Start of an emperor part 1

The twins had been chained, and the allied fleet of Halardrar and Guiscards had been stationed on a coast. It was hidden from any enemy vessels, flying or not.

"Why would you spare us? We are not worth anything to the emperor, nor do we have any intel to guide you," Wulftrude said.

"You are the emperor's children, and I am sure you know something useful," Amala said.

The twins laughed.

"Our father rarely trusts any of his children. He gives us responsibilities, but when it comes to crucial intel, he doesn't like to share," Wulfila explained.

Amala wasn't fazed.

"I am curious, though. Why didn't you kill Athelred and Raymond when you had the chance? What I understood is the empire doesn't take prisoners if they have fought against them," Amala asked in return.

"Unlike our siblings and father, we did not wish for this war. We never wished for any of them," Wulfila explained.

"Then why are you fighting and leading an army? I also heard you, twins, led the invasion of the Sardes federation," Amala questioned.

"And what would have happened to the federation? To its people, if Berig, the indifferent, Samanilde, the psycho, or Segeric, the creep, would have led the invasion? How many villages would have been put to the torch? We took off to war to save lives, not to take them. Anyway, it's not like the children in the purple of Emperor Ala Phokas can choose their path in life," Wulftrude explained.

"What made him become such an uncaring person?" Pema asked.

The twins didn't answer but then inquired, "You haven't heard about what happened over a hundred years ago. When a berserk war pack invaded and what they did to the kingdoms here. To our Aesis world?"

~~

Meanwhile, emperor Ala was staying at the palace of the despot of Asciador. His vast army was made to live in the city, forcing its inhabitants to arrange lodgings and food for the troops. Berig entered the room along with a couple of sentinels of embers.

"All the troops have been settled. We have sent scouts all over the region to find the enemy army, but none has returned with any news. Most likely, they have been captured and executed," Berig explained.

"Send more scouts," the emperor commanded.

"What if they get captured as well?"

"We can afford to lose a couple of scouts, and we can not afford to not know where the enemy is hiding in our own land."

Berig left and ordered more scouts to be sent. Emperor Ala saw from the window the remnants of his army arriving by sea. Some ships had their mast broken and were being towed by other vessels. He threw his wine glass to the ground in frustration as he was getting mad.

He started to remember his past. To over a hundred years ago.

~~

Before emperor Phokas was the emperor, he was known as the third prince of the Heian kingdom. Nicea was not as large as it is now, but it was still a considerable capital of the Heian kingdom.

Ala had a happy childhood as his kingdom was experiencing peace under the rule of his father, Elric Phokas. He had secured a ceasefire with the Hephthalites to the west and the kingdom of Smyrna to the north. People lived happy lives and grew crops under the leadership of their wise king, whom Ala looked up to. To him, his father and family were the greatest. No one could match his father, and his brothers showered him with endless love. The only problem was that Elric wasn't prepared for the coming bloodshed.

A large army, a berserk war pack, arrived at the kingdom of Smyrna and burned their capital, Sardos, to the ground. Many were killed, but many more were enslaved. This was so they could be fed and sacrificed to their deity and god, the great beast.

As the war pack moved south toward the Heian kingdom, Ala's father, the king, mustered his forces to meet this invading war pack. He had called upon his allies, the nation of Dukija and the nation of Byzanten, to aid him. Together, the mighty king, Elric Phokas led a force of over a hundred thousand soldiers.

On the field of battle, the combined army was motivated and highly hopeful about their chances. An army that size had not been seen in centuries, and they had three powerful rulers with strong divinities leading them.

Their hopes faded as the combined force came in contact with the war pack. Half a million berserk warriors marched against them, and they were being led by a fierce war pack alpha. The battle was over quickly, and the war pack's leader, Jaghar, the brown fiend, feasted on the flesh of rulers of the three nations, including the father of Ala.

The war pack then sacked Nicea, burned its palaces and buildings, killed half its citizens, and captured the other half. As the berserks were entering the royal palace of the Phokas family, emperor Ala was forgotten by his mother, who had fled with his two oldest sons.

As the berserks desecrated the palace and the city, they found a young Ala Phokas under his bead, covered in his urine.

The berserks took Ala as an offering to the great beast. They put him and the other citizens in chains and made them march on their giant flying fortress.

The flying behemoth was crudely built, as the berserks were not known to be great engineers or craftsmen. The conditions where Ala and the other prisoners were forced to live in were appalling. The people were packed together below deck and were secured by leg irons. The space was so cramped that you would be trampled to death if you fell. Diseases spread fast, and rations were small. If one had died, the corpse would stay there for a long time as the prison hatch would not be opened until the berserk vessel had reached its destination. Ala suffered and prevailed inside such a horrible place for two years until he was rescued.

Hoping and dreaming of a rescue, he heard why the berserks did what they did. Their god, the great beast, is the only god in their world and heaven. Though war pack alphas can often be considered as powerful as gods, they still fall short of the great beast.

This great deity demands its people to fight and die in his name. He also has an enormous appetite that he needs to be fed continuously. If he is not provided by his people, he will devour them instead.

~~

During an ordinary day, the prisoners could hear a loud commotion coming through the thick walls of the prison. Cries of battle could be heard, and clashes of steel against iron.

The prison hatch slammed open when a berserk warrior was thrown so hard it forcibly rammed it open. A ladder was thrown down from the hatch, but people were afraid to leave. It was Ala who was the first one to go up and climb away, believing this was his chance to escape.

He reached the top and saw a massive battle happening mid-flight. He gazed upon the universe and the explosions of divinity that occurred around him.

The berserk ship was unlucky enough to be stumbled upon by a god's vessel. He saw female warriors flying with iron wings, wearing silver armor, killing the berserk warriors. Above him, the great war pack leader, Jaghar, the brown fiend, was fighting, of all beings, a human.

This human warrior wielded a hammer. Lightning bolts lit the skies as the man threw it at the war pack alpha, and every time, the hammer returned to its owner. With the hammer, he flew around Jaghar until he finally killed him, burying his hammer in its skull. This person then dropped down right in front of young Ala.

The divinity of this person was immense, and it felt like thunder and lightning were for him to use as he wished.

"This is your lucky day, pup," the large man said," You were lucky the all father saw this rust bucket flying through our heaven."