Chapter One

I slashed and hacked at the training dummies made of straw, with every hit making a loud clank against their makeshift armour. My blade cut right through the armour-less ones though. And as their torsos hit the ground and their lower bodies spilled straw as they fell, they tried to crawl away, screaming the whole time. Or whatever you could consider screaming coming from an animate scarecrow.

As I hacked at the scarecrows that were still standing, a few dismembered ones managed to crawl a fair distance. I don't know where they intended to go, but they wouldn't get far. I swung my pitch-black sword and cut off the head of one of the scarecrow, then turned to face the runaways. I turned up my palm and a ball of black flames burst to life. I threw fireball after fireball until, one by one, all of the scarecrow were covered in flames and screaming in agony. I watched the scene of meagre destruction and felt a small smile come to my face.

My training was then ended when I saw a winged monkey flying towards the courtyard. I enhanced the heat of the flames and the scarecrows were immediately incinerated, cutting their anguish short.

I placed my sword leaning against the wall near the weapons rack and wiped the sweat from my crimson coloured skin. I put on my black trench-coat and when I turned back to where I placed my sword, it had been replaced with a cane. Pitch-black with an amber coloured gem set into the top. I grabbed it as I walked past and the gem began glowing.

The monkey had landed by this time and was standing in a stance of attention. I nodded to him and he relaxed slightly.

"General Migs," I said, addressing the monkey. "What's to report?"

"Almost nothing milord," the general replied. "There is the usual unrest in the Black Forest, but little more than that."

"I don't care about the Black Forest," I snapped. "There's always unrest there. What of the people? The city? The witch?"

"The Emerald City seems to be completely peaceful. The celebrations have ended all over Oz, from the Munchkin Village to the Emerald City. Since the Dorothy girl and the Wizard have left Oz, Glinda has formally ascended the throne of the city. There's rumors she may be with child, but no confirmations."

"Is that all to report?" I asked.

"There is still one last bit to report. I've had scouts searching for signs of the Wizard, and I believe we may have found something."

This grabbed my attention. "What is it Migs? Out with it!"

The monkey reached into his bag and handed me a hat. "This was found with the body of an old man in the wreckage of a balloon. We believe that the Wizard is dead."

I looked at the hat, holding it almost reverently. Then a grin spread across my face.

"Haha!" I shouted triumphantly. "This is a sign General! A sign I tell you!"

"Pardon me milord, but a sign of what?" Migs asked.

"It is a sign that it is time," I said, placing the hat on my head. "It is time to act! To seek vengeance! They will pay for what they did to my mother, and they shall pay for it dearly!"

"Wonderful Master Ronan! And just how are we going to do that?"

"Assemble the monkeys general. Call in the Winkie Soldiers. Gather the goblins, alert the trolls. Awaken the giants! Gather every dark creature in Oz to the Black Castle. We will build an army strong enough to crush the Emerald City into dust!"

I let out a sharp whistle and a small red creature came flying at me. The tiny dragon landed on my shoulder and let out a puff of flames.

"Hey Naga," I said, rubbing the tiny firedrake under her snout. She started nuzzling against my neck affectionately, not unlike a cat. I turned back to General Migs.

"Summon the Dragonkin." I ordered. "If we are going to take the Emerald City, we will do it properly and in style."

And with that, I started walking towards the castle gates.

"Wait milord!" Migs shouted. "Where are you going?"

I turned back to him and smiled.

"Well, if we're building an army I should get to know some of our brothers-in-arms first hand, wouldn't you think?"

Migs just stared with a blank and puzzled look.

"I'm going to go see what kind of shit I can stir up on the Yellow Brick Road."

And with that, I turned and walked out of the courtyard.