by Asher, Yarid
“I am perfectly fine.”
“Did you kill Colossus?”
“No, I let him get away.”
Virgil could not understand the meaning behind this but he did not ask again.
“Where is Barian? Neiham is here, he should be too.”
The happiness suddenly faded away from Leosher’s face and he started talking “There is nothing I hate more than betrayal.”
Virgil quickly jumped to a conclusion and surprisingly it was correct “He betrayed us?”
“Yes, he was serving Colossus the whole time.”
“How?”
“He probably wanted to bring me to Agnithius, away from Colossus, that’s why he was pushing on taking a sea route.”
Virgil stayed optimistic “Maybe he was under a spell—you do not know the whole truth.”
Usere, who was now in the court hall standing close to them, laughed “Not many witches work for Colossus and those who do, do not like pirates at all.”
Then Azar came in from the courtyards as well “My lord” said he.
“What now?” Leosher smiled and sat back in his throne
“We should just wait here a couple of days for Katos to come, but if they do not show up, we go and kill them on the lands of Agnithius. This will give us some advantage, for the people would be expecting us to attack right away.”
Leosher got up and looked around for the hallway which led to the bed chamber and after he found it, he started walking towards it but then he stopped and turned around “We shall not have the crowning yet. We will take over Agnithius first.” Then he looked at Urey “Get the castle fixed, for this shall be my permanent residence.”
He spun around and his cloak fluttered behind him and he walked to the bed chambers and when he opened the huge gold door, he saw a magnificent and marvelous, hall like bed room.
There was a revolving round bed with golden silken bed sheets. There were a glass flask on the side filled with blood red wine for the king and the entire floor was carpeted with maroon fluffed plush. There was a closet filled with the queen’s royal gowns and there was bath room on the side. The room’s windows opened to the balcony too, for it was hanging over the sea. White see-through curtains hung everywhere and around the bed and there were scented candles burning all over the room. There was a large round mat in the corner of the room and it was surrounded by golden pillars and curtains, and the floor was filled with gold coins. This was the place where dancers from all over the world came to dance and please the king. Colossus also made tributes from Agnithius and Gelus dance for him in this very place. An identical stage like this was placed in the court hall where he held public dances to entertain his soldiers.
Leosher went in the bathroom and saw a huge, pool like bath tub. Colossus was the only being in the entire world to have a bath tub, for it was too expensive for the rest to get made for them and have fresh water pump in them every time he wanted to. The tub was made of gold and had a marble floor encrusted with rubies. The bathroom was amazingly beautiful and luxurious.
Leosher took his clothes off and rinsed them, including his weapons, boots and cloak. Then he plunged into the warm, steamy water and cleaned his bruises with Aloe-Vera that the queen used to make her look beautiful. This was the king’s 70th wife, for he had been living for about 2 millennia and had his heart slip whenever he saw a beautiful girl.
Leosher sat in the bath tub and thought about what he was going to do next.
“This all has been incredibly surprising. Maybe I should get the best fortune tellers to tell my future.”
He got out of the bath and took a silken white toga and wore it. He lay on the bed and soon, he fell asleep.
CHAPTER 15
Leosher woke up in his soft bed and wore his royal clothes, the pointy boots and the suit with the cloak latched on its shoulders. He grabbed his weapons and sheathed them on him. Virgil had brought the weapons that he had left behind and now Leosher had them all. He only sheathed the Scythe, the Gladius sword and the golden Spear and took them with him and left the rest. He went out in the halls and sat on the throne where he waited for the rest to join him.
“Brother!” he yelled out to call his brother. It was like a hungry lion’s roar who longed for food. “Wake up from your slumber.” His voice echoed in the empty halls but then, finally a voice answered him. It was Neiham’s soft, old voice
“Son, he has taken the men to the Dwarf town to get workers who will work on the castle,” she walked out from one of the courtyards. She had been meditating in the calm, serene courtyards until Leosher broke the silence and forced her to stop.
She stood in front of the throne and smiled “Why are you so anxious? Why so impatient?”
“I am not impatient or anxious—just hungry.”
Neiham smiled again and sat on the ground and waited for Leosher to continue talking.
Leosher sat quietly for a moment but then he asked her, “You are a potion maker?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Well then you are of no use to me. Bring me the finest fortune tellers of the kingdom.”
“Master,” Neiham smiled and moved close to the throne and sat on the ground cross legged that Leosher sat upon “I can predict future as well.”
There was a huge smile on Leosher’s face “I, your king demand you to foretell my future.”
Neiham got up and stood before Leosher with her hands in front and said humbly “My lord, I will foretell but let me make myself clear,” she paused “Whatever your future beholds for you, you possess the power to change what comes. Although it might seem that you will lose everything or gain everything, it might not be correct, for you might do something that changes everything.”
“Go ahead and tell me what my glorious future beholds.”
She walked forward and put her hands on his head. She messed up his lustrous hair but he did not seem to mind, for he was too excited for what the future was. Neiham started the process and closed her eyes and soon, her smile faded away and there was a grim fearful look on her face. She was scared and did not show any signs of happiness or security and soon, the smirk on Leosher’s face faded too, for he saw Neiham. He knew whatever was to come was not going to be good.
Neiham quickly fell back because she could not take it anymore and had reached her limit. She breathed heavily but then she caught her breath and looked at Leosher as if she had seen death.
“Son, you do not wish to continue on the path you walk.”
Leosher was shocked “What is it?”
“I saw blood everywhere, oceans of blood. Then I saw millions of souls who cried only one thing, revenge from Leosher. I saw guardians coming back from Ratarus and imprison you.”
Leosher was terrified. This was the first time in his short life that he had felt something like that.
“What else did you see?” He asked eagerly.
“The worst of all, I saw betrayal from your own loved ones. Someone you loved betrayed you.”
“Is there anything else I should know?”
“You joined the dark side. Some gods did not want Asurot as the Queen of Aseroth and did not like you as the Prince of Aseroth and betrayed you both. They slayed everyone and in the end, turned Thraenus into the underworld.”
“Tell me more!” Leosher grew impatient.
“My lord, I would like to warn you” Neiham’s voice became deeper “You staying here, in the castle and not going to fight Katos and Colossus was the chain that led to the destruction of the world.” Just as Leosher heard her, his fear flew away. “Well, is that so,” he smirked and sat up in his throne, “We shall attack the Agnithiun castle this moment and we shall do it like savages and none shall survive. Not even women and children.”
Neiham nodded, even though she did not like the idea of killing innocent women and children, “My lord, Virgil and the others should be returning by noon. Do you wish to eat without them?”
“Yes, bring me the finest provisions this castle possesses.”
Neiham went to the kitchens where there were She-elves who had decided to serve the king. They used up all the food in the provisions and prepared a great feast-like breakfast for him. It was placed in the grand dining halls which was equipped with multiple glass and gold chandeliers and a huge round dining table. It was made of gold as well as most of the castle, for gold showed the wealth the ex-ruler of Strinthius, Colossus possessed. The table had high back chairs around it and could seat about 12 people at a time. It was very bright, for it was surrounded by windows and breeze rushed in through them.
Leosher quickly gnawed through all of the food which was incredible because the food could serve 23 Minotaurs. Leosher was able to eat so much because he was a god and his body needed a lot of energy to sustain but if he was a mundane human, he could have never been able to eat for even 1 Minotaur. He could store all of the energy from the food, in his muscles and that was what made gods extraordinary. After he was done eating, his hunger vanquished and he went back on his throne to wait for his brother.
A little after high noon, Virgil returned with the men, back to the castle. He had brought Dwarves to work on the castle, for they were the very best in this art. All the great monuments and structures were built by Dwarves. The rulers usually enslaved some of them every year and made them work for them but this time, they had come, for they wanted to come. They wanted to help the new king, Leosher. They were here to fix the castle’s defenses and make it be able to withstand hundreds of canons and giant harpoons and were also here to increase the size of the throne, for big empires needed big thrones.
Leosher was happy that his brother had returned and that he now could go to the land of Agnithius and prevent the future from being grim and morbid. He fully wanted the future of Thraenus to be prosperous and himself to be the king of the gods and this world.
Leosher called Virgil and the warriors to his throne and began talking to them.
“We shall leave for the land of Agnithius right this moment,” said Leosher “for I have seen the future and it does not look promising.”
“My lord, if I may,” Usere cleared his throat and said humbly “The men are tired, for they have already journeyed. I suggest we let them rest and then leave tomorrow.”
Azar stood in the usual stance, with the pipe in his mouth, smoke coming out of his nose and his body leaning on his staff “He is right, we should let them rest.”
Leosher was a little annoyed, for they did not understand what he was trying to say. He only saw one way to get them to pay attention and that was to raise his voice. He roared “I am the king therefore all of you shall do as I say, now get the men ready, give them food to eat and we shall leave.”
Virgil now understood the magnitude of situation and knew something was troubling Leosher.
“All of you, leave his presence and go get the soldiers ready,” Virgil told the warriors, “We shall use the naval ships left in the docks of the castle. Get them ready and wait for the King’s word.”
They all left and Virgil and Leosher were left alone in the court hall, “Brother, tell me what is troubling you?”
“I am not a child. I do not have to share my feelings, I am a god.”
“It is not about that, I know you are hiding something and I need to know what it is in order to help you.”
“Brother,” Leosher humbled down and his voice sank down “I know the future—Neiham has told me my future and it does not look promising. We have to do everything we can, to change it. We have to eliminate all of our enemies and kill all of their men.”
Virgil stood before Leosher and thought for a plan.
“Brother, you should stay here in the castle, the Empirion army will take care of Agnithius.”
“But I am the only one who will kill the rulers.”
“It does not work that way,” Virgil smiled mockingly “You are the only one strong enough to destroy the rulers; do not think you are the only one.”
Leosher sat up in his chair and got attentive, for this was the first time Virgil had acted this way but it was necessary, for Leosher had been soaring in the skies with pride and arrogance. Virgil did this to bring his pride down and to tell him that the rest were not useless just because he was the strongest.
“You may take the men to fight in the lands of Agnithius,” Leosher said while trying to avoid the insults “But remember, bring the rulers to me, for I shall be the one to spill their dirty blood.”
Virgil nodded and immediately left the room.
He hosted the men and gave the Empirion forces food to eat. They all forged new weapons to replace the old, broken ones and increased their armor, for they were about to go head to head with the most fearsome and savage army known to Thraeniuns, the Agnithiun army.
They were savages who did not care about riches or glory but only cared for the blood of their enemy. No one dared to even set foot on their land without trading purposes. The residents of the kingdom were forced to battle in the army, even women and children. All lived in harsh conditions, even the king, for they all believed that living like savages made them stronger. Most residents did not want to leave for they all liked it and thought they would go to heaven by following their king. This was the only kingdom, whose people were happy with the king. The kingdom was so harsh that every child was taken away from their families at the age of 7 and was forced to train. They were not given food and instead had to steal it and if one was caught stealing, the penalty would be death.
The king, Katos, lived in a ragged, shabby and cold castle. It was made of bricks and was dark all the time. The weather over Agnithius was always cloudy and not much sun shone upon that land. There was a constant famine and most of the residents were cannibals. The land also hosted vampires who were blood thirsty and what was worst was that the Vampires had joined the Agnithiun army, for Katos had promised them blood to feed on.
CHAPTER 16
It was pitch black outside and the clouds covered the moon. There was foggy mist around the castle and the sea was calm amd serene with very minimal waves. The mist was moving around with the help of the brisk breeze that was flowing from North West to South East.
Virgil now had the men ready and the naval ships ready for them to leave but before leaving, he met his brother in the court hall,
“Brother, we are about to leave. Wish us good luck and give us blessings, for you are a god.”
Leosher smiled “Virgil, you know this well that I do not believe in blessings and luck. I believe in fates and I know I possess the ability to change mine—now leave, for I do not wish for Thraenus to end like hell.”
Virgil was a little disappointed with his brother’s response but he knew he was going to say something like that.
“Anyways,” Leosher continued “Write me if you need help, for you are going to be against the greatest army.”
Virgil nodded and left his presence and made his way to the castle docks where he boarded the master ship. The ships were now sturdy, for the Dwarves had increased their armor and they were now good enough to handle heavy storms.
They were filled with thousands of men because the Empirion army had gained people from Strinthius as well, which had increased their size, quite a lot.
Virgil stood on the bowsprit of the main ship, waiting for all to begin sailing. He was the captain of the ship and the other warriors, Usere, Urey, Neiham and Azar were on the other ships, captaining them. When all were aboard and ready to go, they set sail and began moving forward.
The first few hours were fine, but after some time, the winds began to get rough. It was as if one of the gods was resisting them. There were gushing winds and the strong sea’s waves that resisted travels and damaged the ships. There was lightning and thunder in the sky and heavy rainfall in the seas. The ships were going off route and were splitting apart from the group but then Azar had an idea. He smacked his staff on the deck of the ship and suddenly, he slowly lifted himself up in the air. There was a blue aura around him and he looke
d magnificent with silvery hair, shining in the blue aura and that grayish robe with the white twisted staff in his hand.
He slowly made his way over to Virgil’s ship where he was still holding on tight to the steering of the ship and was trying as hard as he could to control it. It was extraordinary, for he was the first human to control a ship of this size in a storm of this magnitude.
Azar moved closer to him and Virgil glanced at him
“What are you doing here?” Virgil asked calmly, but his voice was loud because of all the strain his body was going through “You have abandoned your ship?”
Azar smiled and replied “No—I have a suggestion.” He paused for a moment and looked up in the sky where he saw nothing but dark clouds and water pouring out of them “We shall form shields around the ships and levitate them in the sky, for the ships are scattering and they cannot take the amount of damage these waters are capable of providing.”
Virgil liked the idea therefore he untied his wand from his waist and held it as high as he could. “Together,” Virgil yelled “Pondeo Supervolous!”
A vibrant pink light came out of Virgil’s wand and Azar’s Staff, however, he did not speak the spell, for he did not need to. The translucent light engulfed every ship in sight and brought them together through the heavy winds and the high waves. It was like a barrier around the ships. After all the ships were close enough, they slowly began to hover over the sea. It was a marvelous event for the men to see, including Urey and Usere but Virgil and Azar seemed to be struggling. This spell relied on the physical strength of the wizard as well and although, Virgil was undoubtedly the strongest human, he could not lift more than 18 ships. The only reason both of them were able to do so, was that the spell provided leverage and worked somewhat on its own as well.
Both struggled but kept their wand and staff high up in the air. Their arms got tired very quickly but could not let go, for if they did, the ships would fall in the sea and break, for they were now too high up in the air. Urey and Usere saw the problem and rushed immediately to help. They were on different ships; therefore they swung as high as they could, via ropes on the sails, and jumped on the ship, Azar and Virgil were on. They ran on to the deck and both brothers grabbed their arms to help them hold them up high. It helped a lot and it did not take much time before they were out of the tight grasp of the storm but they had gotten much closer to their destination….
