Vanessa instructed the Overseers by Julian's order, and by nightfall, they had all left the mansion. Only she and Evon Sandfist remained to await the king.
She could see the venom in that man's eyes whenever they laid on her. It bothered her a little. Growing up and training amongst the children of the Warhawk, there were many boys who never dealt well with losing to a girl. But with Kaelen and Nair on her side, all they could do to her was glare.
At the midday to follow, Julian's entourage arrived. There were no carriages, no servants, and not even a dozen men.
There were five horsemen, clad in plate armor as red and as dark as blood spilled from slashed guts. Their mounts were a breed Vanessa never seen before, giant warhorses with black hides, and eyes that gaped and bulged out of their sockets, pupil-less and bloodshot.
Gleaming claymores rested in chains across the riders' broad backs, and shields that were larger than their torsos were loosely bound to the flank of the beasts they rode, ready for an instant draw.
Crimson cloaks shielded them from the sun, swathing their shoulders and hooding their heads. The only thing she could glimpse at their shaded visages was the mouth-cover of their helms: carved in the shape of bared, wolfish fangs.
A chill licked up her nape, erecting invisible hairs on her skin. What, by the damned gods, are they?
"The Bloodfiends of Veramor." Evon said, he must've seen the look on her face as she watched them approach. "Never heard of them?"
Of course she did, but always believed the rumors to be nothing but a part of the wave of pride that washed Veramor after winning back the Twin Cities. The stories said the king was gifted eleven warhorses by a ruler of a distant, western land. Blood Destriers, they were called, and it was said that once a rider mixes his blood with theirs, they will answer to none but him, and forever share one another's eyesight.
Eleven soldiers were chosen, heroes of the Civil War and of the War of the Twin Cities. Nobody knew what oath they swore, but it was said they had no will but the will of the king. They did not drink, smoke, bed or even speak. Many claimed they had forfeited their own birth names. Bound to the Blood Destriers, these oathsworn became the Bloodfiends, the chosens of the king, the elite warriors of Veramor.
Then she saw him. He rode on a white stallion amidst the Bloodfiends, his back straight and reins held in one hand. A shawl wrapped his shoulders, baring the toned and sunkissed flesh of his chest and stomach. Beneath the cloth's rim, peeked out the black eye.
He pulled at the reins and stopped before her, the sunlight shining in his golden hair and amber eyes. Her heart fluttered in her breast.
She and Evon joined the entourage, and soon, they were at the border. Aurum was a small realm that bordered with Veramor, Anerock and Nashair. Its location, and the rich mines that were in its mountains, made it the most tempting conquest a ruler could have. If they weren't on an alliance with the Conqueror's Nasharian Empire, that is.
The wall loomed before them as a symbol of gold's power, so tall and bulky it could rival the ancient, great wall of the Barren Lands. The guards at the grand, twin-towered gate moved forward and tensed as the entourage of Bloodfiends approached.
Julian trotted forward. "I am Julian, king of Veramor. Remove yourself from our path, Barion expects me."
The guards rushed to his command. Evidently, none of them was happy to stand in the way of the entourage's terrifying horsemen. As soon as they passed through the gate, the Bloodfiends flanked the king and heaved their broad shields. Vanessa scanned every rooftop and balcony in sight.
The road to the palace was the market road. The people were dressed differently than Vanessa knew. Even the commoners were draped in silk of luxuriant colors and flashing threadings.
Beside every merchant stand, waved the banner of Aurum's gryphon in their flamboyant yellow and purple colors. Before it was a small stage the merchants stood on. They yelled into the animated street about the quality of uniqueness of their goods, often presenting tricks and acrobatics to draw more attention.
Though the bustle stifled as they approached, turning into hushed whispers. The crowd parted to make way, and stared after them in awe.
Soon the stands disappeared, and the houses that lined behind them became looming mansions and blooming gardens. Most astonishing were the mansions' roofs. They were domed, made of smoothed stone and decorated with patterns of gold, shining bright in the clear blue skies.
Then all structures cleared into a vast garden. Water streams ran at the sides of the road, their rims adorned with flowers in every color you could think of. But the hundreds of trees were the sight to draw the breath from Vanessa's chest. Their barks and branches were pitch black, and in sharp contrast, their leaves were a lilac pink.
The branches swished softly in the breeze, and these beautiful leaves filled the air before them, falling featherlike. Seeing the Bloodfiends stride through this place, their terrible black horses and dark red cloaks showered with lilac, felt wrong. Like demons receiving a warm welcome as they march into paradise.
The road led them to the entrance of the palace. Out of the walls besides it, were carved two massive, stone gryphons. They stood on the hind legs, paws of a lion swung in the air, wings of an eagle outspread, and giant peaks gaped open, gushing the water that flowed through the streams. Atop of the palace, was another gryphon statue, perhaps not as large as the other two, but made of pure gold.
Pillars held the roof above them, and a dozen guards in purple and yellow mail lined at each of their sides as they approached the palace, standing upright with raised shields and swords. They dismounted before the grand doors of the palace. Men came to tie their horses, but the Blood Destriers neighed a screeching sound, and the men withdrew in fear of a kick from these giant warhorses.
An attractive woman in a gown of rich silk and glinting jewelry met them at the entrance. She led them across the entrance hall towards another pair of doors, each ornamented with a gryphon drawn by curving lines of gold. Purple gemstones served as their eyes.
"Only his majesty and his advisors should enter the throne room." The woman suggested. Julian didn't pay her as much as a glance. The Bloodfiends halted with an abrupt stomp of plated boots, and he strode on to the doors as the guards pushed them open before him. Hesitantly, Vanessa and Evon followed him into the throne room.
Barion, the king of Aurum, sat in a throne of rich, yellow cushions, surrounded by advisors and guards. He was a towering man, wearing a silver embroidered vest that bared his bulky chest and shoulders. His features were long and sharp, made sharper by an oiled, thin-trimmed beard that poked from his chin like a dagger. A crown wrought of gold and adorned with purple and yellow gemstones sat atop his bald head.
"Julian!" He spread his arms called, his deep, booming voice filling the chamber. "We meet at last!"
Julian approached without a word, shrugging the shawl off his shoulders, and letting it fall behind him.
"It's a shame you had to lose your harbor to realize you shall open trade with Aurum's royal court, and not greed-blinded nobles like Ogoni." Barion's gaze trailed down to the monstrous claws, and the ebony eye that stared at him from Julian's chest.
"How wise you are." Julian said. "I am certain tales of your wisdom will forever echo in Aurum after your death."
Barion chuckled. "I believe there are several long decades to pass, before that happens."
"Are there?" Julian stopped before the stairs to the throne's dais. Barion's eyes hardened, then screams of men echoed from the hall behind them.
"Is this your doing?" He lurched from his throne and yelled, the six full-armored, purple-caped guards drew swords and spread in a half circle before Julian. "Explain yourself, before you perish!"
For the first time, Vanessa saw Julian's harsh composure shatter. His lips peeled off his teeth in a savage smile, and his amber eyes flashed, frenzied with excitement. "You would dare threaten the king of both Veramor and Aurum?"
Before Barion could answer, Julian threw out his arms, fingers arched in sinewy claws. Steel screeched, blood sprung, and the guards' bodies launched back into the cobblestones. Barion's eyes gaped. None of his guard survived. They all lied in bloody tatters of slashed plates and amputated limbs.
"You-you," The king stuttered, all the advisors around him were frozen in fear. "You cannot do this. I have an alliance with the Empire, I have trustworthy commanders, I have sons to succeed me..."
"And I have a thousand Warhawks inside Aurum border. Two hundred march on this very palace. Two scores on each of your esteemed nobles' houses, and another three-hundred on Laminer Rock. That's where your sons stay, is it not?"
"Impossible..." Barion's lips shifted in a whisper.
"And lest I forget," Julian continued as more screams and clanks of steels sounded through the doors behind him. "An army amassing outside your wall, and Bloodfiends to open the gate from within."
Anger overwhelmed the shock that grasped Barion, and he yelled out in furor. "The Conqueror will-"
Julian thrust forth a finger, and Barion's chest and throat slit open. Blood seeped into the cushions of his throne and gurgled out his open mouth.
"The Nasharian Empire will kneel before me. Just like the rest of Aros." Julian flicked his finger, and Barion's head popped into the air in a sprout of blood. The headless body fell from the throne, and the crown hit the stone floor with a metallic ring.
Vanessa watched Julian slice and smear the dead king's advisors across the chambers, ascend the stairs to his throne, and sit its blood-soaked cushions. The words of the Ballad Blood she once doubted resounded in her mind.
She did not doubt them anymore.