The evil exploded within Marius, and now aged at thirty-one, he has committed some of the vilest acts of violence imaginable. Rumour has it that Marius indulges in torture, rape, and murder, and now with no parents to stem his wickedness, he had become more monstrous as years past. He made no secret of his desire to kill Zolom and his young son and daughter. Marius did manage to avenge his mother and father by killing Zolom's Queen, Queen Beryl. During a battle Beryl was captured, as she was also a brave warrior and served with her soldiers. The rumour is, Marius raped and tortured her for days before having her burned alive by his evil grand dragon Black! Black burned the queen to ash and Marius sent the ashes back to Zolom, this was one of many acts of violence Archie told off.
Marius views himself as a divine ruler and felt if he could defeat Zolom and take the East, he could then march on the Centre Plate with his army of two hundred and fifty thousand strong, and along with his grand dragon, burn the centre to ash and rule the lands.
Archie told of how Marius’s grand dragon Black is one of the biggest and powerful dragons known to this day. Very few dragons made people tremble with fear with just the mention of their name however Black was one of those exceptions. Black serves King Marius who rules over the northern side of Eastern Plate.
Marius’s evil is mirrored by Black as this evil dragon has carried out mass genocide and massacres. Black is named after his appearance and is also referred to by many as ‘Black Death’ the dragon is completely covered in black scales and his teeth and claws are also black, with one giant black horn on the centre of his skull. Black's eyes glow green, and many claim that at night, it’s the menacing green eyes that are only seen, as death follows quickly. Black’s giant wingspan is rumoured to be over one hundred meters long and the wicked King Marius has bonded with Black, resulting in a partnership of true evil. Marius is known to take pleasure in feeding prisoners and enemies to Black whilst delighting in hearing their screams and Black’s fire is said to be a mix of dark red and black, and it’s reported this fire cannot be put out as easy as normal dragon fire! Marius and Black reside in Castle Blackstone, north of the Eastern plate.
A shiver ran down Hiroki’s spine. “Carry on.” Hiroki requested. “Tell me about Zolom.” Archie knew he had to bring Hiroki up to date with current evils and told of Zolom's wicked deeds.
Archie spoke of Zolom, the king that rules the southern side of Eastern Plate and commands an army of two hundred thousand. Zolom is a battle-hardened war veteran. At sixty-two years old he’s an experienced warrior and is also a father to twins, Princess Samira and Prince Lucian, who are aged twenty-five.
King Zolom earned the name of ‘The Doll Maker’ due to a sick punishment he bestowed upon his victims. Zolom would heat giant broadswords and hack off all four limbs of his victims then cauterize the wounds immediately after, to avoid the victims dying from blood loss. Having healed and now limbless they could not move, and he would strip them naked and play with them, picking them up and mimicking them, no different to how a child would play with dolls, the unimaginable fate didn’t end quickly and they would eventually die from starvation. Zolom distributed the female limbless victims to his commanders who used them as sex slaves before throwing them into the ocean.
Zolom resides in his castle on the southern side of eastern plate which adjoins the great Southern Ocean. Zolom’s castle was called Dragon Mouth Keep, due the construction of the front of the castle which had been shaped to the head of a dragon.
Zolom's dragon was also of equal power to Black. Zolom's dragon was the mighty grand dragon Yama. This mighty dragon was bonded with Zolom and serves the evil king of the Eastern Plate loyally. Zolom’s castle of Dragon Mouth Keep backs onto a roaring ocean which is why Yama tends to spend most of its time underwater, only ever coming out when summoned to bring death and genocide to Zolom’s enemies. Yama displayed a mixture of multi coloured blue scales of different shades, and his tail is long and slender with three razor sharp spikes at the tip, which looks much like a giant trident. Yama’s eyes are blue which matches his glorious blasts of blue dragon fire.
Zolom has wanted to rid Eastern Plate of Marius and his family for many years so he could in time build an empire here that could then descend onto the Centre Plate and rule and conquer.
Having killed Marius’s parents, he thought the young Marius would crumble, he didn’t and has grown strong with rage which has taken a frustrating toll on Zolom.
The wicked king had never viewed honour as a positive trait, he lured Marius’s parents into a meeting pretending to offer a parlay, he then poisoned them and took them back to Dragon Mouth Keep and fed them to Yama! Throughout this war of over forty years, many innocent beings had lost their lives on the Eastern Plate.
An awkward silence surrounded Hiroki and Archie, having heard the evils of the East. Hiroki could not utter the words to explain his feelings regarding the evil he had heard, Archie sensing that he spoke again. “There you go my boy, that’s what we have waiting for us. That war will end soon as both sides are rumoured to be readying for a final battle. No doubt we will be next to face this wrath in years to come, no matter who the victor is, and with rumours of Marius aligning with vampires . . . I can predict dark times ahead.”
“I get it now, the brutal training, the hardships learned and Yoshihiro pushing me so hard, he was readying me for this impending and inescapable war.”
“You’re a fine warrior Hiroki!” boasted Archie proudly. “True, the older you got Yoshihiro would boast of your great potential and when you hatched Thunder, Yoshihiro knew you could perhaps be the saviour we all need in time!”
“Thunder must grow strong too! He must ascend into a grand dragon!”
“Very true Hiroki, very true. For what it’s worth, only the grand dragon Storm has had green fire and golden scales, Thunder also boasts those traits, perhaps he descends from Storm's bloodline. Wouldn’t that be remarkable!”
Hiroki smiled as his eyes filled with excitement at that thought. “Very fucking remarkable indeed!”
Hiroki embraced the aged grey-haired knight. “I will fight and unify the centre, the East will not bring their evil here and prosper! Whatever happens, I’ll find your daughter too, I promise!”
Archie’s face seemed to light up with hope, he was unable to hide his happiness for the young warrior he had helped raise. Archie said, “Go my boy, spend some time with the rest of your comrades, I’ll see you in the morning.”
Having heard of the evil that approached from the East, Hiroki begun to think of the knights philosophy and its meaning had become more critical now than ever, the words lamented themselves into Hiroki’s brain True power comes from the heart, not from the fist, it comes from protecting the innocent, not from evil and greed.
Hiroki left Archie to track down the most hated member of the War Hogs, the assassin and poison master, Tatsuya Toshiro. Though Hiroki despised him, he was still a commander and a skilled warrior that Yoshihiro trusted, perhaps he could use this cheerful night to rebuild broken bridges.
Chapter 9:
Tatsuya Toshiro
Hiroki made his way to Tatsuya’s tent, but the assassin was nowhere to be found. Tatsuya’s tent was purposely situated at the far end of the camp, far away from his fellow soldiers and in a dark pocket of brush, it was common for assassins to live life as loners in the darkness.
Assassins are merciless killers with typically poor moral compasses, no respect for human life and no trust in anyone or anything but their own abilities, they live by the code ‘kill in the shadows, live in the shadows’ and Tatsuya had been the personification of this.
Tatsuya had been with the War Hogs before Hiroki was even born, he was a poison master so no doubt Yoshihiro could see Tatsuya would have his uses over the years, however Hiroki never understood why his sensei would trust and allow such a scoundrel into his prized clan of warriors.
Hiroki remained at Tatsuya’s tent for some time but decided to leave, Tatsuya seemed to be el
sewhere and as Hiroki turned and began to walk away, he was grabbed from behind and a blade was pressed against his throat!
The mysterious voice said, “Yoshihiro told you how to fight, shame he didn’t tell you how to fight dirty! Look at you now, I could gut you right here and nobody would know! Silly little Hiroki!”
Hiroki was uneasy but knew who it was and spoke as carefully as he could whilst the cold sharp steel pressed against his throat. “Tatsuya, get that blade off me. I need to talk to you.”
Tatsuya laughed and released Hiroki, this was Tatsuya’s spiteful nature, after mastering assassin skills, theft, and poison he seemed to enjoy torturing people with his abilities whenever he could as if it was a unique form of communication.
Tatsuya stood before Hiroki dressed in an all-black kimono, with matching jika-tabi black footwear, his black belt displayed multiple shurikens and throwing knives and a jet-black katana was tied behind his back in its sheath. Tatsuya removed his hood to reveal his grinning face, his skin was pale, his eyes were dark, and he had short black hair. Upon looking into Tatsuya’s eyes, Hiroki saw that his irises were both red. This was a common trait amongst ninjas and a side effect of poison practice. Due to the amount of poisons they use, mix, and create, the ninjas intoxicate themselves with poisons and antivenoms over many years to make their immune systems strong. The process is long and painful, but it is worth it, as most ninjas then become immune to poisons, famine and disease.
“So little piggy, what brings you to my tent? You scared of the dark?” Tatsuya’s laugh continued; his was more of a witchlike cackle. “Tell me what you want and go, I wish to sleep and ready myself for the fat swine Darius tomorrow.”
Hiroki, clutched at his throat after being released, he glared at the short slim assassin who could have been no more than five-eight, but was still capable of such incredible power, Hiroki had always wondered what kind of training these ninjas went through.
Not wanting to stay long, Hiroki spoke with purpose. “I know about the warring royal families in the East, I know it’s only a matter of time before they descend on us. Astaroth and Bellethiel are heading east tomorrow to investigate and I wanted to know where you stand?”
Tatsuya’s wicked smile broadened; he couldn’t contain his laughter. “So panic is setting in is it? I’ll do what all assassins do . . . survive! The War Hogs have been good to me, but I’m no dog! Loyalty gets you nowhere, but I suppose they didn’t teach you that in swords school did they! Swordsman, so fucking stupid, all brawn and no brains.”
Hiroki shouted back, disgusted by his morals. “This isn’t a fucking joke, you sick fuck! The East has the numbers and power to crush us all! I’m leaving, I knew it was a waste of time coming to see you.”
Hiroki turned to leave. “WAIT,” yelled Tatsuya. “You cocky little shit, maybe I should tell you a few home truths. Come with me.”
Tatsuya entered his tent and Hiroki was reluctant to join him but there was no going back now, for years Hiroki had been fascinated by Tatsuya’s outlook on life as equally as he was disgusted by him, perhaps Hiroki would get his answers tonight regarding the making of this monster.
Hiroki and Tatsuya both sat face to face in the tent. The tent was basic and consisted of a small bedding area and a workstation, scattered around the workstation were unknown plants and small concoctions, in large jars were dead poisonous snakes, spiders and sea dwelling creatures, this is how a master poisoners worked, abstracting the most potent venoms and mixing them, it made Hiroki shudder inside to think of the possible nightmarish creations Tatsuya had conjured up, he was indeed proficient at poisoning, which explained why Yoshihiro had kept him around.
Tatsuya presented two small wooden carvings to Hiroki, one was a dragon carved out of dragon wood, Dragon wood comes from rare trees called ‘Dragon Trees’ Dragon Trees are colossal trees that grow higher than any other tree known throughout the lands, the logs are thick, tough and consist of a burgundy colour with blemishes of faint yellows and the branches are strong and tough. The leaves also grow a ripe green and never fall out and the trees themselves glow a faint silver and are beautiful to witness. The other artefact was a griffin also carved out in dragon wood.
Hiroki held both items, they were well carved. “Why are you showing me these?” asked Hiroki uneasily.
Tatsuya glared at Hiroki. “Those are all that’s left of my wife and child.”
Hiroki was shocked at this revelation but kept his thoughts to himself the master poisoner and ninja . . . he was once a family man? What could have led to his transformation into the monster before me?
Tatsuya continued, “I’ll tell you why you're all fools.” Tatsuya began to open up and tell Hiroki of his story before the War Hogs.
Many years ago, this master assassin found something he felt he was numb to, love! He fell for a beautiful lady in a small village called Stags Green. Tatsuya met the woman whilst taking a break from his contract killing. He stayed at the village resting and readying for another contract when they crossed paths.
Her name was Beth and she was the village nurse, she cared for the children and elderly and did the best she could with limited resources and medicinal items. Beth and Tatsuya would talk, though Tatsuya was careful in hiding his profession, he posed as a wandering healer, easy to do with his knowledge of poisons and medicinal herbs, and over time they became quite close.
Beth was dark skinned with braided hair; her eyes were green, and she was of a petite build. Tatsuya was enticed by her pretty smile, smooth skin, and her favourite scent, it was a mix of coconut, ginger and raspberries and it ran wild with Tatsuya’s senses.
As time passed, they fell in love and one fateful night a wandering cutthroat entered the village, he demanded gold and held a child ransom. Tatsuya demanded the cutthroat release the child, the cutthroat laughed at Tatsuya believing him to be a helpless healer, so he threw the child to the floor and charged at Tatsuya. The fight was over in seconds as the ninja drew his hidden blades and tore the cutthroat’s stomach open. The villagers were shocked by Tatsuya’s skills and realised he was no healer!
Beth approached her lover. “I knew you weren’t a healer, Tatsuya; I could sense a blood-stained aura within you. You didn’t have to lie to me.”
After this event Tatsuya revealed to Beth that he was a ninja and killed for coin. He explained he was merely passing by Stags Green and only stayed as she had caught his eye. He spoke truthfully and poured his heart out. “I’ve killed for coin my whole life, it’s my job, I was thrown into this world without a choice. When I saw you and you smiled . . . I felt something . . . something I’d never felt before. Not only did I want you to love me back, I wanted you to save me . . . to change me. I’m sorry I lied.”
Beth kissed Tatsuya passionately, seemingly forgiving her lover for his shrouded past and the two remained peacefully together in the small village of Stags Green for many years, Beth gave birth to their first child and Tatsuya could sense there was a life to be lived outside of slaughter, he liked this life.
Beth, Tatsuya, and their son Morgan were all very happy. Tatsuya began using his poison skills to create powerful medicines and antitoxins and the health of the village thrived until one day it was all torn away from him.
Hiroki was fully invested in this shocking story and began to feel things for Tatsuya he had never felt before. He pressed the ninja respectfully. “You don’t have to tell me anymore if you don’t want to.”
Tatsuya gazed at Hiroki with resentment. “You’re like all the rest of them! You think you can judge me without knowing me! You will hear my story and learn from it. I’ve tried to be nice and trust people . . . it makes you weak and weakness is no different to sickness, it spreads and before you know it, you're soft and easy prey.”
“That’s a morbid outlook,” argued Hiroki.
“You’re a fucking blind fool! You think your precious teacher Yoshihiro is different, he’s a monster too!”
“He’s changed!”
“Yes, he has, however, if only you knew of the things he did to ascend to power. He makes me look like a pussy cat!”
“I wouldn’t disagree with you there, I’ve heard.”
“Yoshihiro figured out the key to life though, I respect him for that.”
“And what’s that?” asked Hiroki.
“Rage and darkness Hiroki! Use those emotions and strike down those who oppose you. It’s funny isn’t it, how peace can only be achieved through death and slaughter.”
“I’m walking my own path; I haven’t given up on the hope of peace and unity yet!”
Tatsuya laughed. “Then I wish you luck on that pathetic quest.”
Tatsuya continued his story, explaining the miserable fate that befell his family.
On a peaceful afternoon Tatsuya had returned to Stags Green after berry picking and foraging for herbs, it was like any other day, and as he joined his family in the village centre the ground started rumbling. Tatsuya turned to see a regiment of what must have been two hundred men strong charging towards the village. The regiment was armed and on horseback, they wore armour and boasted swords and shields, this was a planned attack!
The villages didn’t stand a chance, the regiment descended on the village, slaughtering all who stood before them, women and children weren’t even safe, Tatsuya drew his katana and began fighting back, it didn’t matter, they were outnumbered, and the village was slaughtered.
“I still have those images in my mind.” Tatsuya told Hiroki. “The dead children piled up on top of each other, the slaughtered families and the sounds of the young girls being raped. I hear those sounds every night.”
Tatsuya, his wife, and son were kept alive after the attack, it turned out a local warlord had heard of the medicines and poisons Stags Green was becoming famous for, he decided to take it all with force!
Killing Monsters Page 8
