Lord Belial
Early, the same morning, Emperor Deques Clermont Tonnerre de Caernarvon rolled over in his bed for the fifteenth time. He was unable to sleep. He kept waiting for the news that his plan had worked. The assassination of his usurper exiled older brother and those traitorous cardinals were successfully killed.
The capital city was now a shell of its former glory. After news of the demon invasion spread people fled the capital in mass for safer territory. Many fled to the eastern docks to escape with their lives and their possessions.
Moreover, the exodus increased after news of his older brother Jacques missing and his distraught father's coma.
Deques did all he could to stem the emigration. He ordered the guards to barricade the gates. And bribed officials to downplay the threat. He spread the news the demon invasion was simply a machination of his brother's lies.
Despite all his efforts, news spread demons capturing villages and turning the survivors into slaves.
Yet, his grasp on the capital was like plugging a capsizing boat. Worse still, desertion grew among the scant kings and city guards left.
Things only spiraled down worse when his eldest brother reappeared at Mistwood Keep with a demon prisoner no less. News of his triumphant return and noble deeds spread throughout the empire.
Deques had just processed Jacques' return when the Cardinals of Pontus, Gaia, and Aether announced Jacques as the emperor's heir apparent. The news came in so fast, that Deques felt he received whiplash.
How could the cardinals declare his brother king after his father had exiled him, and he was capital doing his best to empire together?
That bastard's mother killed herself, and his mother was the current queen. How did Jacques rise above him? He should have been king. He sat on the imperial throne.
When Deques received the news, he demanded the cardinals come to the imperial castle and apologize and install him as the true king. Only to find out, that the cardinals and clerics had absconded to Mistwood Keep.
Deques was mocked as the imposter king without an army or people. How could stand such insidious insults?
Laying in bed, he remembered when his mother came to him and suggested he assassinate his elder brother and the cardinals. After his brother's passing, he could ride into Mistwood Keep and be installed as the true emperor. Then he'd have his army and the empire's respect.
Deques sat up and looked at the sleeping whore next to his bed. He envied how peacefully she slept. He poured himself a glass of water, wondering how long it took to kill those pesky fleas and return with the good news.
Finally, after the 4th bell, a gentle knock came on his door.
"Come in, hurry!" he exclaimed anxiously.
Deques' servant entered nervously holding a rumpled note. He quickly snatched the note and read over its contents.
It was news he dreaded the most. Not only had the assassins failed to kill his brother and the cardinals, but his brother had also been installed as the true emperor. Now before country and god, Jacques was the true emperor.
"Sire, there is another letter," the servant said physically shaking in nervousness. He knew how violent his master could be when receiving bad news.
When Deques read the second letter his eyes rolled back in fright. The letter only contained nine words: Two demon armies, 10,000 strong, headed to the capital.
"Quick order the guards to bar the gates and man the battlements!" Deques commanded.
"Your imperial majesty, we barely have enough guards to secure the castle. It's not possible to secure the capital," his servant reminded him.
"Damn it, arm the commoners if we must! I will not lose this city," Deques reprimanded him.
"As you command," the servant bowed before leaving.
Two days later, the 10,000-demon army ransacked the capital. Most of the commoners Deques armed, fled with the weapons before the demon army arrived.
When the demon army conquered the capital fewer than 5,000 people remained, most of whom were too sick or injured to flee.
When Deques saw how easily the demons tore apart the closed gates and stormed the city, he slumped in disbelief on his throne. He knew the castle guards would be easily overrun. Sitting on the throne Deques laughed manically as realized his paper empire had crumbled. In a fit of madness and rage, he took his dagger and slit his throat.
That evening Emperor Jacques-Louis Avignon de Caernarvon received news of the capital's capture and Deques' death. Now Mistwood Keep stood as the last of the dying empire's bastion.
In the days leading up to the capital's defeat, Mistwood City's immigration tripled. The city stood as a waypoint between the capital and the coast. If nothing else, Jacques swore to fight until the last of his people made it onto the safety boats.
Jacques stood on the battlements looking at the night sky and the 30,000-demon army laying siege to Mistwood City. At night he could see the army's campfire. The campfires seemed to be as numerous as the stars in the sky.
Even at night, he could hear the constant hammering of siege equipment. The beautiful Mistwood forest he played in as a child, was being uprooted.
Outside his commander's tent, Belial looked at the city's battlements. The demon stood to its full height and tilted its head to the side. He could just make out the image of a man wearing a crown.
A hideous grin spread across its face and said, "Tomorrow my task shall be complete. I will have seized control of this empire for Prince Thanatos."
Originally, he wanted to send his men disguised as refugees into Mistwood Keep causing strife from within. But that pesky brother of the empire had beat him to it and no one was allowed in the city or the keep.
"Guards!" yelled Belial.
"Yes, Lord Belial," they said bowing to one knee.
"Send out messengers across this army, tell them I shall offer 1,000 drachmae as a reward for the human emperor's head," he said. He chuckled to himself. He knew that incentive would embolden his troops.
"Right away, my lord!" they saluted before leaving.
Belial walked back inside his large octagonal tent with a huge, vaulted ceiling. Bust of all the great commanders of the demon realm stood on pedestals lining the walls of the tent. Each statue majestically showed the generals in armor. One day, he thought, he would join their ranks.
When Belial walked into his tent, all the generals faced the large map table that dominated the center of the room. The massive oak table had six stout legs carved into the shape of horses.
On the table rested a large, detailed map of Terra's geography. Belial sat on a large iron chair, that allowed him to look down on the table and his generals at the same time. Each of his generals stood on one of the three other sides of the map table. They were dressed formally in their ceremonial armor and weapons.
The generals pushed pieces around on the table to represent the demonic armies' troop movements and supply lines. The maps also indicated how the areas of possession changed with each battle.
Belial leaned his head against his hand. This war was far too easy, and he was bored. Only once had they faced any real opposition and it was against the idiotic former emperor. Even then he was easy to eliminate, and the causalities were mostly the slaves. At most, the former king only stalled him for two days.
"Have the scouts returned?" Belial asked out of boredom.
A general looked over the map. "Yes, my lord, our scouting patrols have only found stragglers."
"How many casualties have we suffered so far?" Belial asked.
"So far casualties have been fairly light, my lord. Our troops are well trained and motivated. We had the element of surprise," replied the general.
The Belial placed his elbows on the arms of his chair and laced his fingers together, If things continued this way, he should have Mistwood Keep taken in a few days, in a week all the Rhaziesian Empire.
What Belial worried most about was the news of the invasion spreading outside the empire. He needed to make sure none of the other kingdoms or empires would try to enter the war on the side of the Rhaziesian Empire.