Divine Inheritance: Chaos

Hearing about the involvement of Jaxx and Raven only made sticking around more interesting to Paige. The idea of being against the Emperor was incentive enough. Paige had heard many things about his daughter, and the things she heard were quite ranged. Most people, especially those who were still loyal to the Newgate line, described Jaxx as the great brat. It was said she was a stunted, 'dwarfish' woman with a scalding temperament. Paige had heard one go as far as to say the one thing worse for Azureth than the Emperor was his bitch daughter. In her vast travels, though, Paige had met others that had a great love and trust for the Stormbringer princess. There were those who recognized a great strength in her, and possibly even a steadily growing wisdom. She had even run across a few conspiracy theorists who were convinced Jaxx to be the long lost Lilith Newgate although Paige had always found that idea a bit far fetched. Meeting Lilith on this day of course confirmed her disbelief in the theories. Still, Paige was interested in the prospect of meeting Jaxx, the great brat, and seeing which rumors had come the closest.
At the mention of Jaxx's "bodyguard" having been there when they last encountered caused Paige's brow to furrow with skepticism. She, of course, knew to whom the lovely giantess was referring. Raven, the Archangel was well known among anyone who had any sort of affiliation with the royal military. She was said to have the face of an angel, the wisdom and grace of a goddess, and the wrath of the devil himself. But what was less well known, was that the woman had been missing for almost two months. The only reason Paige herself knew this was because of a few royal soldiers she had kept in contact with. The official story was that she had left Sax on her own free will for personal reasons and would return in a month's time. But the one she had heard this news from did not believe this to be true. Paige's source was sure that the Emperor's infatuation with her had resulted in a conflict that resulted in her death or imprisonment. If it really was Raven with Jaxx, the stories did not add up. For one, she wouldn't be hanging around Jaxx, her charge, if she was supposed to be out for whatever personal things she had to take care of. It would make even less sense for her to be protecting the daughter of a powerful man who had tried to kill or capture her. That's just asking to be found. Could it be that it was not her at all? That there is someone posing as the famous, and beloved, military figure to keep her disappearance secret? And why the secrecy? The Emperor could easily have come up with some story to explain why she had been killed, arrested, or disappeared. He had been known to do that very thing with many important military and government figures before.
The idea of a man with Jaxx was less surprising. Whoever he was was not well known enough publicly for Lilith to mention him by name. Paige assumed he was most likely a soldier from the army sent to assist her, possibly even a certain amazonian prince that was known to serve the Azureth royal family for reasons unknown. In any case, the more Paige looked into the mysteries surrounding this country the more curious they became.
It was clear that Lilith and her crew were likely very unaware of the true danger and corruption that existed within the government they faced. And Paige was almost certain they were up against a much bigger battle than what Oryx had described weather they were aware of it or not. She kept her thoughts to herself as she patiently waited for them to come to a decision.

 

"Cute. You're still going on about only you fighting Jaxx." Voltair muttered under his breath. Voltair had, unfortunately, missed his opportunity to continue his terrible charade of him not being himself. The conversation had already passed the point where he could continue it with Paige. That being said, he still looked behind him surprised as a reaction to Lilith saying his name.

"Accept her? Yeah, sure, she's in. She's on good enough terms with these two and seems to be rather earnest with meeting my doppelganger. Although I suppose I would be the doppelganger... Huh. How does that work?" He started to ramble on his own, drawing Paige back to him pretending to not be himself. He turned and started to walk off. "Anyways she already seems to have an understanding of you three and doesn't seem to harbor any ill will towards you. So with that in mind you guys might want to rest up. There are three people pursuing you after all. And while I'll try to have some fun with them, it isn't really in your best interest to let them catch up."

-----

"Huh? Oh yeah, a couple did reach here. I appreciate the concern for our safety, but they weren't really any issue for me. I can only surmise that whatever you fought was much worse than the undead that were here." Gerik replied to Jaxx.

 

Merrick and Tess arrived back at the camp and Merrick made his way to his packs to grab a fresh set of clothes. His own had been torn, burned and were now wet and disgustingly dirty. Both Tess and Merrick had always travelled light and Merrick’s access to clean clothes was fading at a dangerous rate. He made a mental note to either buy some or the materials to make some the next time they arrived at a town.

Tess had fared slightly better in the fight against Roxanne and the undead. She also changed into a spare set of clothes and thought about setting to mending hers. She thought better of it and simply stuffed the dirty and soiled clothes into a separate compartment she had in one of her bags. Once she was dressed Tess put on what seemed to be several harnesses. Tess grabbed another of her bags which made a metallic sound as it moved. When it opened it revealed what appeared to be several rolled up bundles of cloth each varying in colour. Tess drew out two of these and rolled them out on the ground in front of her. The first showed several kukri blades each one slightly different to the others. Tess drew all of them and put the first two on the harness so they were positioned at her lower back. The second two were crisscrossed on her back with the handles protruding above her shoulders and the last one she put on a harness on her left thigh. She attached a belt of several throwing knives to her right thigh and a bandolier containing some knives vials and bombs around her torso.

“Going to war?” Merrick joked. “Anyone else wants to pop in for a visit and I’ll give them one” she replied with a smile. “You should get yourself ready. Tonight proves that even with companions we can’t let our guard down.” “There’s also the fact that we don’t trust them” Merrick answered after awhile looking around the camp. Tess simply nodded. “The princess is eyeing you” Tess noted. Merrick didn’t respond. “Well, I’ll go check the perimeters again, leave you two to talk” Again Merrick didn’t respond. “At least keep your trousers on this time” She said with a smirk on her face. Tess was walking when a knife flew past her ear and then landed with a small thud in the ground a few feet in front of her. She picked it up and turned around with a smile. “I’m keeping this” She said as she walked away into the woods.

Merrick was still going through his own gear when he heard Jaxx walking up behind him.

 

Kable grunted at Voltair's response. It did make more sense to bring in an extra body to help out, especially one as skilled as Paige. Maybe it was just the rivalry that went on between the two of them, but he still felt wary of her. Oryx seemed quite fond of her, but he also seemed like the type of individual that would say he was best friends with a giant mountain troll and probably mean it. Kable couldn't quite judge Lilith's reaction to Paige, as her only show of any emotions was reserved for the mere mention of Jaxx. Kable knew what the decision would come to, so he figured he might as well play along for the time being.

"As much as I would like to go against it, Paige would make a decent addition to the group. Especially if Jaxx has brought in more of her friends as well. But just know," Kable pointed a finger to Paige. "That I will be keeping an eye on you."

 

Merrick let Jaxx’s words hang in the air. They did bring a smile to his face, it wasn’t everyday that the princess of the empire offered apology, especially to someone as low as an assassin. He was glad his back was still to her so she couldn’t see his face. So many responses were going through his head. He could state the fact that a little girl like her couldn’t startle a fully trained professional such as himself. He thought of letting her know that she should show some respect to others every once in awhile. He turned around to say something to that respect but when he saw her all the pent up aggression faded. The first thing he saw was the sincerity in her eyes. He had seen so few people with those eyes that he couldn’t help but be impressed.

The second thing he noticed was the scar that had been left by Roxanne’s scythe. He knew she could have had Raven heal it. So it impressed him more that she kept it for what he assumed was the valuable lesson it brought. “Consider it forgotten” Merrick replied simply. He turned around and after rustling through one of his bags he stood back up and handed a vial to Jaxx. “That will help with any stiffness or soreness you might feel.” He said indicating her fresh wound. “It also helps a person sleep. Tess and I will keep watch through the night. Try getting some rest, you will need it.” With that said Merrick packed his bags away and slipped off into the darkness.

“Made a new friend?” Tess asked as Merrick joined her in a tree overlooking the camp. “Hardly” he responded. “But it will make the job easier if we work with them”. Tess looked at Merrick with a look of genuine shock. Her continued silence and stare eventually caused Merrick to look at her. “Don’t look at me like that”.

“The Shadow of Death is willing to play nice with others?” Tess said half joking half asking a genuine question. “For now” he responded.

 

The stars were brighter than usual on this night. Atticus re-entered Sax surrounded by a few of his closer guard. He had just finished joining the guard in securing the city's borders like he had done so many times before. Now, on return to the castle he walked through the streets toward the city in silence. The city was getting increasingly more quiet over this past ten years. With more and more of the young people being drafted into the army to keep out the invaders and protect Azureth. The war had really taken it's tole on the people. Even to Atticus, the sight of the city compared to it's once lively nature was sobering at times. Still, all that could be done was look to the future. Soon, the burden of civil dispute would be corrected when the titan worshipers had been eradicated and the Amazons had accepted there new place in society. They economy will be corrected when the new labor laws had been put into place and most importantly the war was won and Atticus's ultimate, more secret, plan had been realized. Soon, all of the deaths will not have been in vain. A perfect world was so close, and that was what pushed Atticus on. His people depended on it, weather they knew it or not.
As the reached the castle courtyard, Atticus removed his cloak and handed it to a servant who had approached who took it and followed his entourage back inside.

 

As the sun set low over the mountains surrounding Barisor, Lucius tore a chunk of meat from his dinner and began chewing. He and what little of his men left after the battle with Ilda had finally arrived outside of the city. They had set up camp within the treeline to avoid any attention from the barbarians that held the city. How they had managed to secure it mattered little to Lucius, who was still sour from his stalemate with Ilda. All that mattered was that he would do as Atticus commanded and retake the city. Then he would carry the head of Ilda's champion to the ice woman herself and settle their score. Lucius smiled at the thought and took another bite.

"General!" One of his men walked up. The man saluted and then proceeded to speak. "We've got strategic spots marked off around the city. We can easily begin our invasion at yoir command."

Lucius pondered for a minute. "I want a few of you to keep a watch on any supply lines that come through. Figure out when they recieve their supplies and where they come from. If we can, we will cut them off and leave them to turn on one another."

The soldier saluted and walked off to begin his orders. Lucius went silent and gazed out onto Barisor. Night was slowly taking over and he could see lamps being lit up on the streets. Barisor was truly a beautiful city. One that should not be in the clutches of barbarians. Lucius would see to that.

 

Such a lovely shade of red the skies became at dusk in these lands. Haldor was not used to seeing such a sky in his home land, which was beautiful but blanketed with cold clouds year-round. Azureth was much different, much warmer. The inner walls of the city hummed with the clang of armor and the murmurs of man and woman. But the great King stood high above them all, upon the massive walls that surrounded the city. The fact that they had been built before the siege of the city made them invaluable and quite convenient in providing protection and security. Aside from the patching that needed to be done from previous war-related damage, very little work was needed. He watched his men far below as they worked diligently to dig a massive trench around the outside of the wall which was filled with sharpened sticks, castaway swords, and other sharp objects to impale any unlucky bastard who tried to run at the walls.

From his position, he could see the far stretches of land before him. Azureth truly was a beautiful country. As far as the mountain range on the horizon he saw so much bountiful green land and the outlines of prosperous cities beyond that. Yes, this truly was a land worth the rough journey across the sea. Even better was the vision he caught glimpse of in the far distance: an army. He had received word by carrier bird earlier from Ironside. In the message she was brief but did mention her cross with General Lucius along with the warning that he would likely march on Barisor. This news was nothing but welcomed to Haldor, who was eager to stain the land with local blood once again. He itched for carnage ever since the win of this great city. And now, it appeared, he was finally going to be granted it.

"Sir! The trench is dug and the clans await your orders." the warrior who spoke was a worn and dirty female who had clearly been helping with the securing of the city. She spoke while gazing out toward the army gathered a few miles away. Haldor did not take his eyes off of the enemy for a moment. But he answered, "For now, tell them to rest in shifts. But to keep working on the preparations. We will continue to watch them, see what we can learn about their plan of attack by their movements. Perhaps these Azuretes are as stupid as they are tiny, and will attempt a full frontal assault."

 

The day drew to a resounding close. Most of his men retreated to their tents, ready to get a nights full rest and be prepared for the next day. Lucius, however, remained awake, his eyes glued to the city. He watched as the barbarians numbers began to lessen as they to made their way to their beds. Most of who remained were guards, with a few still building up preparations for any invasion that would come.

The stars came out from their hiding spot and helped the moon shine down upon the forest and Barisor. Lucius then stood up and beckoned a couple archers to him. They responded instantly to his command. Without another word, they began marching towards the city. As they neared the edge of the forest, Lucius stopped and turned to the soldiers.

"I want you both to keep your bows trained on whomever decides to step forth to speak to me." Lucius explained.

"Yes sir!" They both saluted and took off into different directions. Once Lucius was sure that they were in position, he drew out his sword and stepped out of the treeline. He was immediately greeted by yells and drawn swords.

"My name is Lucius Malignis! I am the General of the Imperial Army and I demand to speak with whomever holds this city under their iron grip!" Lucius drove his sword point into the ground and waited.

 

Haldor crossed his arms as he stared down at Lucius from his elevated position atop the wall. A wry grin crossed his face "And so the maggot challenges the bear." he muttered with a chuckle. He jerked his head to a nearby guard, who had a loaded bow trained directly on Lucius's eye. "Go and get me Loch!" he barked, "And prepare for anything." The archer withdrew his bow and ran off to do as he was instructed. Haldor then looked back to Lucius, directly in front of him but several feet below.
"Ye hold no authority to be making demands here, good General!" He bellowed to his challenger below. "This city knows no Empire. It knows only the great clans of Chieftain Ilda Ironside and King Haldor Lothbrok!!" His words were answered by loud cheers and jeers from other guards lined the upper walls of Barisor. When it quieted, Haldor added with the same vigor "But you have our attention. So speak if that's what you came here to do!"
________________________________

Meanwhile in Gainsville, Paige giggled at Voltair's shenanigans. And with no other objections Paige decided it was time to push the issue. "Well then it's decided! I suppose seeing as you have all asked so nicely I will do you a favor and help you. Because I'm such a good person and all..." she jumped down from the tree to once again be level with Kable and Voltair. She glanced at Kable as he warned he would be keeping an eye on her and her flirtatious grin returned once more. "But of course. After how many times I've caught you staring, how should this adventure be any different. Just remember.... my eyes are up here loverboy." she turned his warning around on him effortlessly before clapping his arm once and turning to Oryx "Now that all of that is out of the way you must tell me! What happened after I last saw you? The last time we met I thought for sure you were dead after that giant eagle carried you off!"

 

Loch had been enjoying himself in local tavern when a warrior came barging in calling his name. He didn’t respond straight away. He had been sharpening his weapons on was finishing work on his axe. “Lord Finnan?!” the man called. Finnan could hear the man moving frantically through the tavern. Finally the man managed to find him. “Lord…Finnan…” the man said out of breath. “By the Gods man, calm yourself and have a drink” Finnan said indicating the pitcher that sat on the table next to him. He poured a drink into a mug and pushed it toward the man, who stood breathing heavily. After taking the drink the man stood for a moment catching his breath. “King Lothbrok has called for you at the main wall” he finally managed to say.

“Ah” Finnan answered in reply while taking a drink himself. That explained the man’s urgency. The King was not a man you wanted to upset; He was known to be extreme in his punishments for not following an order through or not doing it to the Kings level of satisfaction.

Finnan finished his drink and stood equipping his weapons. “Sit and finish that pitcher” He said to the man who had delivered the message to him. “T’would be a shame to let the drink go to waste, Even if it is piss poor. The drink here is weak, like its people.

“Young Loch” A man said as Finnan stepped outside the tavern. A large hand hit him on the shoulder and Finnan returned the gesture. The name Young Loch brought a smile to his face. He was older than the man by a good ten years. The name had stuck from when Finnan first joined the warriors in battle and fought by his father’s side. “Drink with us?” The man asked indicating the tavern he’d just come out of. “The King asked for me” Finnan said in reply. “Heard that some army approached the wall” The man said in response. “Best get to it then” Finnan said clapping the man on the shoulder once more before heading towards for the King.

* * * * *

“My King” Finnan said approaching the wall. He was met with quite the view. The moon and stars were bright in the night sky; the view was spoiled only by the filth that called themselves warriors in this land. “Need me to get rid of this filth for you?” He said moving the King’s side.

 

Lucius eyed the man that appeared beside Haldor. He definitely seemed capable of holding his own, but Lucius was not concerned with him. The man Lucius spoke with, King Haldor, would be more than enough. "I come to speak of your surrender, King. This city is a great city, one that does not with to be in the eyes of the army. Many a people will die. Is this truly worth the effort?"

Of course, Lucius didn't really care for the people of Barisor. He wpuld be content to let them burn along with the barbarians that held thr city. But Lucius knew that the Emperor would at least want to say that they tried their best to save the people. In the end, however, it would not matter.

Lucius stepped forward, knowing that he also had bows trained on him. "I will return at dawn for an answer. One would hope thaf you will make the wise choice." Lucius then mock bowed to Haldor, turned to grab his sword, and proceeded to march back into the forest. Hopefully this had given his men enough time to scout for any openings into the city.

__________________

Kable shuddered at Paige's advances. It didn't help that she knew she was good looking, and was okay with flaunting it around for everyone to see. She proceeded to talk to Oryx about some giant eagle, leaving Kable to his thoughts. He wasn't happy with the idea of her being in the group. Then again, Kable knew the same could be said about Voltair. Or any of them, for that matter.

 

Haldor stood silent and Loch's words hung in the air. They both listened to Lucius speak before turning tail and walking away. It was only after Lucius had once again walked through the trees and out of sight did Haldor answer Finnan. "It seems this filth wants to re-enter my city." he clapped his hand on Finnan's arm, "Take a squad of whoever you want and be sure to cut down any roaches you see trying to find cracks in our walls, aye?"
He turned to walk away, to begin other preparations for the inevitable confrontation. But he stopped after a few paces "Oh, and Young Loch. Prepare the same squad to be ready to greet our Imperial friends at dawn.Let them have a taste of the failure they will meet once they reach our walls."

 

"In a sense, yes." Gerik replied without really turning to face Raven. "I had initially considered myself... Unlucky with my travels. After I arrived here I had an audience with Emperor Atticus. It was he who suggested that I travel to Claire's village. Of course by the time I arrived it was already destroyed. So I took her with me, the only survivor of that attack." Gerik paused for a moment. When he resumed talking, it was in his language. "Initially I was looking for someone who would be able to take care of her. I know that I am not the best choice for her. But as I looked around, I quickly found out that people here hate Titan worshipers. If they ever found out where she came from..." Gerik paused again before returning to speaking in Azureth's language. "After that I met up with Jaxx and got involved with her mission." Once again, Gerik spoke in his language. "I must admit that I do question the purpose of her mission. Something about it feels... Off. Sometimes I wonder if I am here for more than the reason I was given. That I am here because of Jaxx and Lilith." One last time, Gerik switched languages again. "And so now we are here, with Jaxx and the others getting attacked earlier."

Gerik paused again and sighed. "Since those have been the majority of my experiences here, I can't quite deny feeling a sense of barbarism from here, even if that feeling isn't constant. Back where I'm from... people don't really act this way. Not to imply that where I'm from is perfect in anyway. It's just... We are raised to rely on each other and value something as basic as water. There are times in my people's history where water was scarce and the only way to survive was by helping each other. A person's life was too valuable to waste it on some petty argument or disagreement."

Realizing he was starting to ramble on, Gerik stopped. "Sorry for going on like that. I don't think you assumed I would go off like that."

-----

"Loverboy." Voltair chuckled as he started walking. "Definitely gonna have fun with this one. Perhaps I should offer my services as a mediator in romantic pursuits. Anyways," his voice raised as he actively spoke towards Kable. "Might as well cheer up. No sense in being unhappy with every member of the group." Even though he was speaking towards Kable, Voltair did continue walking without stopping near Kable. His talking was more the kind where he simply was making himself heard without actually getting into a conversation.

 

Ilda looked out at Carmilla Sar from her camp hidden behind several hills. She doubted anyone would spot her, though not that she cared really. She could see a large fleet upon the river beginning to move down river, she had a large smirk across her face. Her people were just as deadly upon land as they were upon water. It was amusing watching the ships sail towards the watery grave that awaited them. A large number of her forces were sailing up river, and there was a large number that sailed onward to the Great Lake to claim the mouth of the river. Blood would soak the land and water very soon, it thrilled her very much.

"Great Seer, what do the bones say about the coming battle?" Ilda asked as she marched down from the hill towards a man in a black robe sitting near performing magical rituals.

"Hmmm, I see many forthcomings... Fire that burns water... Fire that burns man... Blood that stains Earth..." The Seer ranted in a low and trance like state. Ilda though was not one for riddles and nonsense. However she was not one to disturb the Seer and possibly anger the gods. "I see... Storms of death... covering the land in ice... freezing boats where they sail... Robbing life where it stands... The gods favor you this day, prove your mettle in battle once more and they shall grant us victory..."

"Ice, freezing, deaths cold embrace? Seems this place is a little to warm for the liking's of our gods. Let me put this chill on hmhmhmhm..." Ilda concentrated and raised her hands. The climate here was very warm, her people were born in the unforgivable frozen lands of this Earth, they would endure and handle well in the cold, but perhaps these Imperial Soldiers were not as accustomed to the cold.

Storm clouds moved fast from over the mountain range, carried on frigged winds that blew fiercely. The sun disappeared and a gloomy and depressing sky took its place. It began to snow lightly for as far as the eye could see. A bliizzard would do her no good here, but a slow, but building storm would bring fear and hopelessness to the unprepared people of Carmilla Sar. "I hope they stocked up on supplies, because none will be coming, not at least until the city is mine."

---------------------------------------------------

"The Eagles! Ah gosh missy! I haven't hung out with them in ages! Let me tell you, for giant eagles, those guys are party animals!" Oryx exclaimed in excitement. "So there I was, having been scooped up by this giant eagle thinking to myself 'This is quite the prediciment you're in lassy! Just hold in there, you've eaten giant turkeys bigger than this eagle, you got this!'" Oryx said as he began to reminiscent about his story. "So apparently some dragons and these giant eagles got into a pissing match about who was better and cooler. I was the judge apparently. Though don't worry I got the whole thing settled out, then from there these dragons are like 'Hey you're one cool lassy and have cool firepowers, you should help us with this problem with this evil dragon tamer.'"

He put one arm around Paige and brought her in close and held out his other hand and made a sweeping motion in the air. "And that my beautiful little missy friend, is how I wrote my first book on how to train your dragon. Excellent read, its mostly pictures, which is why its the best book ever."

 

Finnan stood on the wall and watched where the man had walked into the tree line. He was trying to decide if the man was brave or if every so called warrior in this land was brainless. Once Haldor had left, Loch made his way to the tavern the messenger had found him in. “Sihtric!” He bellowed as he opened the door. Almost immediately a man rose from a bench and made his way to Finnan. “What’s the old man got for us this time?” he said as he reached Loch and smacked a hand on his shoulder. “Gather the crew, and a few more of these bastards to boot.” “Something fun then?” “Aye, we’re hunting” Finnan replied with a smile.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Finnan pulled his axe free of the soldiers head with a wet squelch. “Ha! Looks like some of these mutts have brains after all!”. “BASTARD!” Finnan turned to see a solider charging him with his sword raised, side stepping the wild downward slash he returned the attack with his axe aimed at the man’s throat. It met its target lodging into the mans spinal cord. The man dropped with a thud and struggled for his last breath. Letting the axe drop with the dead man Loch dropped the shield he had and drew his hand and a half sword to finish off the scouting party.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Lord?” A man asked approaching Finnan with caution. “Lord, its over” Finnan stood there blood dripping from his sword, his hair and beard. There was a reason they called him the blood drinker. “Lord it’s done” The man repeated taking another cautious step towards him. “Where’s my axe?” Finnan asked, “Here!” Sihtric yelled coming back with his group. Finnan had split his crew in half allowing them to scout both directions of the city’s walls. By Sihtrics appearance you could tell that they had engaged some of the filth from this country. “Looks like you got them all” Sihtric said handing Finnan his axe back. “And how faired your own hunt?” “Well, we seemed to have killed most of them. A few of the filth ran” “Let them tell their tales. Its time these dogs learned their place. Come, the sun will be rising in a few hours. Let us set up our greeting for that ‘great’ general”