Descent Into Darkness

Descent Into Darkness Chapter 57

Neka turned to Elaina. "My lady, you must convene the generals. I have stumbled upon the history of Demetrius in my reading, and have much to tell."

"What have you learned?" Elaina asked.

"His true name, from where he hails, and most importantly, a profound weakness which may prove priceless in the coming battle."

~*~*~*~*~*~*

"He comes from Otrea."

"Otrea?" Elaina echoed. "Otrea fell fifty years past in a cataclysm"

"A cataclysm that left a large hole in the ground, leagues wide," Neka responded. "No one survived, it is in the books as a complete loss of a civilization."

"Exactly," Ember interrupted. "Every person from Otrea was killed when the cataclysm hit. The sky was darkened for months over where Otrea once stood, and for hundreds of leagues in either direction. We all learned this when we were young. It is known that no Otreans survived."

"Except everyone forgets one thing. Otrea was ruled by a war-like monarchy, and no one mourned their loss. They had designs on all of Brisiris, on the lands to the east, and even on my home, Isandir, which is nothing more than desert. In reading records and digging through tomes, I have found something curious."

She stopped then, staring at each general in turn before speaking again. "His name was Demtri."

"The prince of Otrea? He would be seventy summers by now," Phoenix said. "I have seen Demetrius. He is no more than forty summers."

Neka turned a lofty eye to Phoenix, and he snapped his mouth shut. She still did not speak even after the other generals began to shift uncomfortably. Phoenix sighed and bowed his head. "My apologies, Neka. Please, continue."

She inclined her chin, but continued anyway. "The prince of Otrea was the commander of its armies. His right hand was an assassin named Rici, tales say her skills were only surpassed by her beauty. Rumors from before the fall of Otrea say that Rici disappeared a month before the cataclysm, pregnant with Demtri's son."

Elaina's brows came down, and she appeared to be in deep thought. "I see where you are going."

"For those of us who do not?" Phoenix asked.

Neka inclined her chin again, and he felt small beneath her proud gaze. "Fourteen days before the cataclysm, scouts of Brisiris and Isandir both reported a massive army, led by Demtri, leaving Otrea under cover of night. The scouts followed them to the Endless Sea, but lost them once they took to the water."

Phoenix dared not speak again lest he draw Neka's ire, so he waited instead of asking the question. He looked up into the rafters of the buildings to see Lian's shadow slink out of the door in the loft, a splash of sunlight and she was gone. Neka began again, and he turned his attention back to her. "The facts end there, and speculation begins, but the speculation is all that could explain this. The army that left Otrea that night, was an invading force, sent to circle round the other side of Brisiris, and attack from the undefended sides bordered by the Endless Sea. Before they could however, the cataclysm hit and destroyed their home. Their plans dashed, they returned home to find a decimated country, and the stone that Demetrius uses to give or take power within the hole of where Demtri's home once stood. In anguish, he took his army to somewhere upon the sea, to hide, before someone figured out they were still alive. Rici must have been with him in secret, and his son was born months later."

"This is all very far-fetched," Tanos said.

"It would not be if you knew anything of the ancient Otrean language," Elaina argued.

"How do you mean?" Ember asked.

"The ius mean 'son of' in ancient Otrean. Demetrius literally translates into 'son of Demtri'.

Neka nodded. "He must be the son of Demtri and Rici, and Phoenix had told us that Demetrius told him Sans and Avec was a gift from the gods, literally from the heavens. It makes sense once you put the pieces together."

"So he is a prince of a dead nation, driven mad by the intentions of his father and a lifetime exposed to Avec, has plans to bring all the known world under his rule, and has an army of unknown size, mounds of Avec and Sans, and he is coming here," Tanos said, leaning back in his chair, the forelegs of which coming off of the floor. "And we must fight him. And probably die trying."

"We will not submit to Otrean or any other rule. Brisiris has been free for a hundred years since the monarchy here fell, Isandir has never been under rule, and the East is... whatever the East is," Ember said, nodding to Lian. "We of Yaag will not take the yoke of servitude to a foreign, mad, displaced prince, or king, or whatever he may be." She stood and the point of the dagger that hung on her belt found itself jabbed into the table before her, her thin fingers wrapped round the hilt, her knuckles white. "We will fight, and we may watch our fellows die, and we may ourselves die, but we will not be taken to serve under a mad leader who only wants our servitude, our lives, and our gifts."

The other generals began to nod between themselves, Ember's words wakening their spirits, save Ana, who sat back with her arms crossed. "We will fight until we cannot, and then when we cannot fight any longer, we will fight until we win, or we are all dead."

Phoenix noticed the single ray of sunlight return, and Lian's shadow cut it off before the light disappeared once more.

Ember's voice became hard, and she spoke through gritted teeth. "But if we die, we will go out with such fervor, with such blood-lust, that we will never be forgotten to the annals of history, our stand will be sung about for centuries. We will leave him so weakened, it will take those sons of whores centuries to replace the men we killed, and the names of our soldiers will be whispered in the dark tales they tell their children for generations."

A soldier burst into the room, cutting Ember's speech to the quick. "General, we have a new arrival."

"Who is it?" Ember asked. "How many soldiers do they bring?"

"None, General. It is an emissary of Demetrius. He brings an honor guard."

The room became deathly silent, and Ember removed her dagger from the table. "Let us go to see him then."

Tanos raised a hand. "Ember, rules of war dictate that you allow him into this room, to confer with all the generals away from the prying eyes and ears of the populace."

"We are not at war, Tanos," Phoenix said, rising from his chair. "Not yet."

"But we will be by end of day," Lian's voice echoed from the rafters. "He brings assassins."