He whistled a long, low whistle. That’s a looooong way down. But it wasn’t the steep drop that frightened him. It was the ominous structure looming only a couple of miles away. Its towers stretched so high, it seemed to blend into the night sky. Something about it seemed magical and enticing. Upon looking closer, he noticed a number of sentries patrolling the grounds of the structure. Leoden was usually the type of person who simply minded his own business, but not this time. Perhaps it was their flaming torches flickering in the distance that encouraged him to explore. Leoden could barely take the enticement. He remounted his horse and rode down the winding ledge towards the guarded structure. Upon reaching what he considered walking distance to the structure, he dismounted.
“Zinly, stay close by,” he told his horse. “I’ll call you when I need you.”
Sneaking into the tall grass of the surrounding valley, he inched closer toward the structure. The voices of the guards echoed through the night, alerting him to their location. Staying low to the ground, he darted to the structure’s far wall and laid flat against it.
He rubbed his hands along the rugged stones of the structure’s exterior wall and followed their contours partly around towards the east side. However, a drainage pipe big enough for a man blocked his path, impeding his progress. Peeking through the pipe’s steel gate, he saw it was dark and dank inside. The steel gate looked impenetrable. Leoden grabbed hold of its bars, shaking it. Unexpectedly, the gate came loose.
Was this a trap?
The young warrior glanced around, but saw nobody. As quiet as he could, he dragged the steel gate from the drainage pipe entrance and laid it against the wall. Taking one last glance, he withdrew his wood axe and walked into the darkness.
Chapter Forty-Three
“My Lordship, you wanted to see me?” General Thane asked Damian, standing at the threshold of the Warlord’s personal chamber. It was the first time he’d seen it. Granted, Thane had not spent much time in the castle, but he could immediately tell that it was one of the abode’s more comfortable living spaces.
Despite the room’s openness, Damian typically never used more than what he needed. A single candle lit only a small area. The rest of the room remained in darkness.
“Please come in,” Damian invited. “We have much to discuss.” The Warlord, though inconceivably ruthless, was always cordial and polite. Thane, however, hesitated before entering the chamber, as it was awkward seeing Damian in a less formal environment.
“Sit,” the Warlord commanded, pointing to a stool.
Thane obliged, squatting onto the seat, wondering to himself if he’d done anything wrong recently.
He doubted it. The most difficult tasks were routinely assigned to him, and not once had he ever failed. Unfortunately for Thane, such outstanding work was routinely rewarded with more work.
“I’ve read the reports of your journey to obtain the Realmsic Crystal,” Damian said. “Outstanding, General. Simply outstanding!”
Thane allowed himself a brief smile. “The honor was mine, my Lord. Along with my tracking skills, you armed me with the knowledge needed to see through my enemy’s deception. Without it, I would not have succeeded.”
Damian walked to a nearby desk and poured himself a glass of water. “Knowledge is perhaps the most dangerous weapon in the world, followed only by words.” He took a quick sip before continuing. “As a General, you are well aware that battles are won by the army that possesses the best knowledge of their resources and their environment. My campaign against the Realmsic Kingdom was armed only with the knowledge of their own history, and look at how easily they crumbled.”
Thane agreed. “With the right information, there is nothing you can’t accomplish,” he said, fidgeting in his chair, unsure if it was the chair or being in Damian’s personal chamber that made him uncomfortable.
“Yes!” Damian responded enthusiastically. “I couldn’t agree with you more General, and I assure you, our next military campaign will be unlike anything ever conceived.”
Damian’s excitement appeared to be contagious. Thane brightened, clutching his sword as though ready to stand and salute.
“Much of my thought has gone into the details of this next war, though I will look to you for help logistically planning.”
“Me?” Thane asked in shock.
“Yes!” Damian exclaimed. “You are remarkably resourceful, and you have an innate ability to understand situations better than anyone else I have known. It is those skills that I now require. For the task ahead will be our most challenging.”
“I would expect no less from the Lord of War,” Thane began. “But I must admit that I don’t understand what I can contribute. Literally and figuratively, you now sit in the seat of power. Not only do you control the kingdom of Centre Pointe, you dominate both the Magical and Layman nations. The total sum of the known world is yours to command. What else is there to conquer?”
Damian’s grin was broad and sinister. “Have you ever traveled beyond the known world?” he asked.
“Where?” Thane asked raising an eyebrow. And then suddenly, he gasped. “You mean into the Uncharted Lands?” His tone was barely above a whisper.
“I take it no?” Damian cocked his head.
What are you, crazy!?! Of course not! But he didn’t say those words. Throughout his life, he’d heard endless stories about the world beyond the Realm—all of them horrible.
Most people speculated that the Uncharted Lands were far worse than even the fabled Realm of Terror. Some believed that it was home to monsters and demons, for humans never dwelled there. Others had declared that there was actually nothing beyond the known world, only an endless abyss. Those venturing too far would fall off the edge of the world, plunging for eternity. No one in their right mind would be so bold as to willingly march into such treachery.
“Oh, no…” Thane furiously shook his furry head. “My Lord, surely you don’t…”
“Yes!” Damian laughed. “Surely I do.”
Thane’s eyes hardened as he observed Damian’s mannerisms for any indication that this was a joke. Granted, it was not Thane’s place to question the Warlord. His duty was simply to perform as commanded. But as a soldier, he expected his Commander to be considerate of his men’s abilities, to not fling them into the fires of hell with blatant disregard. Was this really the result of his loyalty? Was Seku right?
“My Lord, you know I would follow you into the jaws of death. Your men, without question, would sacrifice all for you,” Thane spoke gesturing expressively with his hands. “But this time, I implore you to reconsider what you are asking us to do; where you are asking us to go.” Thane locked onto Damian’s cold eyes. “With respect, my Lord, I fear that this time you may be asking too much of us.”
“Really, General? I ask too much?” Damian scoffed.
“I mean no disrespect,” Thane pleaded.
“I care not what you mean,” Damian said sharply. “But your reaction is to be expected.”
Thane exhaled. His shoulders slumped while relaxing his hands in his lap.
“You may think that I ask the impossible of you. But in the beginning, when I said we would conquer the only magical kingdom in existence, was I not then asking the impossible? Yet, here we stand.” Damian replied.
Thane pressed a hand flatly against the breastplate of his Legionarie armor. “My Lord, it’s one thing to fight against Wizards and other Magicals, for those things we understand. But to send us willingly into the Uncharted Lands is to send us head-on into the realm of nightmares. Who knows what we will find, or what terrors await us,” Thane argued.
“I know exactly what awaits us,” Damian retorted.
Thane’s head jerked backwards at hearing such a preposterous comment. No one knew what was beyond the Realm.
Damian continued. “I know of the legends, the myths, the rumors, and I assure you, General, that all you’ve ever heard about the Uncharted Lands has been pure speculation. What is truly known about the wor
ld beyond has remained a guarded secret for years. Confidentially guarded, in fact, by the Realmsic Council itself!”
“What?” Thane exclaimed.
Damian reached back towards his desk and once again grabbed his glass of water. He took another sip before continuing. “You may think me foolish, but I know of this secret,” he said. “As I have seen it with my own eyes. And now, I am willing to share it with you.”
Chapter Forty-Four
“It was years ago that the truth was revealed to me,” Damian addressed Thane, leaning against the windowsill of his personal chamber. He recalled the initial surprise of his discovery.
“Like many, I grew up in fear of the Uncharted Lands. I’d heard stories of its denizens, believing in its rumored terrors. We’ve all heard the folklores of those who ventured into the unknown, never to be seen or heard from again. But have you ever asked yourself, why is there so much fear centered around a land that is so unknown? How do we know so much about its plights if allegedly no one has ever survived to tell of its tales?”
Thane sat, slowly stroking his grizzly beard. “I must admit that similar questions had also crossed my mind,” he affirmed. “But I later dismissed my young notions as naiveté. Surely there was some credibility to the rumors since everyone believed in them.”
Damian shook his head. “A lie told enough times becomes the truth, General. The stories, as it were, were not adding up for me. I needed answers that I knew would not be forthcoming. Even the mention of the Uncharted Lands seemed a forbidden topic for most people. Yet, I persisted. It wasn’t until many years later that I discovered the truth—the conspiracy of a secret war initiated by this Realm and waged against a foreign nation, hundreds of years ago.”
“A secret what?” Thane jolted forward in his stool. He shook his head in disbelief. “No way! I can’t believe … but how could that be?”
Damian raised a hand. “Many who have heard the name Ramsus Bane know him to be my father. But what few realize is that before he was a feared conqueror, he was a member of the Realmsic Council!”
Damian lifted from the windowsill and took several steps closer to Thane. “It was he who first utilized Realmsic knowledge to craft his strategies, allowing him to come closest to ever conquering the Realm. During years on the council, he learned, studied, and internalized its secrets. He kept this information in a private journal, hoping, or perhaps knowing that one day I would find his journal and use it to my own advantage.”
“What did you discover?” Thane asked. He leaned forward, his eyes wide, seeming to hang on Damian’s every word.
Damian dragged a chair from one side of the room and plopped it in front of Thane. There, he sat facing the General. After taking a relatively long pause to collect his thoughts, he continued. “Several hundred years ago, during one of the most brutal periods of the endless war, it was believed by a small number of Realmsic Councilmen that peace would never exist between Laymen and Magicals. Both parties within this group agreed that separation was perhaps the only viable solution. But because magic could only exist within the boundaries of the Realm, Magicals would be unable to unsettle the kingdom. Therefore, it was proposed that Laymen would relocate. This had always been a whispered notion but never acted upon, for Laymen laid claim to the Realm as fiercely as Magicals did. For better or worse, the kingdom was their home too, and Laymen would not leave it willingly. However, in the spirit of compromise, Laymen on the council agreed that if suitable lands could be identified beyond the Realmsic borders, then they would fully support the relocation effort and encourage their people.”
Damian exhaled a great sigh. It bothered him to no end how history seemed to consider Laymen as disposable, and how other Laymen were always willing to sell themselves short. Pushing the notion out his head, Damian resumed speaking. “At that time in history, nothing was known about the Uncharted Lands. But what if somewhere within it, a Layman kingdom could be established—a kingdom far from the Realm where they could preserve their own culture and finally live in peace? Perhaps such a land offer presented to the Layman people would be just the compromise needed to end the war once and for all? There was too much at stake not to pursue the idea.”
Thane crossed his furry arms across his chest. He seemed to be considering Damian’s words so far. “Interesting,” he eventually said. “A compromise such as that doesn’t seem like a bad idea.”
“Perhaps so,” Damian replied. “Shortly thereafter, a small band of explorers-—two or three people—were secretly sent into the Uncharted Lands to scout out possible locations. Almost two years went by with no word from these brave souls. Just when it was believed that they would never be heard from again, they returned with unimaginable tales.”
“Unimaginable tales?” Thane repeated Damian’s words, drawing out each syllable as he considered the idea.
“Indeed. They proclaimed that the Uncharted Lands were not desolate as they first assumed, that it was filled with people just like them. Only their society was far more advanced than the Realm. And their technology, as it was called, seemed superior even to our magic.
Thane fidgeted upon his stool as Damian continued. “For a brief time, these Realmsic explorers lived among the new society. In secret, they studied their culture and learned their ways. They spoke of tools and instruments never before conceived; of paved roads called streets; of lights the shone without fire; of buildings erected completely of glass and concrete that were said to scrape the sky; of weapons that fired metal projectiles faster than the human eye could see.”
Damian’s hand sprang forward to cease Thane’s bouncing knee. Only when it was completely still did he remove his hand. “Naturally, just as you sit before me now, those Councilmen involved too were frightened. They wondered, if ever attacked, how would they defend against a technologically advanced society?
“In ruthless ignorance, they waged a secret war against a distant people that they had never before seen.
“By convincing the rest of the council that the Realmsic Crystal’s power should be tested as a potential weapon in the ongoing war, it was secretly agreed that the crystal would actually be used to strike the unknown society. From the magical Realm, its power would be focused towards the location of the enemy, and a concentrated beam of energy would soar across the heavens and rain fire upon their society from the sky. Only then would a platoon of trusted Realmsic troops traverse the Uncharted Lands, march into the ruins, and destroy anything and anyone left over.”
“Insanity!” Thane exclaimed, shaking his head furiously.
“Very much so,” Damian replied. “Yet, on the day of the attack, the crystal’s power was harnessed, and hellfire streaked the sky toward an unsuspecting people. The sky turned crimson, and only for a moment, all fighting ceased within the Realm as every soul stood in awe of the fire streak. Though none other than those involved were sure of what it actually was, or why it was occurring.
“The explosion could not be seen, but its impact was both heard and felt. The sky remained red for three days as ash fell from the heavens. Only afterward was the Realmsic infantry sent out. Precisely six months afterward, the invaders returned to the Realm, reporting that the society had been annihilated.”
“Have mercy!” Thane reacted, breathing heavily through his mouth as if his nose could not supply enough air.
Damian resumed where he left off. “Immediately after the attack, all aspects of the secret war were covered up. The original explorers, and the soldiers of the attacking platoon were killed to cover the ploy. And the Uncharted Lands themselves became intentionally shrouded in rumors of terror. All within the kingdom were discouraged from ever leaving the Realm and potentially unearthing what had occurred. All hopes of a potential land compromise were abandoned, and the Laymen-Magicals conflict continues to this very day.”
Without a single word, Thane briskly rose to his feet, knocking over his stool. Damian followed Thane’s hairy profile as he paced the room like a restless beast.
/> “Yes, I felt the same way when I first read it in my father’s journal,” Damian stated. “But all I say is true. The secret war remained closely guarded amongst those few members of the council who were involved. And when they eventually died, so did the knowledge of their treachery. The secret war would have been lost forever if it were not for a lone Councilwoman who, on her deathbed, admitted her part in it.”
Damian’s throat was dry. He joined Thane in standing and walked over to his desk for a glass of water. He took a long sip while observing Thane above his raised glass.
“How did your father find out?” Thane asked.
Damian placed his glass back upon his desk. “I'm not sure at what point he discovered this secret history,” he answered. “He mentioned in his journal making the trek and seeing the evidence himself. But even reading his accounts, I still could not believe it. Therefore, I ventured into the Uncharted Lands myself and found the location of the exterminated society. Over three hundred years had passed since the attack, and the devastation had remained untouched.”
Thane’s body stiffened upon hearing Damian’s admittance. He tried several times to speak, but seemed unable to find his voice.
Damian approached Thane. Standing face to face, he placed his hand upon the General’s shoulder, which towered above his own. “Thane, regardless of what you may think, I’m telling you all of this for a reason. Although that society is gone, I intend to learn from what remains of their advances, and use it to help our own people. I will extend our reach eastward beyond the Realm; beyond the known world. And like Centre Pointe, we will conquer any other kingdoms that may exist within the Uncharted Lands. When all is said and done, the world will be ours, and the sun will never set on the empire I create.”
The Hero of Legend Page 23
