"Sir!" said a messenger as he burst through two very large doors, "I have word from the caverns!"
The room behind the doors was dark. In fact, the only light that could be seen were the flickering candles that lined the walls. Even so, the room itself was not the darkest thing there. That title belonged to the man stationed within it, who gestured for the messenger to come forward as he sat atop his opaque and eloquent cathedra.
The small man quickly obeyed and moved forward. His feet were fast to move and once he stood still, he looked the obscure man in the eyes. Yet, he did not do so for long. With a bow, the messenger spoke.
"Tokenmaster..." The words almost sounded reverential.
"Such formalities, Darris," the Tokenmaster spoke in a lilting baritone, "You have known me for quite a long time, now. My name is not sir, nor is it Tokenmaster... it is Erodyne Maug-Rin. So say it."
"Erodyne Maug-Rin." Anyone could tell that Darris was anxious as he spoke the words.
"Very good, my friend," Erodyne said, his voice flowing smoothly, "Now, stand. You say you have news for me, so speak it."
Darris stood as swiftly as possible and then answered Erodyne's question.
"It has been a few days since the reinforcements came from one of the Eldian camps, and the Tokens are losing ground, and men. If our soldiers are to stay at the caverns without aid for much longer, we will surely lose this war before it truly begins. The men need help, Tok... Erodyne."
Even at the news of possible defeat, Erodyne still wore the crooked smile that he was most known for. And then, he stood from his seat. As he got to his feet, the full length of his hair fell to his hips. It was as dark as coal, just like his eyes. He put a hand on Darris's shoulder, as if to comfort him.
"Everything will be quite alright," he said calmly, and then paused, "Do you doubt my words?"
"No, Tokenmaster," Darris said quickly.
"Erodyne," the man snapped.
"Erodyne." Darris corrected himself immediately, not wanting to displease the Tokenmaster.
"Follow me, my friend," Erodyne said in a pleasant tone as he whisked by Darris, "Come see what I have to show you." Darris could feel the whoosh of air from the Tokenmaster's movement. It only took Darris two seconds to comprehend the order; therefore, he stalked after Erodyne with as much haste as he could muster.
Darris noticed that he was being led into the center of the fortress, a place he had not ventured to often. After all, he was a messenger... not a Token soldier.
As he walked, he began to hear loud clanging and shouting. Before he could ask Erodyne what it was, he was pulled into a room. A big room.
The first thing that Darris noticed was that he and the Tokenmaster were standing on a balcony above the room. The second thing he noticed was the massive horde of soldiers that were training in the very, very large room below. There had to be over five hundred practicing below.
"Do you see what I have here?" Erodyne said charmingly, "And this is not even close half of what I have within the depths of my disposal. The Token army will not fall to the Eldians. Not soon, at the very least. When their army is spent, I will send all of the rest. It is a good morale breaker, I suppose."
"Will it be enough men?"
"Yes, Darris. You should not fret so hard, it makes you older," Erodyne laughed without mirth, and then gestured to the army below, "You see, my dear friend, these are not ordinary men. These are the best of what I have. Those that fight at Krenshai Caverns are mere shadows of these men."
"Oh..."
"Yes," said the master, "I am not so foolish to lose all that I have worked for in one battle. After all, it is my life's work."
"Even as a child, you wished to watch the country of Eldia fall?" Darris asked curiously, hoping that Erodyne would not anger. The Tokenmaster turned to the messenger, still smiling as if they were merely exchanging pleasantries rather than talking about war. Darris couldn't help but notice Erodyne's sharp features as he stared at him.
"But of course. Eldians destroyed my life, I'll have you know that," Erodyne looked off, but Darris could tell he wasn't really looking at anything, "As a child, during the first war between our country and Eldia, my village was attacked. I remember hearing the first of the alarm bells go off... and then running. Running away as far as I could. That saved me well enough, as my home wasn't far from the edge of the village. Yet, I was the only one left alive. I know this because I went back not long after," he paused, "It's hard to remain a child when you see the scattered dead corpses of those you knew, those you loved, and even those that raised you. It's hard to stay a child when you have to look for a new reason to live because all of your old reasons disappeared into the dust."
"What was your old reason to live?" Darris said, his blood as cold as ice from hearing Erodyne's story.
"Such a deep question. But, after all, what is a deep question between friends, hmm? What's funny is that I can't recall what I used to live for. I spent so long determined to forget about it that I actually did. But I do know my new reason to live, and that is enough," the Tokenmaster spoke.
"Revenge?" Darris assumed.
"Yes. Revenge is what I like to call it, though it runs far deeper than that," Erodyne smiled humorlessly, and then went off on a tangent, "Which is precisely why I started with their smaller villages. Ones similar to mine. Except I didn't leave anyone alive. I don't think I did, at the very least."
"Because you didn't want someone to rise up against you, like you did the Eldians?" Darris continued to ask questions, despite his gut telling him not to, and then turned his eyes to the fighting soldiers below. He noted that they were indeed impressive as he waited on the Tokenmaster to respond.
"No, that is not the reason. I left none alive, not even the children, because I am merciful," he said, "After all, children are innocent. No other child should have to experience what I had to experience. In addition, the villagers of Eldia were probably innocent too. Perhaps even the soldiers that fight against us. But, so was my family. So were the people in my village... yet the onslaught did not stop. Which is why mine won't. Not until every last Eldian is bled dry."
"I am sorry for what you went through. What will you do after this war is over?"
"I think I shall very much like to die," Erodyne said without an ounce of fear, "Yes, dying sounds like something I have wanted since I lost everything that mattered."
"You would kill yourself?"
"But of course. Wouldn't you, my dear friend? What is there to live for when you've accomplished everything you set out to do?"
"You're not afraid?"
"I fear nothing. Not death. Not tragedy. After all, what does fear do? Nothing. I was scared that night when my village was attacked. Did it save lives? No. The hewn bodies proved that. Did it make me stronger? Gods, no. It made me weak. What made me strong was acceptance. Did it change the fates in any way? Not at all. Fear is futile, idle... and I, Erodyne Maug-Rin, and far from idle."
"I can see that."
"Either way," the Tokenmaster changed the subject, "All of these men will march out once the Eldian army has lost its strength, its morale."
And then, Darris remembered. There was another bit of news that he had to tell the master.
"Now that I think about it, you might want to keep some of these men here for protection. Your own protection," Darris said quickly, "There was another bit of news that I was supposed to deliver to you, straight from some of our southern spies." This caught Erodyne's attention, though it didn't seem to put a halt in his tranquility.
"Is that so?" he asked, "Well then, come and join me back in my main hall. I shall very much like to hear what you know."
With that, Darris followed Erodyne back to the room he first saw him in: the dark room with the candelabras. It seemed like a longer walk on the way back. Darris supposed that was because he was bursting with the urgent news that coiled inside of him. Erodyne chattered good-naturedly as they made their way through the hallways. Darris almost wished he could hurry the Tokenmaster up.
When they arrived back in that room, Erodyne once more took a seat in his cathedra at the opposite side of the double doors. After the master got comfortable, filling the goblet beside him with a red wine, he then turned to the eager messenger. Darris was quick to speak as soon as he had Erodyne's attention.
"Are you ready to hear my other news?"
"But of course. Now that we are in private, I would like to hear what you have to say, Darris."
"You should keep some of these men you have here to guard you. Our southern spies have spotted a scouting group heading toward us. So far, this group has killed two of yours... and stopped the attack on the town of Morthrior," he spat out, not even breathing, "I'm not sure how the spies came about the information, but they believe the group is coming here... to the fortress." Erodyne nodded, his calm façade not broken.
"And I should worry of this?" the Tokenmaster's words came out as a question.
"Yes, Erodyne. The group, who is quite astounding alone, is being led by none other than General Zayn Rothstead. It is said that they are the best of the Eldian soldiers and that they are coming to kill you..."
"Then let them come."