The Voidbreak Crisis: Part 2; The Rise Of Ak-Dovurak.

10. A Council of Two Brothers

Zavoyevatel sighed as he rubbed his head, leaning back in his throne. He had tried everything he could think of, and he had achieved nothing. Every spell, every divination, every enchantment, they all showed him the same thing. Somehow, he was interfering with his own psychic control of his wilderfolk. But that wasn't possible. He had created these creatures himself, from nothing, almost. He had coded his control in their very DNA. Each of them was supposed to be bound to him, until the day they died. But somehow, some way, his control wasn't working like it should.
"Bring me the Honor Guard," he commanded his aide. She left the room as he leaned forwards, resting his chin on his hands thoughtfully. Monarch was always better at the intricate side of magic. His library should have something to help, surely.

Zavoyevatel's honor guard walked in to his throne room, and bowed briefly.
"Gather my wayward children scattered through the hills, but do not harm them. If the Legion soldiers come back while I am gone, give them whatever they need for their journey. Await my return. I will not be gone long," Zavoyevatel said, walking out of the cathedral and spreading his wings.

As he flew over Ak-Dovurak, he realized just how much had changed in the centuries he'd been gone. The Zhizin was completely gone, as were the outlying towns that surrounded it. The mines had caved in, and the roads he'd constructed had long since eroded away. The whole landscape had changed drastically. Gone were the green fields and lush trees, and in their place was an unforgiving wasteland of sheer cliffs and deep crags. The fertile topsoil had been torn away either by intense rainfall or unforgiving droughts, and it seemed that nothing grew here anymore. Zavoyevatel knew he would have years, maybe decades of work to do before his land was back to it's former glory. But he had time. Of all the things he was lacking, he had an excess of time. His plan was not one to be implemented swiftly. The vaults were widespread, and would need to be opened one at a time, with precise timing. But soon the world would be at peace. No more war, no more genocide, no more suffering. He reached the far ranges and came to rest on one of the mountains, and looked back on his broken kingdom.
"Soon we will be at peace," He said, spreading his wings again and stretching before taking flight again.

"We've company, my king," One of the sentries said, his voice coming through the scrying crystal clearly.
"And who might that be?" Monarch asked calmly, writing in the massive scroll in front of him.
"It's Zavoyevatel," the sentry said flatly.
"I wondered how long it would take him to come back," Monarch said, not looking up from his scroll.
"It appears he's headed for your library, my king," the sentry said.
"Good. We've much to discuss," Monarch said, tapping the long metal bar the scroll hung from. The scroll rolled back up tightly around the bar, and landed in Monarch's waiting hand. He stood from his chair and handed the scroll to the scribes waiting next to him as he walked to the library doors. He saw a figure far in the distance, and could feel it approaching slowly.
"I wondered how long it would take you, brother," Monarch said, running his fingers down his long braided beard.
"It's been seven hundred years. So what's a few weeks, I suppose," Monarch said as the distant shape grew larger.
"Seven hundred years of change," Monarch said thoughtfully. He wondered what Zavoyevatel's plans were, and how he would react to the changes.

Zavoyevatel soared over Merithia and looked around in amazement. Merithia had changed drastically in the past seven hundred years it seemed. Gone were the vast fields of green and miles of forest. Now the boundaries were clearly outlined, with massive arches of solid black metal encircling the province. Just outside these arches, nature thrived unobstructed, and the fields grew lush. But inside the arches, the ground was crossed with stone paths in intricate, interlocking patterns, with barely any room for grass to grow. The first fifty miles inside the arches was filled with these complex stone paths, and at the fifty mile mark, was a ring of spires more than ten miles tall. Each spire was made of a iridescent blue metal that seemed to shimmer in the light. The spires seemed to be hollow, and inside of them lived the sentries, keeping an eye on the outer rim of the kingdom of Merithia. Each tower was spaced ten miles apart from it's neighbors, and had a large crystal ball that was perfectly round and translucent at it's top. As the sentries relayed information, the crystal ball would pulse and flash with light.