Dagger & Deception

by Jeremy Dwyer

  ~~~

  Emerond looked at the leading troops of this undead army, observing their uniforms, which indicated that they were Ihalik soldiers like those under General Serafina, who must have been separated from the rest due to the fire or the earlier illusions.

  Serafina also looked at the army troops that just emerged from the forest, and realized that they were the division of her troops that had been separated from the others and came here by a different path. She did not realize, yet, what had actually occurred.

  ~~~

  Lavakara positioned himself to be in a concealed location, then emerged from the spirit world, and pointed the ruby dagger toward the Jenaldej Empire troops. This division of undead troops – made up of a mix of troops formerly under the Ihalik Empire, as well as peasants, wolves and bats – marched toward the Jenaldej troops and began to attack. Then, he returned to the spirit world and waited.

  ~~~

  Serafina was surprised, as she did not give that order. If there was to be an attack, she wanted to be the one to initiate it. She loved violence and bloodshed, and was desirous of a vicious war. The thought of taking one of the Jenaldej troops and strangling him with her bare hands, or drowning him, or setting him on fire for that sweet smell of burning flesh was too much to resist. Lycaon had ordered her not to initiate an attack, but she didn’t initiate it. It just happened, and there was nothing she could do but lead the way to victory, and enjoy counting the bones of her enemies or weighing the piles of their ashes. She ordered the troops of the other divisions to move in to join the ones who had initiated the attack.

  “Why are they moving in to attack us?” Romana asked, utterly surprised. This was not logical, as the world was in pursuit of the Ahitan woman. Of course, the Ihalik Empire was about greed, as she very well knew in her studies. Yet, Romana wondered if they were really this foolish.

  Lady Ismene drank anew of the waters of the Zovvin Ocean from her vial and was energized. She then sensed something in the spirit world. She could feel much evil, and was afraid of what it might be. There were two (2) different sensations: one (1) was of fire; one (1) was something altogether different. “It is because there is much evil here. It is not allied together, but working toward different purposes,” she said, standing near to Prince Emerond, Admiral Gavin and General Joshua and Romana, all of whom stood back from the actual combat.

  “If this Spirit Sword is to be of value, then now is the time to prove that value,” General Joshua said. He moved in, among the Jenaldej troops, to confront this unprovoked attacker.

  The first troops they encountered were the members of the Ihalik division who initiated the attack. They resisted, but General Joshua made his way to the front of the battle lines and swung the Spirit Sword, and several of the enemy fell quickly. Yet, they did not fall to their death. Instead, they simply dropped to the ground. The Spirit Sword drew no blood, but cleansed them of the curse of the ruby dagger, and they awakened, wondering where they were and how they came to be here. Yet, Joshua was just one man, and there were many more troops under the ruby dagger’s curse who still fought.

  ~~~

  Watching from the spirit world, Lavakara saw this effect of the Spirit Sword and was troubled. He knew what had happened, and recognized the sword. He focused on the man, in his armor with the markings of the Jenaldej Empire, who held the Spirit Sword. There was only one likely source from which he obtained it – Lavakara’s old enemy, Duke Hagan. This was not favorable to Lavakara’s plans. In fact, it presented a great peril.

  ~~~

  On board the Meticulous, while waiting with the crew to make a quick escape, Akantha remembered her earlier sense of danger about the island. She drank anew of the waters of the Zovvin Ocean from her vial and was energized. She then sensed something in the spirit world and was reaching out to learn what it was. There were different sensations: an entity of fire and a different entity that was very strange and hard to describe. “There’s something evil out there. More than one evil something, from the spirit world,” Akantha said.

  “That means that there is more than one reason to stay on board this ship,” Claudia said.

  “One of them is moving about, I can sense it. It’s very close, and very old. It wants a war,” Akantha said.

  “It appears that we’re getting a war,” Pradrock said, looking out at the shore and seeing the armies.

  “I can’t see anything out on the waters, and that makes them look better and better, all the time,” Claudia said.

  “I think I’m beginning to agree, despite the navigation risks,” Pradrock said.

  ~~~

  Lavakara positioned himself, carefully, waiting for the right moment. No one could see or touch him, as he was in the spirit world. He saw the troops fight valiantly, and recognized the two greatest warriors present. One was a woman, General Serafina of the Ihalik Empire. Another was a man, General Joshua of the Jenaldej Empire, in whom he was interested, but who also held the Spirit Sword. If Joshua survived the conflict, and he could face Joshua without that sword, this would be a worthy battle.

  However, that Spirit Sword had to go. Lavakara could not allow it to touch him, not even once, or his entire existence would be placed into the greatest jeopardy. It was time for a bold plan.

  Then, Lavakara took the ornate vial on the chain around the neck of this latest body he occupied and drank the waters of the Nabavodel Ocean – the so-called “tiger waters” – from the vial. He was doubly energized. First, he was energized with the strength and speed given by the Nabavodel waters, which multiplied the innate potential within this body. Then, the ornate vial itself conferred its own advantage, imbuing the waters with the same powers as if they had been the waters of the Zovvin Ocean – the so-called “ghost waters” or “spirit waters.” This body did not have an innate potential for using that water, and was already waterbound to the Nabavodel waters, but it didn’t matter because of this special vial.

  Lavakara moved among his troops, searching for openings, while himself remaining in the spirit world. He would momentarily appear in the material world, direct the troops with the ruby dagger to surround his enemy, and then disappear. He did this skillfully, nimbly, many, many, many, many, many times. By this, he created hundreds of small pockets of enemies, and then positioned himself again, reappearing, and striking the enemies with the ruby dagger, grazing them quickly, as that was all it took. As he did this, it became progressively easier to surround his decreasing number of enemies with his increasing number of servants that were subdued by the ruby dagger. He was very quick and, before long, he had subdued both the armies: the twenty-four thousand (24000) Jenaldej troops, as well as the remaining seven thousand five hundred (7500) Ihalik troops from the three (3) other divisions that were not already under his control. In this, he had learned from his failed student, Fallavakara. He would remember this one clever tactic that she had shown him – perhaps she was not utterly worthless, Lavakara thought.

  Lavakara specifically made sure to strike and subdue General Serafina with the ruby dagger, but not General Joshua.

  Then, Lavakara appeared again in the physical world, pointed the ruby dagger down to the ground, and shouted: “Halt and kneel. Each of you.”

  The soldiers, both of the Jenaldej Empire and Ihalik Empire, along with the peasants and most of the animals from before, were all under the ruby dagger’s curse, and Lavakara held the ruby dagger. They knelt down on the sand of the shore on which they had been fighting. The wolves sat on their hind legs, but the bats fluttered around, as they did not respond to spoken commands. They merely waited with the rest of the animals and troops, looking for direction.

  “I am your master now! I am supreme commander of these armies of both empires!” Lavakara shouted.

  ~~~

  “No! It’s Lavakara! I know it!” Lady Ismene shouted.

  Emerond looked on, seeing that all the armies had stood still. He was prince of nothing at the moment, having no nearby army at his command. Admir
al Gavin looked on, in horror, saying: “What is this abomination?”

  Romana was horrified, wondering what had just happened, and she saw the ruby dagger in this man’s hands.

  Lavakara had on a type of lightweight armor that concealed his face. He carried many daggers in a belt, as well as the ruby dagger in his hand.

  Lady Ismene knew much of the spirit world, and could sense where the powers were, and how and where they flowed. She sensed something about the ruby dagger that Lavakara held, and how it was connected to the troops who stood still at his command. She realized what the ruby dagger was. “He commands them by the ruby dagger! It’s cursed, by a demon!” she called out.

  Judith saw what was occurring, and realized that Lady Ismene was probably correct, and this was the legendary warrior known as Lavakara. She also noted the ruby dagger, and what the woman claimed about it. She wrote these things in her book, both what she directly observed, and that which was said, but she did not write that it was true, only that it was said to be true.

  ~~~

  On board the Meticulous, Akantha detected all of this and said: “Remember those evils I mentioned? One of them is here, look!”

  Pradrock, Claudia and Akylas all looked out and saw a man in armor carrying a sword and facing a man in lightweight armor holding a dagger. They saw that the lightweight armor covered the face of the man with the dagger. They also saw the armies kneeling behind that same man.

  “Who is that?” Claudia asked.

  “Who is who?” Torin asked.

  “A couple of warriors ready to face off in battle,” Akylas said.

  “I wish I could see it,” Torin said.

  “Not really. This isn’t good,” Akylas said.

  “I could not begin to conjecture who this is or what the conflict is about,” Pradrock said.

  “The name may not matter. It’s just a good reason to leave,” Akylas said.

  “Another good reason, you mean. Let’s go,” Claudia said.

  They went on deck and configured their sails, and then discovered something most unfortunate. The sails and masts had been damaged by the burning embers from the fires which had engulfed many of the trees on the forested island, some of which were close to the shore. The ship was close enough that a few embers, blown by a breeze, could reach them, and that was all that it took. The Meticulous was no longer safe to sail, and they weren’t going anywhere in it right now.

  “This ship isn’t ready to sail – and may not be seaworthy for much longer. The embers from the forest fire were more than enough to disable it,” Pradrock said.

  “All of us working together might not be able to fix that – not quickly,” Akylas said.

  ~~~

  Brant, Zoe, Daven and Ovid outran the fires and made it to the shore, just in time to see the troops kneel at the command of a man holding a ruby dagger and wearing lightweight armor like that of an assassin, which covered his face. They also saw a man wearing a heavier armor and carrying a large sword. They did not know that these were Lavakara and General Joshua, however.

  They did hear a woman scream about a ruby dagger being cursed by a demon.

  “All the soldiers are kneeling behind the guy with the ruby dagger. There are wolves and bats, too! This is like no battlefield I’ve ever seen,” Brant said.

  “That’s because it’s not of this world,” Zoe said. She thought it might be related to spirits – it was just her intuition, however.

  “What world is it from?” Daven asked, more surprised than they were, as he had never seen large scale combat, and found it all quite shocking.

  ~~~

  Lavakara gestured toward General Joshua, whom he did not strike with the ruby dagger. “I will fight you, and you will do your very best to defeat me,” Lavakara said, keeping his distance. He was too far from Joshua for him to even throw the Spirit Sword at Lavakara.

  “What is it you want here?” General Joshua asked.

  “I want you, General Joshua, the greatest warrior of the Jenaldej Empire,” Lavakara said.

  “All battles must have purpose,” General Joshua said.

  “Yes. To be the greatest warrior of all, that is my purpose,” Lavakara said.

  “Then you must be Lavakara, of whom I’ve heard,” General Joshua said, remembering what the ghost of Duke Hagan had said about Lavakara taking the bodies of warriors so as to become the greatest warrior.

  “Lay down the sword and fight me by your own skill,” Lavakara said.

  “Lay down the ruby dagger and fight me by your own power. No great warrior should need that,” General Joshua said.

  “Very well. Together we shall lay down these nonessentials, and prove our mettle without them,” Lavakara said, placing the ruby dagger down on the sand, waiting for General Joshua to do the same with the Spirit Sword, before letting go of the ruby dagger.

  When this was done, they both stood up, and Lavakara made the first move. He disappeared into the spirit world, becoming immaterial. Then, he appeared behind General Joshua, and grabbed his throat, bringing him to the ground, and banging his head into the sand.

  General Joshua was well trained. The armor he wore was neither the heaviest, nor the lightest, and he knew how to make use of it for more than defensive purposes. He twisted his body around and struck Lavakara with the armor on his leg and knocked him to the ground.

  Lavakara was pleased at the effective strike, if only a little. “The pain is delightful,” Lavakara said. He was hoping that Joshua was a worthy contender, but wasn’t fully convinced. Then, he grabbed General Joshua’s leg and dragged it along, twisting it. Afterwards, Lavakara picked him up and threw him such that he landed on his head and neck.

  “That was far too easy…disappointing, General,” Lavakara said.

  General Joshua stood up, not thinking of what injuries he had sustained that would plague him later. He ran at Lavakara to knock him back, but Lavakara disappeared, again, into the spirit world, becoming immaterial and thus impossible to strike. He did this at exactly the right moment, and General Joshua ran into the empty space where Lavakara once was, and had to stop himself.

  Then, Lavakara appeared behind him, grabbed Joshua’s legs and knocked him to the ground.

  As General Joshua worked to get up, Lavakara took a leap and kicked him in the head, knocking him unconscious.

  “Disappointing. Very. In fact, this was outright tragic. The greatest warrior of the entire Jenaldej Empire was not strong enough or quick enough to withstand me, much less defeat me,” Lavakara called out.

  ~~~

  Brant looked on at all of this, astonished that this Lavakara guy could disappear and reappear. He was unbeatable.

  “I’ve got a sight on him,” Zoe said, drawing her bow. She released it, and Lavakara completely disappeared into the spirit world, before it struck. Then he moved and reappeared behind her. He knocked Zoe to the ground and broke her bow, and her right arm. She screamed in pain.

  Brant reached out to hit him, and Lavakara disappeared again. He reappeared, kicking Brant’s legs but the big man did not budge.

  “Impressive. Sometimes sheer brawn does make for a competent warrior,” Lavakara said.

  Brant swung at Lavakara and barely touched his head.

  Lavakara was too quick, and punched Brant in the throat, sending him back, gasping for breath.

  “But brawn never makes for a great warrior,” Lavakara said.

  Ovid wrote down all these things that he saw into his book, in fulfillment of the Chronicler’s Oath. Lavakara saw this and said to him: “Be sure to record every detail in its fullest, trustworthy Chronicler, so that the world may learn of their failures in battle. Perhaps, in time, someone will read your writings of present events, understand them and learn how to defeat me. Then, I may prosper by their victory against me, however strange that may seem to you.” Ovid did record all these things in detail, as well as what Lavakara said to him.

  Judith was also watching and recording events. Two (2) different Ch
roniclers could both see the same events in different ways, based on the position in which they were standing, and the number of events occurring that might block their view. Recording from multiple angles would make for a better account in the history books.

  Then, Lavakara walked back to where General Joshua was lying on the ground.

  “None of you can overcome me. I was searching for the greatest warrior. Perhaps, for now, I have found him, and he is me,” Lavakara said.

  “Your powers are from beyond. You are no warrior, but a wicked spirit on the prowl using the most dangerous of powers, in the most evil of ways,” Lady Ismene said.

  “Even if I am wicked, a warrior uses his advantages, does he not? Swords, daggers, spirit powers, training, speed, strength, armor, size, all these things. How do you argue that I am not a warrior?” Lavakara asked.

  “You have been assisted by powers not your own. The victory was false,” Lady Ismene said.

  “I assure you that I used only my own powers. See, my army kneels before us awaiting my commands, yet I did not call them to my service in this battle,” Lavakara said, gesturing toward the troops and animals he had previously ordered to kneel. At this, he picked up the ruby dagger to be sure it would not be used against him.

  “No warrior lives as long as you. And none who drinks the Zovvin Ocean waters is a warrior,” Lady Ismene said.

  “You know so little,” Lavakara said, smiling. He thought of the ornate vial that he carried, and that enabled to him live a life in defiance of her understanding.

  “I know many things of the spirit world,” Lady Ismene said.

  “Partial knowledge leads to confusion and fallacy. Despite your age, you are unaware of many things,” Lavakara said.

  “My greatest disappointment is you, however,” Lavakara said, looking toward Prince Emerond and Admiral Gavin.