A King's End
King Jasson paced his chambers, angrily awaiting word from his messengers of what had become of the battle he had waged. When he was about ready to scream in frustration a loud knock was heard at the door. He rushed to it, then remembered who he was and composed himself. He opened the door to a small man bearing the king's livery.
"Have you word?" the king asked, "What is the news?"
"We have won sire. The Kingdom of Leviathan has been vanquished and its people are now yours."
A dark smile played across Jasson's features, he had wanted this kingdom for years and now he had it. The kingdom which was said to be unconquerable was now in his palm, waiting to have its powers twisted to his advantage.
"Thank you…you may go. Inform my servants that we are to have a feast in honour of this victory."
"Yes sire" the man bowed and left.
Jasson waited for the doors to close then went to his private study. From a desk he retrieved a large map of the continent. On the map borders were drawn, some erased then redrawn farther out. He erased another one of these borders and drew a new one, this one encompassing the mysterious land of Leviathan.
"Now I have you" he then dressed and proceeded to his celebration.
When the week passed Jasson sat upon his horse, a group of his finest soldiers with him. He had conquered the strange kingdom now he wanted to explore it.
"Let us go and discover my new land. We will see what wonders await us there."
Jasson's queen, Nia, stepped forward before her husband could leave. He stepped down from his horse for her as she placed her delicate hand on his chain mailed arm.
"Come back to me," she said softly.
"I will, I promise."
He then mounted his horse and rode off with a final wave to his queen. The queen returned to the palace, finding her young son Roald and telling him of his father's departure.
Roald sighed, "Why must he conquer everything in his path?"
"He was called Jasson the Conqueror for a purpose. You should be grateful; this is what you will rule when he is gone."
Roald nodded sadly, 'One day father will realize that he wants too much. He'll have to realize eventually that you can't rule the world no matter how hard you try.'
King Jasson's journey lasted for six days. Men tipped their hats when their king passed and women graciously curtsied, everyone showed respect and reverence for their ruler.
As they reached the enormous fortified kingdom which was Leviathan the king stopped his troop.
"So this is the famous Leviathan. It does not look like much. How could it possibly instil so much fear in men? It is just a city."
"Sire," one man dared reply, "Many legends have accompanied this place, none of them pleasant."
"Legends are just stories blown out of proportion. A kingdom is only as strong as its ruler and this ruler was a particularly weak one. He did not put up much of a fight; he openly surrendered, giving me full reign. Now open the gates."
The soldier nodded then signalled the others. They all dismounted from their horses and pulled the heavy gates open. As the king led them through the dead city streets a wave of uneasiness settled on them.
"Where is everyone? No one could have left; I made sure that the gates were watched."
"Maybe they are all in hiding, sire"
An annoyed look set on Jasson's face, "We must get to the castle, I don't have time to waste looking for villagers."
As King Jasson approached the castle a small group of people came towards them. A tall man stood out from the crowd and stepped forward.
"Welcome King Jasson," he said with a bow, "I have been sent to escort you and your men to meet our …leader." The man dare not say king in Jasson's presence for he was their king now.
"Yes, I would love to meet him" Jasson replied.
Many of the others took the soldiers horses while the tall man escorted them to meet the realm's former ruler.
"You have not provided me with your name" Jasson said suddenly.
"My name is of little importance highness, you should not soil your tongue with the name of one so lowly as me."
Jasson smirked, "True, but I still need something with which to identify you with. Tell me your name."
"Daemon sire, many people call it a cursed name."
Jasson opened his mouth to reply, but stopped, they had entered the throne room. Seated on the elaborate throne was a pale man with the lightest of blond hair. As Jasson approached he stepped down from his seat and bowed.
"Such respect Narikin, I am impressed, " Jasson rudely walked passed him and sat in the throne he had stolen.
Narikin regarded him with the iciest of smiles, his deep blue eyes as hard as stone.
"I hope our home pleases you King Jasson. I have organised many things to entertain you during your stay."
Narikin turned to a waiting servant, "Show our king and his men to their suites. Make sure they are comfortable and well attended to."
Narikin bowed to Jasson and left.
"Sire", Jasson's second in command Kian said, "How could he be called a kin when he just stood there watching you take his throne?"
"What could he possibly do? He is a weak wretch that I have under my thumb. He doesn't dare show anger towards me, he has no right. At the very least he knows his place and if he is smart he won't try anything stupid."
Kian nodded, resuming his place beside his king. Jasson's gaze set on the servant that was supposed to lead them to their rooms. His eyes narrowed in annoyance.
"Why are you standing there like an idiot? Do as you are told and lead me to my chambers!"
"Yes sire."
As the days passed Narikin entertained Jasson to the best of his ability. There were musicians, singers, and the best dancers in the kingdom. Bards came to tell their stories and illusionists came to amuse. Mages performed their most difficult and elaborate spells while Jasson sat and gloated over the superiority of his own in his homeland.
"Jasson would you like to see the sites of our city? I'm sure you would enjoy it."
Jasson's eyes narrowed in anger, "How dare you? I am your king. You do not ever call me by anything but that. I don't want to ever hear my name on your vile tongue."
The revelry all stopped as everyone in the room heard this. The people of the kingdom looked on with cold silence as their former and beloved king was humiliated by this vulgar foreigner.
Surprisingly Narikin did not look angered in the least, "I apologize sire. Would his highness wish to see this kingdom to the full extent? I'm sure you will be very delighted."
Jasson laughed, contempt in his eyes, "Yes I would love to see all of my kingdom, thank you."
Narikin nodded, then turned his attention back to the festivities at hand. The performers continued as if nothing was amiss.
The musicians ended their song and began a new one, one that was a favourite of the people of Leviathan. Narikin smiled and turned to Jasson.
"Would you allow me to dance with my countrymen? This song is cherished by our people."
"I see no harm," Jasson said, waving him away.
As Narikin stepped down from the dais Kian stepped forward to speak with his king once more.
"Sire I can't believe how these people have survived for so long; their king is so weak he takes humiliation with a smile. There was obviously no order when he was in power. The people were probably breathing a sigh of relief when you finally came."
"They call him a great and powerful king, but so far I have seen nothing of the sort. His people don't even defend him," he gestured at the many pale and silent people surrounding them, "Look how they take their king's disgrace in silence. They are just like sheep, ready to be led to whatever fate awaits them, whether it be green pastures or slaughter."
Narikin and Jasson were mounted on their horses with a troupe of Jasson's men behind them.
"Shall I summon some of my soldiers to accompany us as well?" Narikin asked.
"There would be no purpose. My men are highly trained so we will be perfectly safe," Jasson said with pride.
Narikin nodded, "Then let's be off."
The city streets were still as dead as they were when Jasson had first stepped foot here.
"Where are all the villagers? I haven't seen anyone here at all. Surely your cities have villagers, especially your capital."
"They stay in their homes," Narikin said, "They haven't seen people from outside the city gates for decades and do not truly know how to react."
"Well that will all have to change. The people should show their respect to me when I pass, I am, after all, their king and liberator" replied Jasson.
They rode on until they reached the very centre of the city. A large building stood before them, it white walls glinting in the sun.
"What is this?" Jasson inquired.
"This is a shrine. It is to honour the Leviathan for whom this kingdom was named. The Leviathan is thought to be invincible and so the realm was called this so it to would be invincible."
"A name is just a name unless there is someone behind it to give it power. This Leviathan name you gave your realm didn't exactly help it much now did it?"
Narikin smiled again, that sickeningly calm smile that almost drove Jasson mad, "Would you like to enter the shrine? It is actually very beautiful."
Jasson dismounted and went in without a second glance at Narikin. Narikin followed Jasson inside. When Jasson entered he saw more than he could ever imagine.
The amount of wealth that was built into these walls was amazing. Symbols decorating the walls and inlaid with gold and tiles that were an immaculate white that looked untouched by mortal feet. As Jasson looked above he saw the sky through a beautiful glass roof that must have been created with the greatest care. This was exactly what Jasson had come for, the wealth that he would find.
"As soon as we return I will have this torn down and with the gold in it I will build a shrine dedicated to myself."
Jasson glanced at Narikin and was surprised to see the first sight of anger in his face.
"You would not dare. This is not your place and you cannot have it" he said quietly, fury dripping from every word.
"But Narikin this is my kingdom, not yours. I can do what I want."
"You've believed that for too long."
"What…"
The sky above them darkened as a wind whipped around the two. Jasson looked around in alarm, what in the world was happening? The tiles became blood red and the symbols on the walls glowed eerily. Narikin smirked, an evil in his eyes that Jasson could not believe as he clothing darkened to crimson. He raised his hand and beckoned Jasson to come towards him. Cold hands wrapped around the king, lifting him off his feet. He looked around and saw no one as he was dragged towards Narikin.
"I am now tired of you. It was funny watching you sit here and think you held power. No one has ever conquered this land. You see these tiles and the cloak I wear? They were coated with the blood of all who dared oppose me."
"What are you?" Jasson whispered, fear in his voice, an emotion he had rarely ever felt.
"I am Leviathan. I am unconquerable. Every time you insulted me you thought my people were weak to not defend me. Ha, they knew what was to come so they sat in silence. You were doomed the moment you looked at my land. I am afraid you will not be able to keep your promise to your queen; she will never see you again. Your soldiers outside will die and are probably dead or dying as we speak. No one will ever know that you set foot here in my kingdom. I hope you enjoyed your stay."
"You cannot do this! I defeated you, my army cannot be beaten!"
"You fool, did you ever battle? No. Did you ever see and army from me? No. I don't need one. If I wanted I could force the very land itself to swallow you whole, but it's been decades and I needed some amusement."
As Narikin said this a crushing feeling enveloped Jasson's body. He felt his bones splinter and thought his organ might burst from the pressure. Invisible hands clutched at his heart and squeezed to the point that he could not bare it. He screamed in agony as blood poured from his mouth. His life flashed before his eyes, the many battles he had waged and the lives he had taken. Jasson's life slipped from his body and the last thing he heard was Narikin's malicious laughter that would be with him for eternity.
"You want too much King Jasson. You are brave and determined, but even you should know that one man cannot rule the world."
Yay, here's another story that was done on the sidelines. It was actually originally just a Writer's Craft assignment, but I decided to make it a fanfic as well. I think it might be kind of boring, but you decide. This is just a little blurb I thought might fit King Jasson's personality, he was called Jasson the Conqueror. Well I'm obviously talking too much and you wish for me to shut up. So here I am shutting up, toodles!