TURNING TIDES II
"Master… this arrived today. It is for you,” he said, handing over the sealed letter, kneeling beside the behemoth of a man.
“ From the 2nd head...”
The man growled, warping a frown above his eyebrows. His hand swung sideways, grasping the messenger's throat in a vice. It was so fast it looked like his hand phased through the air and appeared out of nowhere to choke the poor fellow. He tightened his grip and his neck snapped in an instant. His head dangled on his palm until he let go of the lifeless corpse as it fell to the ground effortlessly.
“Clean that mess up. That fool knows better than to disturb me during my meditation!”
The others surrounding him in the candle-lit room continued reciting their commune as if nothing had happened. Perhaps it was normal to them. One of them reacted to the order barked by the man and ran over, grabbed the body by the ankle, and started dragging him out of the room.
“You, open it and read it to me.”
Another one jumped out of the darkness and leaped for the letter, he ripped off the seal and fished out the letter from the envelope, fumbling nervously trying to unwrap the folded piece of paper. He cleared his throat and started reading aloud its contents.
“Good day to you Mr. Ladzgery Tyndale. I will skip the formalities and head straight to the point. Upon review, the Two Elder heads have found you worthy to join the clan of Tomasa children despite your previous acts of violence towards the 6th head Kanchi Asobi….”
“Those imbeciles never learn to give up, do they! Continue...”
“We, therefore, ask for an alliance, a confederation that will benefit both of us. Our offer is simple. In two weeks' time, the delegate's meeting will begin in Royal Republic. We understand that since the banishment of the soul magicians two hundred years ago by the 27th king you yourself have never set foot inside the walls, you continue to rule mere villages outside of it. If you accept our offer we will grant you passage into the walls. Along with your army of undead knights, you will execute a coup and you will be crowned king of the independent states with our help. If you agree to this meet up with Kanchi Asobi in Kantos village next week on the third day.”
The room turned dead silent. The grouchy man chewed on his upper lip, with his eyes closed. He then forged a ghastly look with murderous intent clearly showing. He arose from his meditation stance, the long robe falling off his back like a waterfall, revealing his monstrous body. “Get me my relic!”
The servants in the room rushed over to the pedestal in front of the candles and carried an enormous leather arm sleeve. They proceeded to place it over the man’s arm and tied the laces under the sleeve to hold it in place. The sleeve covered most part of his arm, from his wrist all the way to the area below his shoulder. It had little etched chipping the surface, they were dotted in order.
He walked out of the room, his broad shoulders scraping splinters off the rotten door frame. He then stepped onto the fairly raised balcony and stared down at the multitude of soldiers lined up, ready to be inducted into his ever-expanding army.
“Are they ready?” he asked one of the servants behind him.
“Yes sire, I taught them everything. They are ready to recite the oath.”
“... very well.” he lifted up his arm with the sleeve and suspended it in mid-air, waiting.
The servant threw a wave to the crowd and they all started chanting in unison.
“WE PLEDGE OUR ALLEGIANCE TO THE ALMIGHTY KING. WE REWARD OUR SOUL TO BE UNDER HIS WING. WE GRANT HIM POWER TO GUIDE US. OH HAIL THE GREAT KING...LADZGERY TYNDALE!!!”
As soon as they finished their recital the etches on the sleeve multiplied. One by one they began forming on the surface of the sleeve, tainting it dark. Tyndale looked down on the soldiers as they fell down one after the other. He stared down at the pile of unconscious bodies, a smile overrun him. The laces of the sleeve tightened by themselves, sending a slight burst of energy into his arm.
“Two hundred and twenty-six souls will be enough to fuel my next battle. Call lieutenant Jrue Deryleen, tell him to ready the new squad when they wake up, we will be leaving for Kantos village at sunrise.”
“Right away sir.”
“It is time….great grandfather, your wish will finally come true. The independent states will be ours. It is time we show the world the true power of Urogi! THE ART OF SOUL MAGIC!”
. BACK IN THE FOREST
Daito was releasing ridiculous bursts of energy in concentrated waves of embers. The villagers quacked in their boots, witnessing a potential end to their lives. He took a step forward, burning off the vegetation under him, he took another step, forcing some of the villagers to retreat.
“Quick...kill that little girl before she kills us!” one of the villagers at the rear end of the crowd yelled. The villager close to her responded by raising a spear upwards ready to impale Lisa. Daito growled like a ravenous canine. He folded a fist, ready to launch an all-out attack on the villagers. Lora grabbed his arm before he could catapult the mass of energy building up in his palm. The skin on her hand seared off under the intense heat radiating off of Daito’s arm, but she didn't retreat, not for a second. She tightened her grip, wincing in pain as the layer of skin on her palm rolled off.
“Daito stop… if you fire at them you'll hit Lisa too!”
The villager with the spear froze, his whole body was shaking. He couldn't bring himself to descend the spear because he knew doing that would come at the cost of his life.
“Chief you have to stop this!”
“You stay out of this daughter! This is between me and these monsters brought upon us by that wretched state guard!”
“If you really despise state guards that much then I’m no exception!”
Lora stripped off the robe enclosing her armor and threw it away, exposing her majestic Armour.
“My name is Lora Deryleen...and I am an Honorary State Guard of the Independent states!!!”
BACK AT THE CAMP
The servant rushed into the carrel, with the letter at hand. He roughly cleared his throat in an effort to wake him up. The guy had his feet on the table, crossed. He was deep in slumber. The servant coughed once more.
“WHAT! Cant you see I’m busy?!”
“Sorry to bother you lieutenant Deryleen sir, but it's urgent. Master Tyndale has issued out an order. We will be heading to Kantos village next morning so he has put you in charge of the new squad.”
He slowly adjusted his position, then closed his eyes once more.
“Anything else?”
“... Yes sir. We will be heading to independent states soon, to the Delegates meeting!”
he craned his head slowly towards the chart in front of him. Conjuring up a geekish grin he unsheathed a dagger strapped onto his waist and impaled an apple laying on the table. He took a seemingly large bite and chewed on the chunk as it shot out a stream of juice from its succulent flesh being crushed under his molars. Wiping the fluid on his chin he rose up and started laughing.
“Finally! The big fish. The fun is about to begin!!!”