CHAPTER 10

  WAR

  Theia sat in front of a fire. He played with a necklace made of phoenix core, passing it around his fingers with ease, as if second nature. He laid his head back and looked towards the sky.

  “Reminds you of something, doesn’t it?” he whispered to himself.

  “Yes, it does,” he responded as he grabbed the necklace and put it around his neck. He put the fire out by kicking a small bit of dirt into it as he stood up. He looked around to make sure no one was watching him. He felt he was safe in this place. He had told no one to bother him, and no one was to bother him. No one would dare. If they did, it would be their families that paid the consequences, not them. However, his instincts had failed him this time.

  From one of the trees, a soldier that was tasked with the simple task of bringing him water had stopped himself and taken to hiding behind one of the Elden trees as he heard Lord Theia speaking to himself.

  “I mustn’t interrupt my lord,” he said as he hid. “War is about to break. I’m sure this is weighing heavy on him,” he thought to himself as he held a gourd that was wrapped around some type of animal skin.

  “Ok, it seems like he’s finished,” he said as Theia kicked sand into the fire. He was about to step out; however, something took him by surprise.

  “What is happening?” he said as the ground around them started to shake. The shadows of the trees, the moon, and the night itself seemed to expand, the lights around all extinguishing. He saw as the shadows crawled up the general’s body, his eyes burning with flames extinguishing as the shadows poured into his body. Not a scream, not a call for help, not a single noise. No animal caused a commotion due to what was happening.

  “What the fuck,” he whispered to himself. His blood started rushing, his words becoming muttering, his breath becoming heavier, and his sweat cold.

  “General—”

  A voice was heard, and for a sudden moment the young soldier and Theia locked sights. Theia’s neck twisted to the side, his grim smile covering his face, his now dark eyes overflowing with shadows. The young man noticed his mouth muttered a small word. He couldn’t quite tell what it was, but he knew he wasn’t supposed to have seen any of this.

  And as if the gods themselves were watching, a tall armored soldier came out of hiding.

  “My lord,” he said. “We have news. Our soldiers were able to find an underground passage that will give us access to the undercity aqueduct, perfect for a quick takeover of the city.”

  Theia’s eyes snapped back as the shadows completely overtook his body, his eyes returning to normal as he turned around.

  “Zander! Just what I wanted to hear. You always bring good news to me,” he said as he approached Zander. “How are the troops?”

  He pushed Zander out of the clearing, his gaze turning back for a few moments toward the direction of the young soldier.

  “Fuck,” the young soldier whispered to himself as he dropped the gourd on the ground. His knees gave up on him as he himself fell to the ground as well, his whole body trembling. He looked around.

  “I must get out of here. There’s no way he’ll be okay with me knowing this,” he whispered as he started to grab the items that fell on the ground.

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  “What can I do?”

  He sat down holding his arms around his legs, looking around anxiously but trying to keep quiet.

  “Everyone knew I came to deliver some water to Lord Theia. They will ask where I’m at, or worse, he himself will question who was the soldier that was on water duty.”

  He pushed his hands against his knees and stood up as the wind brushed the side of his cheeks, the cold of the night almost sending him into a frenzy. He gently patted his face.

  “I must leave. I have water and food. We aren’t attacking for another two days. I’ll be able to make it to the town center in a day if I leave now. I can give the information for safety…”

  He grabbed his bag and threw it over his shoulders, his legs shaking as he took the first couple steps, trying to not make any noise as he went. The crackling and brushing of the trees hid the sound of his footsteps breaking the fallen leaves and sticks on the ground.

  He looked back and saw the fire from his camp diminishing, becoming smaller and dimmer as he walked further away. The further he got, the faster he walked. His mind reminding him of what he had seen, he suddenly felt the world spinning around him, his stomach twisting as it pushed back against him. He held himself from a nearby tree as his knees hit the ground. He felt his eyes becoming heavier and his vision becoming darker as he kept vomiting.

  “What the fuck,” he whispered to himself. As he looked down he noticed something black moving within his vomit.

  “No, no, please.”

  As he forced himself to stop, regurgitating the last bit, he grabbed his bag once more and started to run, his vision darkening as he did, his steps becoming less clear. He noticed the bushes around him moving as he moved. He looked back and noticed the light coming back from camp was completely gone. He looked up and that’s when it dawned on him: the moonlight was also gone.

  As he turned back, the flashing of a shadowy figure appeared in front of him causing him to lose balance. As he looked in front of him he noticed there was no more path for him to run, just a drop.

  “No,” he whispered as he tried to stop himself. He put his arms together and against his face as he knew it was futile to try to stop now, his body losing balance as he started to roll down the steep hill, hitting trees and rocks as he rolled down, his body going limp as it finished rolling down. The side of his head got impaled by a rock that seemed to have been meticulously placed there.

  His body lay there in the dark forest, covered by shadows which converged all around him, and as if it never happened, his body disappeared as the light of the moonlight returned.

  Theia arrived at the center of the massive encampment. Two guards stepped forward and draped his red cape over his shoulders.

  He raised his arms.

  “My soldiers! My brothers! My sisters! We stand two days away from reclaiming Gaia — the Gaia promised to us! No more lies! No more false kings! No more favor shown to those who refuse to help us!”

  Cheers erupted.

  “Tonight we celebrate freedom! The end of tyranny! The destruction of those who deny us the power to cross the greater sea!”

  He paced around the fire, gripping his stave.

  “First, we reclaim the power stolen from us by the so-called king. Then we seize the mines hidden by the K’in people for generations. No longer will we apologize. No longer will we live in fear!”

  A young soldier quietly sat beside another.

  Blood stained his temple.

  “Are you alright?” the other asked.

  No response.

  “Hey… you okay? I can take you to the infirmary.”

  The soldier blinked.

  “Oh. Yes. I’m fine. Just fell earlier. I tried delivering water to Lord Theia but couldn’t find him.”

  “No need to push yourself.”

  The soldier grabbed the gourd and drank desperately.

  “Yes, my lord!” he suddenly shouted toward Theia.

  Theia laughed.

  “That’s the spirit! What’s your name, young man?”

  The soldier continued eating silently.

  “That’s Bisti, my lord,” another soldier said. “The waterboy.”

  “Excellent!” Theia smiled. “Keep that energy and you’ll rise far within my empire.”

  He placed a hand on Bisti’s shoulder.

  The chewing stopped.

  Their eyes met.

  “Yes… my lord,” Bisti replied.

  “Wonderful. Everyone — eat, drink, celebrate! We march soon!”

  Theia picked up the gourd.

  “Thank you for the water.”

  He turned around and looked at his two captains, with a quick tilt of his head he pointed towards his tent. They followed as he went inside.

  Inside his tent, Captains Rowan and Zande knelt before him.

  “Stand.”

  They rose.

  “We must advance the attack,” Theia said, sipping a dark liquor. “If we wait, they will prepare.”

  “My lord,” Rowan said carefully, “the troops have marched for a week without rest. They may not be ready.”

  “Then make them ready,” Theia replied calmly. “Tell them the enemy attacked our strongholds. Say their wives were taken.”

  “But… that hasn’t happened,” Zande said. “What happens when they return home?”

  Theia leaned forward.

  “There is a simple solution.”

  Silence filled the tent.

  “You cannot mean—” Zande hesitated. “Those are our people.”

  Theia set his cup down.

  “Sacrifices remembered for the greater good of Gaia.”

  He placed a hand on Zande’s shoulder, pressure slowly increasing.

  “You understand… don’t you?”

  “…Yes, my lord.”

  “Rowan, prepare matters at the capital. Zande, you command the front line.”

  He moved carved figures across the map.

  “We strike from below. Seize the sewers. Send automatons first — let them exhaust the defenders. Once the walls fall, we attack from within.”

  “And the king?” Zande asked.

  “He dies.”

  Theia placed a figure inside the castle model.

  “This must be a tragedy. A necessary one. No mercy — even for civilians.”

  “My lord!” Zande slammed the table. “These are our people!”

  “SIT DOWN.”

  Theia’s voice warped unnaturally.

  Zande obeyed.

  “Can you complete this mission,” Theia asked softly, “or should I replace you?”

  Zande swallowed.

  “This… is for Gaia… right?”

  “Of course.”

  Theia poured drinks for them all.

  “Everything we have worked toward ends here. Once the king is dead, none of these sacrifices will be in vain.”

  He raised his cup.

  “For Gaia.”

  “For Gaia,” Rowan and Zande echoed