Year 2: The Scorched Remains - Chapter 4

Hi everyone, TheGrompFather here.

So, yesterday, I was a little delirious with a fever, some intense lower back pain and shivers, so I thought I'd put the chapter up before going to be. That was roughly two hours before I woke up in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat, and thinking it was 8 in the morning (it had only just gone midnight). 

Now that I'm in a much clearer state of mind, I now know that I did not put the new chapter up and thus will post it now.

Sorry for the delay and enjoy!

(If you are curious, yes I am feeling better, though I still have a few shivers and a bit of a bad back.)

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Recruitment posters had gone up across the Demon Empire soon after the emperor issued his orders.

To all able-bodied citizens of the Demon Empire,

Your Emperor, Lord Allaric, calls upon you to join his newly formed Demonic Legion, an army made up of the strongest men and women of the empire, to serve and protect his empire and its people.

Any one above the age of 15 can apply at any one of the recruitment centres that have been established across his great empire.

Should you join, your pay will be the equivalent of four hundred Rhams a month.

This is for all soldiers and recruits as a starting wage.

Should you perform well or be promoted, this wage will increase to equal your efforts.

Together, we shall defend the Demon Empire from invaders.

Reactions, to put it mildly, were mixed.

Some were confused, others were scared.

Privately, some laughed at the posters and mocked them.

Others, secretly, began to consider it.

Life was, largely, peaceful for the people of the Demon Empire, as long as they followed the emperor’s laws.

The wage being offered for serving in the Demonic Legion was far greater than they’d ever expected it to be, perhaps a sign of the Demon Emperor’s illustrious wealth.

If, however, they accepted that offer, they’d be joining an army to fight the Free People’s Alliance.

It meant potentially condemning themselves forever should they fail and the alliance succeeded.

In the back of their minds however, a dark thought formed.

What if they served and the Demon Emperor won?

***

Princess Raeanne looked over the poster with a scowl.

“Is this a sign that the Demon Emperor is weaker than we first thought?”

“I don’t think so, Gregor,” she said. “If anything, I think he’s declaring that he’s no longer holding anything back.”

“As if he was before,” Wallace mused.

“Perhaps, but how many poor or desperate people would leap at this sort of opportunity? Maybe not too many in the north, but many in the south-east would. The incident with Penny and the failed rebellion of the Banners of Themis are still fresh in their minds.”

“Not just them, princess, but also the fall of Themis and the death of Count Barthlow’s forces too.”

She smiled thinly and looked down at the map spread across the table, and the dwindling number of allied flags and banners that remained. “Every time we achieve victory, he achieves three. We can liberate every single goblin cave in the north and still not come close to the Demon Emperor.

“If this recruitment drive for the Demonic Legion even brings in five thousand soldiers, they’ll still send a message, both to those of us who resist and those who stand against him in the west.”

“You’ll have to fight the very people you’re trying to save to defeat me,” Wallace grumbled. “What a sadistic way of pacification.”

“If it works.”

“Well, then we just have to make sure that it doesn’t!” Gregor declared. “Princess, give me a hundred good men and I can demonstrate our power in the north-east.”

“Doing what, Gregor?” Wallace asked.

“W-well, I-”

“We don’t have the numbers to spare,” Princess Raeanne said. “As it is, we’re barely keeping the numbers we have fed and cared for. We’ll simply have to keep doing what we’re doing and send more agents to infiltrate cities under the Demon Emperor’s thumb to try and radicalise its citizens against the empire.”

“There’s a very real chance any agents we send might not return, princess. The reward for snitching is much grander than that of rebellion to some,” Wallace reminded her.

“Even then, we have to try. The Demon Emperor is growing more powerful with every passing day. More demons, more skeletons, even more Dread Knights and now this Demonic Legion - we cannot allow him time to dedicate his forces to the west. We must keep his attention here in the east, raising rebellion in open defiance against him, to give the Free People’s Alliance more time to prepare their invasion.”

“…I just hope it comes sooner than later.”

***

The Trú of Elvast had seen the greatest change to their normal lives since the rise of the Demon Empire.

For starters, they were now all lower-class citizens as the Gørviligr made themselves the lords and ladies of the city; they ruled over everything with an iron fist, while the Trú lived almost like slaves.

With their High King dead and the remnants of his family as hostages at their palace, the elves of Elvast saw little of the outside world beyond what the Gørviligr allowed them to see.

They heard the reports of the failed rebels, of the war, and of the Demon Emperor’s increasing power.

Yet still, deep in their hearts, many held onto hope.

That was until Prince Ponithan’s bloodied and bruised person was dragged through the streets for trying to escape.

His cheeks were purple, one of his eyes had been gouged out, his hair had been shaved, and his ears cut off.

Once, Ponithan had been so desperate to protect his siblings and mother that he raised a sword against the High King and tried to kill him.

After months in captivity and deep reflection, he snapped and tried to escape on his own.

His mother, sisters and brothers were made to watch as he was strung up with four ropes, one attached to each of his limbs.

Then, the Gørviligr High King Darum and commander of his forces, Hersi, addressed the forcefully gathered crowd of Trú from atop a grand podium, made out of destroyed treasures and treasures.

“Peasants!” Darum’s voice was booming and vile. “Your noble prince has committed grand crimes against us, the chosen servants of his majesty the Demon Emperor, and today shall receive just punishment - death!”

The Gørviligr soldiers corralling the crowds and guarding the platform cheered and bashed their spears and shields against the ground, intimidating the Trú even further.

From the rooftops, Hermes Trismegistus watched on, taking a rare break from his research, to observe what he thought was a large-scale experiment of the Demon Emperor’s design.

He has given the Gørviligr great freedom to act independently of the normal laws and rules of the empire. For what reason, I am unsure, but I believe it’s meant to serve as an exercise to find out how effective different methods of subjugation and control are.

“Hersi.”

“My king. Archers!”

Sixty bowmen drew arrows back on their bows, taking aim at the prince hanging between the large wooden poles that the Gørviligr had erected in the city’s centre.

Urged on by their captors, his family had to watch or else their lives would be forfeit.

“Fire!”

The arrows all found their mark and the prince was no more.

Many cried out in horror, his family cried, though no one broke eye contact with Ponithan until his light faded.

“Remember!” High King Darum yelled. “You are only alive because we allow you to live. Once the debt of your sins have been paid, perhaps you’ll one day return to your old lives. For the Demon Emperor!”

“For the Demon Emperor!” The Gørviligr echoed, again and again.

Amongst the crowd, Hermes could see some of the crowd develop angry gazes, as if the fire of rebellion had been lit within them.

I wonder, Gørviligr, no matter how you handle this, I shall be there to document its failures and successes.

***

“For the next four months, only attack from the south-east, Abaddon. Do not attack from any other direction; only from here.”

“As you-”

“Further.” David cut him off. “I give you permission to use fifty of the Dread Knights. Do not lose a single one or I’ll take your head.”

The harshness of his tone told the demon general all he needed to know; the Demon Emperor had made such threats before, but this time he would truly do it without hesitation.

“I want the world, and you will all deliver this to me.”

The Demon Emperor’s words resonated clearly in his head.

“I shan’t fail you,” Abaddon vowed.

“This time.”

The general flinched a little, but didn’t let the pain in his heart show on the surface. He bowed and left promptly.

Seconds later, someone knocked at his door.

“Your majesty, Empress Lilith is here to see you.”

“…Send her in.”

With a curtsey, she entered and smiled gently at him.

Even after everything’s that happened, just seeing Lilith is enough to warm my heart.

He relaxed his shoulder, removed his helmet and hugged her, before kissing her lips. “Is everything alright?”

“That’s what I should be asking.” Lilith separated from him, tracing her fingertips lightly over his chest piece. “You’ve been so busy lately we haven’t had much time for one another.”

David tried to smile, but it came across as a thin, disinterested line across his face. “…A lot’s happened, but it’s nothing you have to worry about.”

“Allaric, I’m your wife - everything regarding you is something I have to worry about.”

He laughed. “I guess that’s true, but-”

She put two fingers against his lips. “Allaric, before we talk about anything else, I have something I need to tell you.

“I’m pregnant.”

***

Lord Ruthven couldn’t contain his grin as he read the letter from the Dread Keep again and again.

“Finally,” he whispered. “Her love has borne fruit. Here.” He handed his aide a long list of items. “Take the finest of these items we have and send them to the Dread Keep at once. Send word to the other members of the Court regarding the good news, and instruct them to send lavish presents to congratulate the happy couple. Once the heir is born, let the whole world know!”

“As you command, Lord Ruthven.”

The aide left quickly, leaving Ruthven alone with Theodora again.

“Would you have liked to send a blessing to the happy couple too, princess?”

With a well-rehearsed, polite smile, Theodora said, “No thank you, Lord Ruthven.”

“I imagine that’s the sort of thing you’d rather say in person then?” Ruthven smiled. “Don’t worry - you’ll be back at the Dread Keep soon enough to see your beloved siblings. I’m sure they’d appreciate it if you spoke with the Emperor and Empress about it.”

Detecting the lightly veiled threat, Theodora nodded.

***

“B-but…” Confused, David removed his gauntlet and touched her stomach which looked no different from normal. “When-? How did this-? When did you know?”

“Only for definite a little while ago,” Lilith said. “A vampire’s pregnancy is quite different from that of a human. The child’s development only begins within the last two months of pregnancy and it only takes us six months to give birth once we’ve conceived. In a few weeks’ time, you’ll be able to see the fruit of our love sticking out of my belly right here.”

She held his palm against her stomach with reddened cheeks and smiled. “I know you’ve been busy with a lot lately, but I hope you’ll-”

David sealed her lips before she could finish.

The two kissed one another repeatedly for minutes, before David finally stopped.

“Our child,” he repeated as a former dream from his old world returned, of a fantasy he once had involving Hailey. Dismissing it as best he could, David smiled and lent down to rest his head gently against her stomach. “I’m so happy.”

“So am I, Allaric, but.” She touched his cheek and he looked up into her eyes. “I’m not happy that you’re trying to hide things from me.”

“…That’s…”

“I asked Mímir about that night. I know about Hailey and your old name, David.” David tensed and shook a little, so Lilith reassuringly rubbed his cheek with her thumb. “I’m not upset that you didn’t tell me your old name or about her; I’m upset that you’re keeping it all bottled up inside of you and not talking to me about it.

“No matter who you are or what you do, you’re my husband and I love you. David, Allaric, the Demon Emperor - you’re still you, the man I love.” She lent down and kissed him. “Don’t ever forget that, okay?”

David meekly nodded and wrapped his arms around her. “…Thank you, Lilith.”

She wrapped her arms around his head and said, “Of course.”

After a few blissful moments of peace, she asked, “Would you rather that I still called you Allaric?”

“…Please.”

“…Okay.”

“…I love you.”

“I know, but…you also still have feelings for her, don’t you?”

David nodded, unable to let the words slip from his mouth.

“Like I’ve always said, having mistresses is normal for one such as yourself,” Lilith whispered. “I know you’ve been with Mania, Scylla and Charybdis, and that’s fine with me. The only thing I need to ask is this.

“Do you want her too? Or do you want her gone?”