Chapter 3 - Part 20 (Book 1 - Fantasy World)

Han watched as Queen walked away from the pyramid towards the soldiers marching in their direction, aiming for Leaf Village.

The smell of barbeque became stronger. Han glanced to see that Brittany had already cut up some meat and was feeding it to him. Opening his mouth, he enjoyed the bark of the brisket. Just like he thought it would be, the meat was tender and juicy while slightly smoky.

There was a light in the sky. A flickering of lights and rainbows, like the surface of a bubble being poured onto a glass bowl and oozing down. The sight was majestic, like fireworks on a summer night.

The invisible bowl of light encapsulated the surrounding area, including the soldiers -- who stopped in confusion by the light show.

Slowly, it unevenly touched the ground.

Once it finished touching the ground, it flashed before disappearing. The only evidence of its existence was the occasional rainbow rippling across the surface.

“Master, I have set up the barrier,” Helania leaned and informed Han.

Han took a sip of the red wine, enjoying the fruity and sweet taste. There was a hint of alcohol but not enough to be noticed.

As the barrier was set up, Queen continued to walk towards the soldiers moving about in confusion.

Han couldn't hear the sounds of the soldiers, creating multiple screens to allow him a better view and listen to what was happening. Soon the sounds of shouting from the soldiers and panicking could be heard.

"Stay calm and get back into formation! It must be some kind of trickery by the kingdom's mages in the village!" A commanding officer shouted.

While Han was focusing on the sight of the Lunar empire soldiers slowly becoming orderly, he sensed a growing flow of willpower. Based on the scale of the power, Han glanced at where Queen stood.

Out of the ground, around Queen, an undulating black fog began to billow around her. Tendrils of fog snaked out, periodically touching the ground as though curious about what it was before flinching back.

"It's like an animal that was deposited into a foreign environment," Han curiously watched the fog -- fascinated by what Queen would be showing him.

As more of the fog rose and expanded into the area, the tendrils continued to become bolder in their movements.

Han noticed rabbits trying to escape from the fog.

Sensing movement, one of the incorporeal tentacles paused before curiously looking at the sounds being made by the scared animal. The tentacle whipped toward the nearest rabbit. A few more smoke tentacles followed the first to grab one of the fleeing creatures.

Pitiful squeaks were heard as the fog caught the rabbit and slowly devoured it.

Seeing the fog behave in such a manner made him curious. It made him remember a movie involving a mist or fog that devoured people fleeing from it, taking place in a small remote town.

The fog started small but eventually expanded to several hundred square feet around Queen.

"What is that?!" A soldier screamed in terror, seeing the eldritch non-euclidean formless mass inching closer.

Several other soldiers shared the sentiment before a superior chastised them for their cowardice.

Seeing how the soldiers behaved to the unknown mass and how those in charge reacted was a contrast that Han appreciated. If he were in the same situation, he wondered if he could behave as the superiors behaved.

"I can see that Queen enjoys playing with her prey," Han laughed. Finding himself enjoying the performance, Han clapped his hands together.

The fog had grown to such a size that it reached several feet high at the base of the pyramid.

Han took another bite from what Brittany presented him before leaning forward -- eager to see what came next.

"This is an extraordinary performance on such a beautiful night while I get to enjoy food filled with flavor. There's truly something stunning about a beautiful woman turning enemy troops into a frenzied mess while having a gorgeous woman feed me superb food. Truly, truly, I am blessed to have such beautiful creations.” He grinned and laughed, raising his glass of wine to toast Queen and Brittany.

“Your enjoyment is our pleasure, Master,” Helania smiled at how Han was enjoying himself.

Han reached to grab one of Helania's hands, kissing the woman. “All of you do such a good job -- taking care of me and satisfying my whims.”

“Master, how could we not go to such lengths for you?” Brittany kissed him on his head.

Seeing changes to the fog made Han turn his attention back on Queen.

If it wasn't for the fact that the area around Queen was void of fog, Han would have no way to see his creation. The fog was thick and several times higher than Queen.

"I imagine even a giraffe would be lost in that fog," Han said.

Though it looked similar to an ocean, the way it rippled and undulated gave it an organic flavor to the incorporeal mass.

Soon, it stopped moving and began to disperse and fade away. As the fog slowly started to become less opaque, it revealed hundreds of humanoid figures clad in pitch-black armor on top of skeletal horses. Each one oozed a malefic air around them -- a blight on the living.

Beneath them, the grass slowly turned brown before curling up into a black corrupted mass.

Though there was a chill emanating from their bodies, the air rippled and distorted as though the presence of the creatures was an affront to reality.

Han looked amazed at this force and said, “analyze.”

[Knights of the Order of Death

Long ago, the Knights of the Order of Death were tasked with serving the Great Lord. Their duties were to fight against demonic forces to protect the powerless. They would even depose those that were corrupt, who'd take advantage of the impoverished people.

Their accomplishments, acts of kindness, and pursuit of justice spread across the land. Travels to the fringes between the lands belonging to the demons and those of the humans became safer. Anyone serving the Order would be welcomed in the remote regions where attacks from demons would be frequent.

After hearing the praises placed on the order, those in power became jealous and feared that there would be a revolt. Seeing the populace grow to worship the Order became a nail that dug into them.

The nobles spread the word that the Order had become corrupt, selfishly taking bribes and leaving villages to fend for themselves as they were devoured by demons grew. As time passed, discontent toward the Order gained traction, and rumors developed.

Due to fears that they were siding with organizations that were experimenting on monsters and demons, the Knights serving in the Order of Death were eventually hunted down. Their temples were destroyed one by one, and those in power were brutally tortured. They were forced into confessing to crimes they hadn't committed.

As support for the Order diminished and inevitably evaporated, the knights were systematically wiped from history and transformed into myths about unholy demonic creatures to be used to scare misbehaving children.]

Han read the lore, finding the amount of detail added to it fascinating. Upon finishing it, he was curious about the origins of the lore and whether the knights created by Queen were indeed those from an ancient order of disgraced knights. It was like reading a brief summary of events in a history textbook.

Another thing he contemplated was whether Queen had summoned beings from the world they currently resided in or if the knights originated from some other planet.

"I should ask Queen where she summoned these creatures from," Han thought as he leaned on the armrest, his chin resting on his hand.

The knights were spread out disorganizedly. Each one stared into nothingness as though without a will of their own. Their mounts occasionally dug into the dirt. Due to the corruption, it had a grey appearance and was no longer clumped together, just breaking apart to be blown away by the night breeze into dust.

Queen made some motions with her arms, ready for her performance, like a conductor signaling to an orchestra.

No longer giving the appearance of soulless puppets, the knights became alert and began to form themselves into uniform rows -- to properly face the Empire’s troops.

Despite the sinister air of the mounted knights, the soldiers of the Empire appeared to have calmed down, the soldiers regaining the appearance of trained soldiers.

"See, it was just an illusion cast by their mages to try and scare us!" A superior officer yelled at those around them.

Nearby soldiers yelled in agreement, angered by how they had acted earlier.

“I wonder if those soldiers we faced earlier were part of a scouting party?” Han wondered out loud.

“That appears to be the case, Master.” Helania agreed.

Han watched as a single soldier in flashy armor moved away from the others. Just with a casual glance, the way the man arrogantly moved -- as though expecting the world to prostrate before him -- Han knew that the man was in charge of the enemy forces.

"I hope you do not disappoint me," Han grinned as he took another drink of his wine.