Legacy of Death_Revenge

by Thomas J. L. Green

  “War Leader,” Oria greeted as she arrived.

  “Astril will take Leena to your tent. Wake her up in eight hours. Force her to eat and drink no matter what she says. She will go to the Dream World soon, but do NOT let her do it before she rests for at least three days and three nights. Once she goes, take care of her body until she’s back. It will be at least six days,” Zerae explained.

  “Is she going to be alright? She looks half dead,” Oria observed.

  “She will have to be. See it done, Oria!” Zerae rejected any discussion.

  Oria looked at Astril with a look full of confusion.

  “Please do it… Zerae’s right,” Astril shook her head as if she didn’t believe she just said that. Oria nodded.

  “I will see it done.”

  They got back to their mounts and left for Stormshriek.

  “Hold on, Birdie… you can do it!” Astril whispered into the ear of her mount as they flew. She could feel how exhausted it was. She was too. They had been flying for three days without a break. There was only so much rest one could get when sleeping in the saddle.

  “I see the ships,” Zerae announced.

  “I hate ships!” Astril exclaimed.

  “We all do. Tell the bird to fly back to base. It doesn’t have to hurry. We are dropping down onto the ships,” Zerae commanded.

  This was close. Stormshriek is in sight. An hour later and we would have missed it completely. Even like this, it’s bad because I am not prepared for whatever has my mother has cooked up.

  Zerae and Astril instructed their mounts and flew above the largest ship. Zerae focused and teleported to the deck. Soon after, Astril landed next to her with a crash.

  “My beloved daughter returns,” Mathilde Hellwind remarked, poison dripped from her every word.

  “Mother,” Zerae made a slight bow.

  “Where have you been? I was expecting you days ago,” Mathilde pressed.

  “I went to map the battlefield and enemy forces since I had no further instruction after seeing the pirate lord and sending back the report,” Zerae replied coldly.

  “I expect you to report to me as soon as you are done with your missions,” Mathilde announced. “And I expect you to do it in person, not through a messenger.”

  “Yes, mother,” Zerae bowed.

  They soon arrived at Stormshriek.

  “Ah! My champions have arrived. It is an honor to welcome you to my humble home,” Ur’Thul’Gar greeted the just arrived matron.

  “The honor is ours, pirate lord,” Mathilde made a slight bow.

  Is it just me or is my mother cowering before the demon? Pathetic.

  “We can exchange our pleasantries later. For now, let us head straight to the reason why I had asked you to bring your finest warriors. Please follow me,” he went straight to work and led the way. The five hundred Faye that followed him looked more than a bit strange. Ur’Thul’Gar led them deep into Stormshriek. They entered large caverns. The caverns had water as the bottom and they walked on ledges around it. Ur’Thul’Gar stopped in a large hall where they could all fit in easily.

  “The armies of Palai have come to destroy us. Destroy our people, our way of life, our legacies. That must not happen. Not to me, not to you, not to my subordinates, not to your sisters. To defend the very basis of our existence, I have searched for help, I have searched for resources, I have searched for power. I have found it. Behold!” Ur’Thul’Gar spread his arms and crystals surrounding the cavern lit up. On the side were pens. Hundreds of pens. Inside the pens were monsters. Large long scaled serpents with fins and mouths full of teeth. Sea drakes.

  “They might be a little wild, but I believe that shall not pose you a challenge. Your clans are famed for handling monsters and beasts, after all. With these, you shall be as formidable on the sea as you are on land. Needless to say, they are yours… should you manage to tame them of course,” Ur’Thul’Gar finished his speech.

  “You are most generous. Why don’t you try one first, Zerae?” Mathilda bowed to the pirate lord.

  So, on one hand, I am not the leader of the force, but on the other hand, I need to do all tasks of the leader. Responsibility without power. Great.

  Zerae stepped toward the largest pen where there were dozens of the sea drakes, each in its own pool. Each pool had a cage over it, clearly there to stop the drakes from getting out.

  Down to business, they do not seem intelligent. I can’t talk my way out of this one, can I?

  Zerae measured the sea drakes and headed toward the largest and meanest looking one she saw.

  Yes. This one will do.

  “Here are some treats,” one of the men guarding the cage offered Zerae a bucket. She pierced him with a stare that stopped him mid-sentence.

  “Open the cage,” she ordered the men that were standing around. They seemed like they wanted to protest, but Zerae’s look didn’t allow discussion. Carefully, the men unlocked the cage and started opening it. When they were halfway done, the snake shot out of water without any warning. It caught one of the men in its jaws. The man screamed. The drake retreated back to the water in an instant, taking the man with him. Zerae just stood there, motionless. The second man finished flipping the cage and retreated into distance. Zerae spits into the water. Soon after, head of the drake came out. Up close, it was larger than she expected. Blood was dripping from its jaws. Its eyes shone with hunger and bloodlust. Zerae just stood in place.

  “ROAAAAAAAAAAAAR,” the drake roared in her face. Blood and body pieces splattered her. Zerae didn’t move an inch.

  “Are you done?” she asked coldly.

  The drake huffed and submerged. Zerae waited, motionless. The drake shot out of the water. Fast and lethal. Zerae sidestepped. She drew her blade into one massive swing. Head of the drake flew into the cavern. The headless body squirmed for a moment before going lifeless. Zerae put her blade back and walked to the next pond.

  “Open it,” she commanded the men. They didn’t dare oppose her.

  “Come out,” Zerae ordered after the cage was open. The sea drake came out of the water slowly and warily.

  Terrified. Good, that’s how I like them.

  Zerae stepped back.

  “Get down,” she ordered. The drake weaved sideways and put itself on the ground in front of her. Zerae grabbed it by a horn and swung herself up to sit behind its head.

  “Move,” she said and directed the snake with her legs. It slithered over the ground to stop in front of the matron. Zerae pulled on its horn to make it stand up. Looking down on everyone from the top of the snake felt amazing. Zerae gave them all a victorious stare and motioned the snake to get down. She stepped down from it and waved it off with a hand. It quickly disappeared back into its pond.

  “As expected of my daughter,” Mathilde purred.

  “Matron,” Zerae made a slight bow.

  “Consider me impressed,” Ur’Thul’Gar smiled warmly., “I believe we can head to the war room to make plans while your warriors get used to their new mounts.”

  “As you will,” Mathilde nodded and turned to leave with Ur’Thul’Gar.

  “Watch over the warriors, make sure there are no problems with the mount,” she ordered Zerae over her shoulder.

  “I believe Zerae should join us in the war room,” Ur’Thul’Gar contested.

  Mathilde’s eyes lit up with anger.

  “If you consider that wise,” she said and stepped forward to leave. Zerae smirked and followed.

  “That was the hottest thing I’ve seen this year,” Astril whispered to Zerae’s ear as she was walking past her.

  “Don’t waste too much energy on this. I want you fresh and hungry,” Zerae replied with a vicious smirk.

  “For you… always.”

  Ur’Thul’Gar led Mathilde, Allicia and Zerae to a large room. Inside were Ur’Thul’Gar’s six captains standing by a large table, which was made into a map covered by small models of ships.

  “Please summarize the situati
on,” Ur’Thul’Gar motioned to Sayyida, a veteran pirate captain.

  “The pigs didn’t come to slack around. Torched’n sacked a city plus three villages right off the bat. Burned the fields too, disappeared at the sea. Made a hundred-mile-long fog to hide, we’ve got no way to locate them,” cpt. Sayyida painted a crude picture

  Professional. That’s what they are. They’re here to kill; they don’t rush, they don’t chew off big targets. I would bet their leader has done campaigns like this before… more than a few times.

  “Anyone has any idea?” Ur’Thul’Gar asked.

  “Make a bait, load up ships with sea drake food, that looks important but isn’t. Make a transport pattern, let them figure it out, put a bait convoy spread like a noodle. Once they bite, we hit them hard,” cpt. Paulsgrave laid out. “I put it into motion last week; they should bite the bait by tomorrow evening.”

  Zerae was surprised to see someone this old among the captains.

  It’s too early for this. One can’t make traps without having a good read on opponent’s offensive capabilities. So far we know they can do a massive bombardment, large enough to set city ablaze in a single night and... that’s it. This plus that they aren’t completely stupid. That is not much.

  “We can be the bite. Our warriors should be ready to use the sea drakes by then. We can hit their pursuit in the middle, split their fleet through the confusion and bite off the front,” Mathilde offered.

  “That’s too reckless. We will need months before we get enough experience with the sea drakes, not a day and a half. Plus, this exposes us in case we are read and is easily counterable even with limited insight,” Zerae contested instantly.

  I may have wanted to phrase this differently.

  “We can always escape by diving underwater. Are you afraid, daughter?” Mathilde struck at Zerae angrily.

  “It’s an army, they do have a way to attack underwater targets,” Zerae didn’t let up.

  “Like what?” Mathilde spat.

  “I don’t know, but I’m sure they do,” Zerae pressed.

  “Tell me, Ur’Thul’Gar, do you have any knowledge of the pigs having means of attacking an underwater target?” Mathilde pivoted.

  “No,” Ur’Thul’Gar confirmed.

  Shit!

  “Any other objections, daughter?” Mathilde turned back to her.

  It’s a trap. The pirates are using us to scout out the Palai fleet weaponry at the expense of our lives. But… can I win this? Mathilde will push against me to the point of beheading me. She will do anything to protect her pride. I fucked up. I should have phrased it differently, so it isn’t an attack on her. FUCK!

  “No, matron,” Zerae bowed and stepped back.

  “I like this; we can put our fastest fleet in our second wave, so we hit the isolated front simultaneously,” cpt. Worley concurred.

  And be the fastest to run when it doesn’t work.

  “We should combine the ambush with multiple distraction attacks to split their attention,” Zerae suggested.

  “That’s risky; we can end up losing the distraction and not triggering the ambush,” cpt. Bartholomew rejected.

  “Better lose a small distraction than the entire ambush,” Zerae contested.

  “Enough! You have said enough, Zerae! Leave and await me in my office,” Mathilde shouted.

  “Yes, matron,” Zerae bowed and left.

  “I apologize for the interference, she shall not be allowed here again,” was the last thing Zerae heard Mathilde say before she left the room.

  Nobody is here… good.

  Zerae observed her room. Bedroom plus bathroom, reasonably decorated, spacious bed, work table with parchments and inks.

  The doors are thick; this place isn’t bad.

  Zerae closed the door and waited if she doesn’t hear anything. She didn’t.

  “RRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHH,” she screamed.

  “FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!”

  Zerae punched the wall with all her strength. Pain shot through her arms.

  Good.

  She punched it again, again and again. Soft grip caught her hands.

  “Careful to not break your hands… they are pretty,” Astril whispered into her ear.

  “They are weak. Small and weak,” Zerae spat.

  “You aren’t,” Astril caught her in a soft hug.

  “I fucked up. I got overconfident and slipped,” Zerae admitted.

  “We will get out of it, don’t worry,” Astril whispered into her ear.

  I don’t deserve you, Astril.

  “Why are you naked?” Zerae realized.

  “You said you want me fresh… there only two possible reasons for that and I don’t think we are going to go assassinate anyone tonight,” Astril breathed.

  “I’m really not in the mood,” Zerae refused.

  “What happened?” Astril pried.

  “Mathilde.”

  “Talking about it is always the first step,” Astril pressed as she traced her finger by Zerae’s cheek. There was a bright red welt on each of them. Astril knew it takes more than a few slaps to create these.

  “That she’s ashamed of me being her daughter… that I’m demoted to a regular warrior… that the clan would have been better off if I was never born… that she told me a hundred times to get rid of you and Leena and this is the result of me not listening to her… that she will have the three of us publicly tortured to death the next time I defy her,” Zerae revealed.

  “I’m sorry,” Astril breathed and kissed her softly on the neck.

  I wonder how long she can last before addressing the elephant in the room.

  “I am really, really, really sorry to ask this… but what did you tell her?” Astril asked awkwardly.

  Not even thirty seconds, typical Astril.

  “I pretty much told her that she is stupid, has no idea what she’s doing and should just shut the fuck up and leave it to me. In front of the pirate lord and all his captains. I didn’t say it directly like this, but everyone got the point,” Zerae admitted.

  “Now I really wish I could have been there to see her face,” Astril smiled sadly.

  “And I insisted on it straight after she shot me down,” Zerae added.

  “Not as hot as the snake thing, but it still makes me like you more and more,” Astril breathed.

  “I… I am not sure I can keep doing this,” Zerae conceded. She felt empty. So, so empty. It felt as if the only good thing left in her world was Astril.

  “You know… you can stop it. Just let me off the leash for a bit and it will all be gone,” Astril said softly, but Zerae felt the murderous intent behind it.

  “I can’t do that, Astril. They are my mother and sister. They are Faye like we are. I can never accept that; I would never forgive it. They would stop or catch you anyway,” Zerae refused.

  “They wouldn’t. Nobody can catch me when I don’t want to. And even if they do, so be it. Nobody from our clan would go against you once they’re gone. The other clans would be forced to respect it,” Astril pressed on.

  “RAAAAAAAAAAAARGGGGGGGGGH! FUUUUUUUCK! STOP TEMPTING ME, ASTRIL! THEY… they are family. The only family I have… RAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGHHHHHH!”

  “All they bring you is pain… but you know I will respect your will on this,” Astril whispered softly.

  “AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRR!” Zerae roared.

  “It will be alright… it will be fine,” Astril comforted her.

  “HHHHHhhh… HHHHHHHHhhhhhh… hhhhhh… it wants it. The cursed flame inside me… it wants it so much… so, so much. It burns me from the inside... aaaaarrrhhhhhhhhh!” Zerae shouted.

  “Sounds like you need to beat it out,” Astril mused.

  “I NEED TO DESTROY THIS ISLAND, DISEMBOWEL THE PIRATES AND BATH IN THEIR BLOOD! RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!” Zerae screamed.

  “Well… it’s not virgin blood, but I did prepare you a bath in the other room,” Astril
softly stroked Zerae’s hair.

  “HRHRHRHRhrhrhrhrhr… this curse… it’s never been this intense… I need to beat it out. But I don’t have on who or what! RAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH… HHHHHrrrrhhhh… hhhhrrrh.”

  “I am here… how about I do anything and everything you want me to tonight?” Astril offered.

  “I can’t beat it out on you, Astril. I don’t want to… I’ve spent my entire life working for my position. To achieve something. I lost whatever was left of it today. You are literally all I have left… how am I supposed to beat it out on you?” Zerae shook her head.

  “You have the clans. But anyway, that’s good to hear! I was thinking you would be pissed about me cheating on you with that cavern girl. You know, all that kissing in public, staging it so you see me fuck her and even keeping her on so she has the climax in your face. I’m happy to hear you aren’t salty about that!” Astril exclaimed happily.

  I really don’t deserve you.

  “You fucking bitch… kneel,” Zerae breathed.

  “By the way, can I get some free time? I didn’t have enough time to fuck May as much as I wanted, so I need to go back to make up for it,” Astril continued.

  “KNEEL!”

  “Rank and file warrior… it feels so weird,” Zerae breathed when she got up in the morning. It was the morning before the battle.

  “It will be fine,” Astril tried to comfort her.

  Worthless and powerless. That’s what I am.

  Zerae put over her heavy fur coat before she headed out.

  The mood among the warriors was awkward at best. This was about to be their largest battle in years. It was also the first time in decades that Zerae wasn’t leading the force. They got more or less used to the sea drakes, but the week they had were simply too short for them to be comfortable about it. Zerae didn’t pay attention to the ceremony. The matron would call the war leader, Allicia, give her the mission and blessing of the goddess. Allicia would thank her and command the warriors to head out. Zerae went through it a hundred times.

  For decades, I wanted nothing else from life than to be there. Yet seeing it now from the outside, was it this awkward when I was there instead of Allicia? Neither Astril nor Leena would ever tell me even if I was. It wasn’t always like this. There used to be a different time, the time when a war leader made me feel like I was a God. The time of our queen. Getting a mission from the queen felt like your life was given purpose. Nothing else mattered. I lived for it. Mother is trying, she really is, but it’s not the same. It’s not her fault though. It’s that our queen was larger than life.