Treachery : book 2 of Codex Elysium

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Present time: Nidavellir

The land of the Dwarves was a beautiful place full of deep valleys and towering mountains. The world was made up of many individual kingdoms all with their own petty kings and small armies. Each kingdom had a mountain range in which the dwarves mined for precious metals and jewels. Also this is where a king's hall would be carved into the very heart of a mountain. At the very border of Nidavellir was a place called Nid-gate a great range of towering mountains that formed a perfect border wall for the kingdom. This was the only way into the land of the dwarves and it was heavily fortified, a single valley led the way until its exit, which is blocked by Mount-Nid, the tallest mountain in all of Nidavellir and home to the great fortress of the realm. Deep inside the mountain lies the High Kings hall, once a natural cave but now carved into a beautiful place fit for the high king. In the world of dwarves, the high king was the law, he ruled over all the other petty kings and had the final say on anything to do with their lands.

High king Dvalin was old, his thick hair and bushy beard were heavily streaked with grey. He sat upon his throne in the great hall. Behind him, a massive fire roared in a hearth, countless torches blazed in brackets dotted on the walls, expensive rugs covered the smooth stone floors. A huge table occupied the centre of the room. This was where all the other kings and important dwarves were gathered, feasting and drinking. No one was really paying any attention to the strange messenger that stood before the high king. Even though his throne was raised upon a diesis, the woman could still look the seated king straight in the eyes. High king Dvalin pulled his fur cloak tighter around him, he eyed the woman and tried to find the words to describe what he was feeling. He couldn't. Finally he said.

"Are you mad? Is this some kind of joke?"

Out of all the responses she had expected, this one genuinely took Lucifer by surprise.

"This is no joke and no I am certainly not mad!"

High king Dvalin shook his head sadly, his eyes kept flicking to the black wings at Lucifer's back

"This Satan of yours? I do not know his name nor do I know if he is a mighty warlord"

"He already has five of the nine worlds under his dominion and wants Nidavellir to join him"

Again High king Dvalin shook his head in disbelief. Dwarves were not generally considered to be overly good but they certainly weren't evil. Here stood this strange woman who was demanding that they declare themselves evil or else face war.

"It seems to me, that five worlds are more than enough for one ruler. I think your Satan is being too greedy wanting a sixth."

"You're one to talk of greed!" snapped Lucifer "Greed is what you dwarves pride above all other sin! Hiding in your caves and mountains, piling them high with gold and treasures"

The rasp of a sword drawing drew both of their attention. Standing behind the kings throne was Rekkr, he was ugly even by dwarf standards. His face was crossed with many scars, a nose misshapen from countless breakings, his long black hair was tied back, showing off all of his ugly face and he had a long thin moustache that he plaited. It did little to improve his look. He pointed his sword directly at Lucifer and spat "How dare you speak to our king like that, you should show more respect!"

Lucifer laughed at the dwarf. "Respect? All I did was speak the truth"

Rekkr riled at that but high king Dvalin put out a restraining arm and said

"Let it go!"

Rekkr was Dvalin's second in command, he was a great warrior and would be the one to take the throne once Dvalin died. He was strong, confident and aggressive. The trouble was, Rekkr lacked the people skills that a great king required, plus the fact that he was a warrior and had no interest in the running of a kingdom. Rekkr sheathed his sword and glared at Lucifer. The princess of Hell smiled sweetly at him before addressing the king.