Chapter 112: The First Duel of Dragons 7
"Apologies brother, we didn’t mean to startle you." Nizam with an awkward smile and two bowls of steaming porridge in hand, while Cyrus trailed behind with another bowl he was already sipping from, came from behind me.
They didn’t wear their armour today, but were instead wrapped in thick winter cloaks, made of resplendent black fur, with a large tuft of white lining it’s edges, especially at the neck, while a silver thread was masterfully intertwined to draw the empire’s eclipsing sun sigil on it’s back.
Though we were still in the early days of autumn, the mountains were already mimicking the alien chill of winter, this was especially so for the two young imperial princes who’d spent their days in the gilded halls of Eklepsus, where the desert’s scorching morning heat and it’s night’s chilling winds were never allowed to even discomfort the edges of their clothes, let alone them.
"You little brats, who says I was startled?" I jokingly replied with a small smile, as I took the third bowl from Nizam’s hands, as they pulled seats next to me.
We perched there in silence for a few minutes, emersed in the sound of raindrops replenishing the earth, while we slowly ate the hot food in our hands. It was nothing too flavourful, completely unalike those mouth watering meals the palace chefs prepared us every day, but it was hearty and warm, exactly what you’d want in a frigid weather like this.
"I wonder what mother and our little siblings are doing right now." It was Cyrus who slowly uttered those words, as he calmly gazed out into the storming wilderness outside.
Turning to him I knew that the youngest of us, even if he tried to hide it, missed our home. So I said, trying to comfort him "Dido and Azrael, those two trouble makers, should be asleep by now. Alisar should also be preparing for bed. And our mother..." I momentarily paused "Our mother should be in prayer right about now."
Silence returned to our midst after my words, only disrupted by the echoes of the storm outside, which was when Nizam finally asked "When do you think you will win this war, brother?"
Hearing his words brought a frown to my face, for I knew that I had no answer to his query. If my opponent was anyone else, anyone other than Maximillian the War Dragon, I would have answered with no hesitation. But Maximillian is a man I had trouble defeating in a straight forward battle of strategy even back in my prime. The only reason I ever completely crushed him and his kingdom in my past life was because I had already unlocked my fifth gate and with it my graces; I had to use the power of the divine to defeat him.
But I am now nothing more than a second gate welp, my power is so miniscule before him at this moment that I might as well not even exist in his eyes, meaning I can only best him now in a battle of intelligence, something I had little confidence in the beginning and even less so now.
Turning to look at their anticipating eyes, I decided to answer them truthfully yet vaguely to spare their spirits the full brunt of our situations current bleakness.
’If I say something like, when our flags are again raised above Apethus, should be fine.’ I thought, yet before I could utter those words, Abraham appeared next to me in a golden flash.
"My liege! A messenger in the night!" He said with palpable excitement.
Quickly snatching the parchment from his hand, I swiftly read it’s contents that made even the Golden Guardian so awash with joy, before a menacing smile took hold of my upturned lips, as I whispered "Noon."
"Huh?" My brothers muttered, not understanding what I said.
So I responded loudly for all to hear, while the piece of paper in my hand to turned to scattered ash, as my divine power raged within me, turning my eyes to their haunting shade of black and white "By noon tomorrow victory will be ours!"
The dawn of the eleventh day came quick, and just like every other day I rose early to head to the Stone Tables, where the by now traditional coin toss would occur, a coin toss I dreaded today more than most, because I needed it on my side this day more than any other time.
Which was why I was still praying even now, when we were just a few steps away from the Stone Tables, to the fickle God of Luck to bless me one last time; because if he did and I gained the initiative like I did for the past four days, then I could delay this battle till noon, by which point this battle would effectively be already won.
But the Gods seemed to enjoy their torture of me, as the Darr showed heads this day. I grit my teeth so hard I nearly broke them, but I tried to keep the rest of my body from showing any other forms of disappointment.
I turned around to weather this day’s short storm till noon comes with my victory in tow, when for the first time since the second day Maximillian spoke to me "You seem more displeased than usual, lord of the Eclipse Empire."
"Only because I grow bored of your dull offensive tactics, lord of the Mercenary Kingdom." I replied curtly, with a venomous edge to my falsehoods, trying to obfuscate my true intentions.
"...Is that so? Then I hope today’s fight will elevate my standing in your eye, my lord." He said with his usual confident smile, a dark promise hidden in his words.
I said nothing in reply before leaving, but the moment we were out of earshot, his bravado morphed into a grim frown, before he turned to the silent Zadkiel and said with a gravity he had not heard in his voice prior to this "Take a horse and your most trusted attendants and leave this instant."
"What?! Why? Weren’t guaranteeing me of victory just yesterday?!" Zadkiel hollered in anger and anxiousness, terrified of the implications of his words, feeling as though he were stranded at sea and his ship was beginning to buckle under the furious winds wanting to drown him.
"I was confident of victory..." He momentarily paused, as if he were confirming his memories one more time, before continuing with an annoyed frown "But there was an assuredness in your nephew’s eyes that had not been present there before. Something must have happened, something we don’t know, something that has not promised him triumph, but had all but offered it to him."
Zadkiel felt a chill crawl up his spine at that moment. Since the beginning of this war he had held no fear or even once entertained the idea of defeat, because the War Dragon was by his side. Even though his nephew had shown an astonishing talent for war and strategy, he still couldn’t fathom the thought of the War Dragon losing to a brat of two battles, while he was a man of a thousand wars!
This belief was so strong, that even when he was constantly shocked by how much Maximillian praised Alexander through out the course of this eleven day war, Zadkiel took it as no more than mere appreciation between an experienced senior to a talented junior; one he could crush at any moment but chose not to, because he was simply enjoying himself far too much.
But here was that same man telling him now that he should run, because he was no longer certain of this battle’s outcome?!
Zadkiel felt as though a thousand different words wanted to flow out of his throat, but they couldn’t as they got too jumbled and congested in his vocal cords, leaving him suffocated. Eventually he just turned around and rushed back to camp, to collect all his most important supporters, who’d he’d brought here as a show of strength, before fleeing back to Apethus.
Once he was gone Morgana appeared next to her husband and gently held him from behind, as she gently whispered, concerned not with the battle itself, but by her beloved’s smile that he had beaming across his face this entire time being washed away again by the boredom of his returned daily life "Is it truly so serious?"
"...Not yet. But better safe than sorry. I did promise our employer, that old man Marius, that I would do my best to make this rebellion the final victor of this war, or at the very least to prolong it’s ache on the young emperor’s head." He replied to her gently, his voice less intense than when he spoke to Zadkiel.
"You know that’s not what I meant." She demanded, forcing his eyes to focus on her.
Chuckling at her cute antics, he replied "I know, I know, you don’t care for the politics of those you call weak men. But yes, for better or for worse, this fun battle ends here today."
None knew more about Maximillian than his wives, even Maximillian himself wouldn’t be able to answer some of the questions his wives knew about him, so they knew the only thing that brought their husband’s usually still heart to life other than them was war, but even that had begun to lose it’s novelty in his eyes, which is why he had begun to modify it in the form of odd rules and limitations on both parties, like games who’s rules constantly changed, thus remaining new and exciting. And that terrified them.
That terrified because that meant that sooner or later their beloved dragon’s fire was soon to be snuffed out, never to again reignite the same way again and show them that boyish expression each of them fell in love with.
For this was the curse of all great men and women who’ve already lived for centuries on end, the world would slowly lose it’s fascinating colours, leaving it all a grey husk of tedium. This curse is why the great Marius Nerva always refused to walk the path of long life, and it is also why they must all find a thing they must do or madness and depression is their fate, hence Hekan’s obsession with research or Hamilcar’s infatuation with war or even Alexander’s fixation on defeating Nicholas. Each of these men had to anchor his sanity with something to not lose himself, hence Maximillian who’d done just that with two things, and was slowly beginning to lose his grip on one of them was so worrying to his wives.
"My dear, I’m sorry." Morgana said soothingly, embracing him harder.
Smiling warmly, Maximillian who clearly understood what’s happening returned to his usual carefree and confident persona and replied "Don’t fret my love, I already enjoyed myself far more than I had ever expected. Besides, I highly doubt that this will be the last time I will meet the young master of the Eclipse Empire on the field. And you never know, this rebellion might not fall apart so soon and I might just have the chance of being hired to fight him again in this war."
"You know as much as I that such a thing is sadly impossible. This rebellion is only still alive because of you. Or else that Bloody Emperor would’ve already turned that weak man’s city into a ruin." Morgana haughtily replied.
"Ruin? Huh... what an interestingly perfect choice of words." Maximillian seemed to absentmindedly mutter.
Meanwhile I, who was oblivious to all of this, had just returned to the tower fortress to reassume my position with a sour expression, before I commanded to prepare for the final day’s defense.
’There would be no clever tricks or strategies today, no surprises, no unexpected turns and risky gambles. All we had to do is hold till noon and the battle is over.’ I thought, trying to calm the anxious feeling that had begun to assault me since earlier.
’Just these few last hours.’ I repeatedly thought in confirmation.
But then as if made to specifically mock me, three bone chilling reports came one after the other.
Sixty Thousand men attacked the central passes, the southern passes have instantly been overrun and Leonid has been injured and or captured.