~XIII~

Tanon sat upon his father's throne. He could not cease the replay of his brother's words repeating in his mind, like the ceaseless whispers of a spirit in his ear. He could only wonder, had he made the right decision? Was Alaric really the murderer of their father…?

He could only imagine how guilt ridden he'd become if he found he'd wrongly incriminated his brother. But he felt it was the right move.. He was also troubled by the death of his elder brother, Esrian. He imagined he'd made an attempt on Alaric's life, resulting in his own death.

Tanon shuddered at thought of have a true fight to the death with his younger brother. There was no doubt that Alaric was the most cunning and dangerous of the four. He highly doubted there was anyone who could best him in swordplay.

"Lord." Came a voice, pulling Tanon out of his own mind. He looked down to see a soldier bowed before him. It was the general who had been charged with watching over his brother when he had been imprisoned.

"What is it, Lucard?" Tanon asked.

"The soldiers are all prepared to begin their march. When shall we begin the journey?" The general, Lucard, inquired.

"We begin now." Tanon spoke. He reaffirmed his goals and steeled his heart. Gripping his fists tightly and clasping his katana, Tanon rose from his throne.

He was adorned in a silver armor, blue cloth flowing from beneath his thick shoulder pads and down his back. The plates were smooth and sharp, covering every part of his body, fitting together like a puzzle. White fur was adorned around his neck, while brilliant gold laced about sapphire gems embedded into the metal plates.

Clipping his sword to his hip, Tanon turned and grabbed his helm from beside the throne. The helmet was crafted in a matching fashion, thin vertical slits carved into it for the visor while sleek silver spikes protruded from the crest. Tanon lifted the helmet, tucking it into the fold of his arm.

Lucard stood, heading toward the door and exiting the temple. Tanon followed, then glanced back at the throne.

Clenching his fists, he spoke mostly to himself but also to his father, his spirit existing someplace beyond his mortal eyes.

"I will bring the Clans together under the immortal name of Mortadire, just as you envisioned.. father." He swore, then turned his back in the throne, his cloth flickering behind him as he strode out of the temple.

Tanon walked past Lucard and led the way out of the Clan's borders. Just outside the walls was thousands upon thousands of armor clad soldiers bearing the emblem of Mortadire. Some were horseback, some were on foot, all carrying weapons of countless various types.

Marching to the head of his army, Tonon took the reigns of an armored, stark white horse from a soldier. He hopped upon the horse's back, pulling it turning to face his soldiers. The sound of scratching steel came as he drew his katana and raised it above his head where it gleamed under the moon's light.

"Today, we march on the Sarua Clan!" He roared at the top of his lungs. "They have no experience in the world of war and blood, thus we shall swiftly overtake them and cut them down! Their downfall shall mark a new beginning, a new era in which we will march on the Ettra and Headrom Clans and unite them all under the Mortadire flag!

"On this day, we shall begin the first flame to engulf this land and consume it in fire! We will be the true rulers of all! We are the ultimate power, and never shall we fall, our spirits forever immortal under the sky of God!"

The soldiers cheered all at once, their roars carrying through the valleys and mountains, reverberating throughout the trees. The earth seemed to shake beneath their united might as they cheered and pounded their weapons into the dirt in applause.

Tanon felt a rush of adrenaline, the power he felt now consuming him and taking over like an intoxicating drug. A grin crept across his lips. He lifted his helm over his head and lowered it over his face, covering his features, his whole body now laden with expertly crafted armor. He turned his steed north towards Sarua, holding his sword high.

"ALL HAIL MORTADIRE!!" He roared as whipped the reigns of his horse, causing it to begin galloping forward. His soldiers all echoed his call and followed suit.

Kelden's horse came up beside Tanon. He wore armor in a much similar fashion, just to less of a degree of decor, it was also not as heavy set. He had a bow draped over his back and quivers set on the sides of his horse.

"Do you think Alaric will be there?" Kelden asked Tanon.

"I do not know, but if he is, that will set his treachery in stone and he shall be cut down."

•

•

•

The sound of movement in the water ceased almost as quickly as it came. Alaric placed a hand on the hilt of his katana. He would rather use the longer ranged weapon than the wakizashi when it came to this situation, he didn't know if he wanted to be close to these things or not. He preferred to keep his distance against inhuman things, otherwise, if it were people, he would use his wakizashi.

Alaric suddenly heard a scraping sound above his head and looked up, raising the lantern. A small chunk of rock fell away into the water at his feet, sending ripples through the surface. Whatever it was.. it was above him, climbing along the stalactites.

The sound of rasping metal came as Alaric gently drew his katana, holding it at his side as he began to weave through the stalagmites. He began to pick up his pace, uncaring whether he was heard or not, seeing as it or they already knew he was there. He had no idea where he was supposed to go, for all he knew he was simply wandering in circles aimlessly.

But then his eyes caught a faint light off to his right. He looked over, but all he saw was the stalagmite blocking his path. He backed up a bit to where he could see around it and, sure enough, he could the the faint glow of something on another stalagmite a ways off. Alaric began to move towards this, and when he finally reached it he observed that it was a Sarua emblem, with some sort of luminescent dust or liquid smeared over it.

So then, this stalagmite, he thought, must be in the right direction. Maybe.. it was all about point of view. Alaric stood directly before the insignia and began peering around the cavern, tilting his head and body to get different angles. Then, another ways off, was another insignia. He began to understand the way this trial worked now.

Alaric began moving at an even faster pace now that he had a path to follow. When he reached the second insignia, he stopped. He could hear the faint sound of breathing, but it was a gross breathing, like it was the breathing of some mutated creature, or that of a man's last breaths as his throat is slit.

When Alaric turned to see what the sound had originated from, he shivered. There, at the edge of his lantern's firelight, was a tall, thin, bony figure. It looked malnourished and had its back turned to him. You could see it's trips and the outline of its bones, almost at though it had no muscle whatsoever, just pale, dead skin clinging to bone.

The grotesque thing was twitchy and had unsettling, unnatural movements. Holding out his katana, Alaric began to move toward the creature. He would not hesitate to strike it down, but, for some reason, instead of charging it and killing it, as he should've, his curiosity got the better of him. He wanted to see what it looked like.

Moving forward, Alaric, when he felt he was close enough, kicked some water at the creature. It gave simply no response. He did it again, and again. This time, the creature went still and silent. Then it's bones sounded like they were grinding and cracking as it turned its head and torso to face him. The thing had large, bulbous eyes and instead of having a horizontal mouth, it was vertical and had no lips, just gummy flesh and jutted, deformed, sharp teeth. The mouth extended down the jaw and across its throat.

It's mouth slowly began to twist open, saliva and blood spilling down its neck and chest as a long, snake like tongue fell limply from within its jaws. A choking, gurgling sound came from deep in its throat before it began to let out a horrendous screech that made Alaric feel like his eardrums were exploding.

Not wasting anymore time, Alaric swiftly swung his katana through the air, severing the disgusting creature's head from its torso, splitting its mouth in two. Black blood splattered through the air and across the stalagmites, it's head dropping into the water as its body went limp.

Alaric flicked the blood from his blade, casting ripples across the water as black blood began to spread through it like ink, creating blots and clouds of black.

At first, Alaric wanted to sheath his blade, but then he heard scratching along the stalactites above him, as well as motion through the water from all directions.

He then realized, that thing was not the only one. They appeared to be pack animals.