Mighty Hammer Down
Page 77
"I missed it," Tannis said as he fought to hide the tears coming to his eyes. "I should have known that it wasn't the Bhoors making the dust clouds the morning we left. I have failed the Empire."
All of them stared, totally shocked at what they saw. The city of Brinn was in ruins. Many of the stone buildings had been knocked down, and anything that could burn was either on fire or smoldering. It must have been a great effort to pull down the columns and walls all over the city; a feat difficult to imagine. The cobblestone streets were peppered with the dead bodies of Vindyri soldiers; their black armor blending into the shadows of the coming dusk. There were also countless bodies of Medoran citizens ripped apart and slain mercilessly by the black wave of Vindyri soldiers that must have crashed down upon the city earlier in the day.
"They had this all planned from the beginning," Rommus said. "They betrayed us."
Vohl swept his cape behind him. "You mean that the very same people you were helping came here and did this to your city?"
Tannis surveyed the damaged city as he spoke. "Yes, they fooled us. I had wondered why I didn't see any Vindyri soldiers in Vindyrion, but I just assumed the Bhoors had destroyed them. They must have crossed the mountains to the north to elude us and attacked the city when they saw all the soldiers leave. We are in a great deal of trouble now."
"Why?" Vohl asked. "The damage has already been done."
Rommus answered when Tannis was silent. "Now we have both the Vindyri and the Bhoors to fight. Our Legions already took a great loss today. The army is not strong enough to fight the rest of the known world."
Tannis descended a few steps and ran his hand through his hair. "I should have seen this threat. I should have seen it coming."
Alana approached him and put a hand up on his massive shoulder. "But Tannis, you can't live your life always thinking that danger is around every corner. It's not your fault."
"It is my fault, Vindyri. There are those who live their lives blindly searching for happiness, and there are those like me who make sure those people are safe. I cannot miss any detail. It is my duty to protect. I do not expect ordinary people to see all the signs, but you must understand the danger of ignorance. We have been warning the people for a long time, and they refused to listen. Those who ignore the threat are as dangerous as those who threaten."
Vohl took a step down towards them. "Master Tannis is right, Alana. There is no greater danger than opening yourself to your enemies. Pretending that they do not wish to harm you is a mistake of the highest order."
"General!" a voice called from the foot of the steps. Pirius stood, holding an injured arm. "General they came this morning. The Earth and Moon Legions have left us unprotected. The Vindyri attacked the citizens and destroyed both Brinn and Taburdum."
People began emerging from the buildings as they heard Pirius yelling up the steps. Many of them stared in awe, obviously confused by the red armor reflecting the orange rays of the setting sun. Most of the men were injured, and some were not able to stand without assistance. The women were crying and were even nursing some injuries of their own. Both the men and the women still held tightly to the handles of swords and knives, obviously fearing the Vindyri would return.
"Where is the Emperor?" Tannis asked in alarm.
Pirius's eyes filled with tears along with many of the eyes of citizens gathering at the foot of the temple. "He is gone General. He was killed shortly after you left."
Tannis looked enraged. "Then where is your brother?"
Pirius shook his head. "I do not know General."
Rommus looked down in his hand at the golden pendant he still held. He knew where Uritus was; or at least he knew where he was a short time ago. All of the destruction, all of the death, all of the innocent people suffering all around him was doing something to him. He felt sorrow and anger searing his soul as he thought about the things he had lost: the Emperor, Mirra, his city, his normal life. He felt that strange feeling in his blood boiling inside him, burning him like a weapon in a hot forge. He thought of Uritus betraying him, Mirra betraying him, his nation left unprotected by the selfish new Emperor; that Emperor who wanted him dead.
He found himself screaming. It was not a scream of pain or rage, but more like a battle cry. He arched his back and looked to the skies. Dark clouds tore across the sky at incredible speed. A cold wind whipped through the trees and the people in the streets. Black lighting came down all around him as he rose slightly into the air. Thunder shook the ground and shattered parts of the already ruined city, sending marble chips and dust flying.
When his lungs were finally emptied, he returned to the ground and the clouds and wind had vanished. To his amazement, no one was staring at him. Instead they all were bowing to him; even his father and friends.
"Get up," he said. "Don't bow to me, for while it is true that I have become the god of war, I am only a man." When no one rose he repeated himself louder. "Get up!"
His father rose and some of the people followed his lead. "Is it true son? Have you somehow found a way to become a god?"
"I found nothing. I did not ask for this curse," he said as he scanned the crowd of people. "Get up I said; all of you. Look, I am just a man."
He took of his crested helm and put it under his arm. The crowd was shocked, but soon the wide eyes turned back to the ground. Everyone in the street fell to their knees again.
Alana stood up. "You're here to save them; god or not. Can't you feel it in the air? You're a hero to them Rommus."
"Hero? I have done nothing for these people. I am no hero."
"You inspire them and they feel safe, Master Rommus," Vohl said as he stood and brushed the dust from his knees. "And I saw what you did on the battlefield today. You are a hero if I ever saw one."
Rommus shook his head to get rid of the thought. "What about you father? Are you angry about this? Things are not how you believed them to be. I have met the gods, and they do not even bother to listen to your prayers. They are nothing like what you imagine."
"It does not matter, my son. I still know the difference between good and evil in this world, and I will continue to fight for freedom and for my people. I will not change who I am."
Alana hooked some unruly hair behind an ear. "What about you Rommus? Now that you have found that the light at your horizon was nothing but an empty trick that the gods played on you, what will you do?"
He looked out at the glorious sunset over the ruins of the city of Brinn; the orange flames of clouds burning his eyes as the ocean seemed to extinguish the sun at the horizon. "I have a light to follow now. I have something that drives me; something that gives me purpose. My enemy is now my light, and I will not rest until we destroy every last one of them. We have a war to plan."
T H E E N D
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Thank you,
David J. Guyton
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