues still looked clean.

  “Leo,” Don answered with a smile, stepping out from his chosen spot away from the chaos, crossing the market to where Leo stood. Don clasped Leo’s hand and slapped him on the back.

  “You’re a sight for sore eyes, man,” Leo told him. Don’s smile was contagious, but the relief he felt banished the sorrow for the fallen gunnery sergeant; he wasn’t alone anymore. “Have you seen anyone else?”

  “No one, you’re the first. That’s why I was waiting here, I was hoping more would show up. It’s the only real center of civilization for miles,” Don explained. He gestured with his head towards Mathis. “Who’s your friend?”

  “Knight Mathis. He’s in the service of Prince Edmund, ruler of Kaslea,” Leo said, shaking his head slightly at the sound of his own words.

  Mathis nodded his head in greeting. “I’m glad you have found a comrade, but I must deliver my report to the palace. Do you still wish me to present you to the court?”

  “Yes,” Leo confirmed. “Thank you.”

  Mathis turned and started winding his way through the market once more. Leo and Don followed, locked in step with one another. Leo released a deep breath. He felt infinitely better with Don at his side once more. He felt better able to take on whatever came next. He would have felt the same sense of relief if he had found any marine, but he was glad it was Don; he knew he could count on him even more than the bond between marines ensured.

  “Gunnery Sergeant Rogers is dead,” Leo broke the comfortable silence after a moment. “I found him in the burned remains of a village. Mathis said a dragon was responsible.”

  Rather than being surprised, Don nodded. “Yeah, I’ve heard some tales of a dragon. Apparently it’s been terrorizing the kingdom the past few months.”

  “Mathis also told me there’s a sorcerer to the north, deep into the forest. He thinks that he will be able to find the rest of our unit. Maybe he can help with the rest of our…quest.” Leo smirked at his joke, but it fell flat. They were on a quest, a quest to save their world; that was exactly the right word for it, however ridiculous it sounded.

  “I landed just up the coast, on the beach. I was lucky; a few feet to the right and I would have taken a bath. If I landed there, and you landed in the forest, just a few hours’ walk from here, Rogers did the same. The rest of our unit can’t be far, right?” Don speculated.

  It made sense, if they had
both landed close to each other and they had all come through together. They may have been strewn across the landscape, but it should be in a predictable way. Perhaps they wouldn’t need the sorcerer to locate the unit; they just needed patience. Leo had headed for the town, as had Don. So would the rest of them, if they were within this kingdom.

  Mathis stopped before they reached the palace. Pulling on the reins, he led his horse to the stable block. A young squire scurried out and took the reins from the knight. Another dashed out and skillfully unbuckled the pannier bags that the horse had carried.

  “Take these to my quarters,” Mathis ordered, not unkindly.

  The squire ducked his head in acknowledgment. He shifted his heavy burden and headed towards the knights’ barracks. His fellow squire led the horse towards the stable. Mathis spun on his heel and moved back to where Leo and Don were waiting.

  “Follow me,” Mathis told them, somewhat redundantly, as they had been following him up till now. Although, keeping eyes on Mathis was now not as easy without the horse by his side. There were many knights in this section of the city, and Mathis’s pace was swift.

  Leo had been walking for the best part of the day; he didn’t know for sure how many miles he had covered while carrying his full pack. However, the pace was gentler than what he had endured during boot camp, and in the real world adrenaline compensated for a lot. The sun was starting to set, orange tinting the horizon as the fire of the day extinguished itself into the ocean.

  “You think we can get quarters at the palace?” Don whispered out of the corner of his mouth.

  Leo shrugged. “I hope we can get quarters somewhere.” He thought about their supplies. Don would be carrying the same rations he was. They had enough food for three days, which of course would go a lot longer with rationing. He continued, almost thinking out loud. “We’ll need water, for sure, and it would be nice to conserve the MREs for the road.”

  Don nodded in agreement as they approached the palace. It was even more impressive up close; the stone work was light gray, the walls composed of roughly hewn bricks, likely millions of them, and done dry. Leo couldn’t see any sign of cement, but stone piled upon stone had always been the strongest form of crafting in the past. So the building style made sense in this alien world; they were sort of back in the past, in some respects. Hopefully not all respects, or this would be a wasted trip.

  The castle entrance was a huge archway, reaching up two or three floors high. It could be closed by a giant wooden double door. That led into a courtyard, rather than the castle itself. The day was winding down, but Leo could make out training dummies. This was where squires practiced to become knights. A smaller arched double wooden door opened into a large corridor, big enough for four to walk abreast and not have to be too familiar.

  The walls were adorned with tapestries, rich woven fabrics depicting presumably important scenes from history. There were a couple of statues, wooden carvings from what looked like driftwood—fitting for a palace by the ocean. Leo got the sense that this kingdom was reasonably affluent, likely from the trade its port brought it. However, there were no elaborate displays of gold or jewels. For all the impressive craftsmanship on the outside, the inside felt more rustic than rich. It was just an initial impression, and he could well have been wrong; he would know more regarding how he felt about this royal family when he saw one of them in person.

  “You are strangers to Kaslea. Before you see Prince Edmund, you must be made aware that he is the ruler of Kaslea. King Rufus passed last year. Out of respect for his father, Prince Edmund requested that the title of king not be used. He does not yet feel worthy of taking the place of King Rufus,” Mathis explained as he led them through the castle.

  “I understand,” Leo said, though he didn’t really.

  The intricacies of royalty were completely foreign to him. If Prince Edmund was fulfilling the role of king, then he was the king. A title was just a title; no reason not to use it. However, equally, that meant it really didn’t matter what Edmund called himself.

  “Prince Edmund is young, not yet married. His deference has earned him much respect in the kingdom. I have no doubt he will be as fine a king as the late King Rufus. It has been announced he will take the title upon his marriage in autumn to Princess Maria of the Northern Kingdoms,” Mathis further elaborated, just finishing as they reached the double doors that led to the throne room.

  The doors were closed, a knight on either side. Leo was surprised that no one had challenged their presence yet. Yes, they were following Mathis, who was clearly respected. However, they were armed, and no one had so much as asked their name. Although, thinking logically, it was possible that they didn’t recognize their assault rifles as weapons.

  If they didn’t have that technology, it wouldn’t be within their understanding to know that was a threat. The rifles were clipped to their vests; they weren’t waving them in a threatening manner. Also, perhaps Mathis was more important, or higher up the ranks, than he had initially thought. That random encounter might well pay more dividends than he could have dared hope.

  “I have a report from the border for Prince Edmund,” Mathis told the door knights.

  The knight on the left nodded and ventured a small smile. “Good to see you back, sir. His Majesty is expecting you.”

  The knight opened one of the doors, which was still more than enough space for even an armor-clad knight to walk through. A double door entrance would be the province of royalty to make more of an impression. Warily, expecting to be held back at any moment, Leo and Don stepped through the doorway after Mathis. Leo increased his estimation a lot. Mathis was definitely a big deal around here.

  The throne room was smaller than Leo had expected, and nowhere near as ostentatious. The room was small. A few portraits lined the walls, and there was a rich red rug softening the floor, but it was mostly dominated by a large table. Leo could see maps covering it; perhaps this was more of a war room than a throne room. Although there was a large throne at the end of the room, it was ornately carved wood, not gold.

  Two smaller chairs—decoratively carved, but not thrones—were beside it. All of them were empty, so Leo didn’t know whether the chairs were for the queen, or the princess, or maybe for a younger prince.

  There was a large group of people surrounding the war table. A few were wearing armor, but most were wearing finery, marking them as nobles—presumably the aforementioned court that Mathis said he would introduce them to. Leo couldn’t see any crowns, and didn’t know enough about this world, or royalty, to know about any other differentiating signs.

  Thankfully, it seemed that his initial impression had been correct. While the material of the garments was of much higher quality, and was dyed a variety of deep colors, no one was dripping in jewels. Whether that just simply meant this kingdom couldn’t afford jewels, as opposed to using the funds more for the people, Leo couldn’t guess, but he hoped it was for the latter.

  “Your Majesty.” Mathis dropped to one knee and bowed his head.

  By the war table, a young man with short blond hair and gray eyes turned. He was dressed in a white tunic and a blue sash, with yellow piping across his chest. The sash was fastened with a decorative broach of the Kaslea symbol. He had a gold-tipped sword in a black decorative scabbard at his hip.

  “Rise, Mathis,” Prince Edmund told him warmly. “No need to stand on ceremony. What news from the border lands?”

  “My prince, it is as bad as we feared. The clashing forces of Sintiya and Gatlan have driven our people from their homes. Most of the border lands are now occupied. And I fear that is not the worst news I have to impart.” Mathis bowed his head solemnly. “On my return, I saw smoke. We have lost another village to the dragon.”

  Muttering broke out among the nobles; the fear was palpable. Leo didn’t suppose any of these nobles lived in a wooden village like the burned one he had seen. The city didn’t show any signs of having been paid a visit, but they had to be wondering if the ne
xt time the dragon struck it would be here, and if they would be its victims.

  Prince Edmund shook his head sadly. “That is unwelcome news indeed.” The prince looked beyond Mathis to Leo and Don. “Mathis, I believe introductions are in order.”

  “Yes, my prince.” Mathis rose from the floor with a clinking of armor. “This is Staff Sergeant Leon Frasier and his comrade. They claim to hail from an unknown kingdom called Earth. Their kingdom is under attack; they are seeking aid.”

  “Welcome to Kaslea. You must have traveled far; we’ve not had visitors from the unknown regions…ever,” Prince Edmund admitted, his eyes alight with curiosity as he took in the marines’ dress and belongings.

  “Thank you, your Majesty,” Leo said awkwardly. He nodded his head in respect and wondered if he should bow. He’d never taken lessons on protocol for diplomats or royalty. “We appreciate that, but we wonder if you would consider listening to our situation. We are searching for something with which to defend our kingdom; it is under a grave threat.”

  “As is Kaslea,” Prince Edmund pointed out, but not unkindly. He smiled sympathetically. “I’m afraid at this time we have no means to render aid. Unfortunately, we have many problems of our own. You are welcome to rest here for the night before continuing your quest.”

  “Yes, we have heard about Kaslea’s situation. Perhaps if you would permit me to explain what we’re looking for, we might be able to help each other,” Leo suggested.

  “Go on,” Prince Edmund said guardedly.

  “We need two things, sir. A superweapon that can destroy the invaders without harming our own people, and...” Leo started.

  Prince Edmund interrupted with a shake of his head. “Such a weapon would be wondrous, but it is impossible, except perhaps by magic.”