Chapter 21: Path of the Exile.
Ashram awakened with his back leaning against the main mast of the Dragon's Claw. He was soaked from head to toe and his wounds from Blue Dragon Mountain stung from the salty seawater. The sun was climbing in the sky and the warship wasn't moving. Ashram looked up at the sails; they were swaying back and forth idly in the wind.
'Have we escaped Abram?' Ashram asked himself as he jerked forward. The last thing he could remember was the ship being tossed about in the storm and the Ancient Sea Dragon being right on top of them.
Ashram's head ached and he was feeling disoriented. The ship seemed off kilter to him. He felt the back of his head and found a hard lump; it was throbbing something fierce, but when he looked at his hand he didn't see any blood.
He slid slightly as he got to his feet. Apparently his disorientation wasn't just due to the knock to his head. The ship was tilted several degrees off center to the left. Ashram walked to the starboard side of the ship to ascertain why. To his surprise he could see land as he approached the rail. He looked over the side of the ship and sure enough, they had run aground on a sandbar that was causing the ship to list slightly to port.
Ashram peered back up towards the land with uncertainty in his eyes. It was not Blue Dragon Island; that much was certain. This island was almost barren. They must have landed somewhere else. He turned back to see if he could find anyone else around. One of the crew members might have a better idea where they were and how they had gotten there.
As he searched, he found several sailors lying on the deck, each was passed out from exhaustion, but alive. The storm the night before had been exceptionally intense. While he was still conscious, Ashram could remember the sailors had one hell of a fight to keep the ship from losing control.
Ashram noticed Captain Melgrum and several sailors standing on a sandbar below, inspecting the exterior of the ship. He climbed down a robe ladder from the Dragon's Claw and walked over to them. The captain and his men all seemed to be giving their attention to a particular part of the ship.
Melgrum pointed and was giving his men some orders. Ashram couldn't hear what he saying, but turned his head to see what the good captain was pointing at. He saw that the Dragon's Claw had sustained a nasty fifteen foot diameter breach in the hull on the starboard side. As Ashram approached, Melgrum spotted him and dismissed his men.
"Morning Emperor, how are you feeling?" Melgrum asked. "You took a pretty hard knock on the head during the storm."
"My head feels like a troll sat on it for a week, but otherwise I'm fine." Ashram replied. "What is the situation Captain?"
"As you can see we managed to get away from Abram, but it was real close." Melgrum reported as he motioned to the hull breach. "If not for the storm, I doubt we'd be having this conversation now. Unfortunately, the same storm that delivered us from the dragon also pushed us off course and has marooned us on this island for the time being."
"Do you know where we are Captain?" Ashram inquired.
"No idea Sire. There are any number of small islands we could be on now. But we're probably somewhere in this area." Melgrum answered, placing a map against the hull of the ship and pointing at an island chain with his finger. "But that's not our biggest concern at the moment."
"What is then?" Ashram invited.
"Well, the ship has sustained a moderate amount of damage Sire." Melgrum began. "The rudder is messed up pretty bad. I think it was dislodged when we ran aground here. It will take at least a day to get it set again. There are also about half a dozen other minor problems here and there. Those aren't so bad, but we're also going to have to wedge the ship loose during high tide after the repairs are complete."
"It all sounds doable." Ashram commented.
"Yes well the real issue is the hull breach there." Melgrum pointed out. "It's very close to the waterline and has to be repaired before we can get underway. We're going to need to cut down a couple trees and process several new strips of lumber forthwith to patch it up. That's going to take a while, because there doesn't seem to be any trees in the vicinity. I also lost several men in the storm last night so we're coming up short on manpower."
"I'll have my soldiers assist your men." Ashram assured Melgrum. "They aren't the best craftsmen, but I'm sure they can be useful in some way. I want us seaworthy and back underway to Alania in two days if that is at all possible Captain."
"If it can be done Sire, be rest assured it will be done." Melgrum half bowed.
"Very good Captain." Ashram nodded to Melgrum. "You supervise the repairs here and I'll take my men and investigate the island to find some suitable lumber to patch up the hull. I'm sure my boys can swing an ax and carry wood well enough to suit our needs."
Ashram had one of the men bring him his armor, which he had decided not to put back on right away after their escape from on Blue Dragon Island. With Abram hot on their trail and the possibility of the ship going down in the storm he thought it would serve him better not to put the armor back on until they were clear of the immediate danger.
The soldier bought the armor quickly, but before Ashram could start putting it back on Tedera insisted on inspecting his wounds. He reluctantly agreed and she went to work cleaning up the lacerations on his side and bandaging him up. It stung, but he didn't let on. She seemed to take longer than needed cleaning his wounds. It probably didn't help that he had to remove his shirt to have her do so and it seemed to distract her.
She placed her hand on his abdomen to counterbalance the movements of her other hand and support herself as she knelt next to him. He wasn't sure it was necessary for her to have her hand there braced against his muscle, but he ignored it the best he could and accepted it.
After Tedera was done tending to the puncture wounds on his side she forced him into a chair so she could take a good look at the bump on his head, to make sure it wasn't anything serious. She found it to be of little consequence.
When Tedera was finally done, Ashram's soldier assisted him with his armor. The armor was still in fairly good shape all things considered. The holes in the side actually allowed more air flow inside the suit, which made it somewhat more comfortable to wear in the tropical climate. Still, it would require repair the next chance they got.
One of the bulky outer shoulder guards Ashram usually wore was badly damaged by the Firecat, so he decided to leave them both off altogether until they too could be inspected by a smithy. He was still fairly well protected by the primary layer of armor that lie under the outer layer anyway. Without his outer layer in place he would also have to leave behind his cape. It was fastened into the suit of armor between the two layers of metal at the shoulder. It was of little matter to him. As with the newly acquired holes, missing non-key elements of his suit didn't bother him much.
With his wounds dressed and his armor back in place Ashram was almost ready to head out for his latest task. All he needed was a few good men. As always Baltus, Loganos, and Arodon were up to the task and readily volunteered to venture out with him. Other soldiers came too, but only after Ashram reminded some of them that the sooner they gathered the lumber they needed to make repairs, the sooner they would be able to return to civilization.
They set off from the ship in search of a source of timber that would be suitable for repairs, but just finding trees proved to be somewhat of a challenge. The island seemed to be a floating rock with little more than a handful of shrubs growing on it. Somehow it managed to be even more desolate than Marmo. And for some reason, which Ashram couldn't put his finger on, the island even felt a little like Marmo. There was just a dark aura to the place.
They continued to move further inland, going over hill after rocky hill. Finally, after investigating the island for about thirty minutes, Ashram and his men came across a small patch of trees. The trees weren't ideally suited for the purpose of repairing a ship, but at that point Ashram wasn't about to get picky. He just wanted to get back to Alania and to see Pirotess again.
As he saw it he was over halfway done with his quest to bring her back. He just needed to obtain one more magical item and do a little more traveling and she would be restored to him. Then he could tell her the things he shouldn't have neglected to say for so long.
The men immediately went to work hacking down the small trees with the axes they'd brought along. The trees were small enough to where two men could easily carry one at a time, but still large enough to be useful. After an hour of working, they had managed to cut down and pile up six small trees. Ashram calculated they now had just about had enough for the repairs. One more would probably do the job with a little extra room for possible errors.
Ashram wanted repairs to start as quickly as possible so he ordered most of the men to start carrying the first four trees back to the ship while he, Baltus, Loganos, and Arodon stayed to finish up with the last one. The soldiers obeyed and carried the trees off towards the ship. After they were gone Ashram took a turn with the ax. Baltus had cut about halfway through the last tree and he was looking a little winded. Baltus more than willingly yielded the ax and Ashram got to work.
Ashram had assumed that after a couple of hard swings the tree would bend to his will and they'd be on their way back to the ship. However, this was not the case. Playing the part of a lumberjack proved to be a little more difficult than he had originally estimated. It would take a little more of an investment of time and energy than he had first anticipated to accomplish the task. Ashram stuck it out for a while longer and finally the tree relented, tumbling over.
"Bout time my Lord, I grew an inch of beard stubble in the time it took you to finish that job." Baltus taunted. Ashram just gave him a half-serious distasteful look.
Loganos belly laughed as he rose from the rock he sat on. Baltus laughed too. But the last member of the party, Arodon, wasn't laughing. His attention was drawn elsewhere. He sat on a rock with his head half-turned, looking behind him. Ashram was about to ask him what was the matter when he heard a twig snap in the bushes around them.
Ashram dropped the ax and drew Soul Crusher from its scabbard. Baltus and Loganos, also having heard the noise, prepared their weapons as well. All was quiet for a moment, everyone held their ground, not moving a muscle and barely breathing. They listened for the slightest sound and scanned the bushes around them for a hint of movement. They watched for what seemed like an eternity, but there was nothing.
"Arodon…?" Ashram slow and quietly asked the dark elf.
"There's definitely someone out there." Arodon replied. "I can hear them breathing." Arodon's sharp elven eyes continued to seek out a definite source. "There!" He pointed to a spot in the bushes.
Loganos let an arrow loose to the spot. It disappeared into the bush and struck an unseen target, which was announced by a loud bellow of pain. After that, ten men rose from the bushes and rushed at the group. Arodon fought off one attacker, but was struck in the right shoulder by a second opponent with a club. He fell backwards as other attackers continued to close in on him.
Ashram rushed forward to Arodon's aid and struck down the man who carried the club with Soul Crusher. The man tried to use his weapon to block the blow, but Soul Crusher sliced right through it and into him.
The other man, who had first attacked Arodon, moved to attack Ashram from the side. He was met by a strong foot in the stomach, followed up with an armored fist to the maxillary bone in his face. Ashram felt a crunch as he followed through with the swing. Clearly he had fractured his jaw.
Another man stepped in to attack Ashram, this man carried a sword. Ashram met his attack with Soul Crusher and pushed forward with all his weight, knocking the man backwards. The man who Ashram had kicked moved to attack again from behind. Without looking, Ashram thrust backwards with Soul Crusher, impaling him in the stomach. The man stopped with an awkward grunt, then slid backwards off the blade.
By this time, the swordsman had recovered and charged again, intending to slash Ashram across the chest. Ashram rolled forward avoiding the man's sword and made an upper cutting slash, forcing Soul Crusher from the man's lower abdomen to his mid chest, stopping just short of the sternum.
"Emperor, look out!" Ashram heard Loganos call to him. He looked up to see three men with bows taking aim at him from about fifty feet ahead. There was no time to move so Ashram prepared to take whatever would come.
The men loosed their arrows, which streamed towards Ashram with murderous intent. As the arrows got within ten feet of him, they deflected off an unseen purple barrier that flashed on impact and then disappeared in the blink of an eye. The archers where shocked and the battle seemed to pause for a moment.
Ashram himself was surprised by what had happened. It took him a second before he realized that Soul Crusher was responsible; it had provided a protective shield for him. Though he was aware that it was capable of such a feat, he had not expected it. He recalled seeing the Demon Sword protect Beld from a sneak attack from a Valisian soldier during the War of Heroes, but never before had it done it for him.
"Stop…!" One of the attackers shouted to the rest. "Everyone stop!" The other attackers backed away and lowered their weapons.
The man who had called off the attack stepped forward and approached Ashram. The man wore dark tattered clothes which looked like it had formerly been part of a uniform. Ashram recognized the uniform the man wore, it was an older style uniform of a Marmo soldier.
Baltus and Loganos both stepped in front of Ashram, blocking the man's path with their weapons ready. The man stopped and put his sword away. Ashram motioned for Loganos and Baltus to stand down as he stepped past them and toward the other man.
"That sword..." The man stared at Soul Crusher. "Where did you get it?"
"He who holds the sword rules Marmo." Ashram replied.
"I see." The man knelt down before Ashram. "My Lord, would you come with me? My master will want to speak with you."
"Very well…" Ashram agreed. "…but in a moment, I need to see to my wounded. You should see to your dead." Ashram turned to go to Arodon's side. Arodon was still on the ground, holding his shoulder. "Arodon?"
"I'm still here… but I can't say I'm too happy about it." He replied, obviously in a great deal of pain. "I think they broke a few bones in my shoulder." Ashram carefully cut through Arodon's vest and the shirt underneath with a knife and examined his shoulder.
"You're right, they got you pretty bad." Ashram confirmed as he looked over Arodon. "Baltus, I need you and Loganos to get Arodon back to the ship and bring him to Tedera."
"Sire we can't leave you here by yourself with these brigands." Baltus protested.
"I will be fine…" Ashram guaranteed. "…Arodon will not be unless you get him to Tedera soon. Loganos can't carry him alone, now get to it General." He ordered. Baltus didn't argue any further. He nodded and Ashram walked away from the three, joining the men in tattered uniforms.
Ashram followed the strange men to their camp, which didn't add up to much more than a couple dozen mud huts. As they walked into the camp, Ashram noticed an unusual looking standard. It was not a Marmo design; it was made up of two snakes coiled around a staff with and orb in the middle between them.
Ashram looked at the standard with distaste. He hated snakes, always had. It was a dislike that stemmed back to his time on the farm as a child. He couldn't recall that exact incident, but he could remember a bad experience that involved a snake.
Such as it was he took the standard as a bad sign, but tried to push the thought aside. He was almost at the largest hut in the camp, where he assumed the leader of this group dwelled. The man who led the attack on Ashram and his men had him wait outside while he went inside.
Before long, the man returned and motioned for Ashram to enter. He did and the first thing he saw was an older man sitting upon a makeshift throne. The hut was dark and the man on the throne was smoking a wooden pipe. With every inhalation he took his face was briefly lit up, revealing his features. He had a weathered face with a gray and black peppered beard. As Ashram got closer he recognized the man sitting in the throne and the man in the throne seemed to recognize him too.
"I know you." The older man began as he set aside his pipe. "You're the boy Beld was grooming to be his successor. That sword you carry proves it."
"I am Ashram, Emperor of Marmo." He affirmed. "I feel like I should know you too."
"I am… I was Governor Thron, formerly of the Marmo Empire." The older man answered. "Now I am Priest Thron, of the Order of the Twin Serpents."
'Governor Thron.' The name echoed in Ashram's mind. The memories started to rush back to him.
He recalled a time when Thron had been Beld's oldest and most trusted friend back on Marmo. He was one of the few nobles who had been originally part of Beld's court in Kannon and was the first man to follow Beld in his exodus to Marmo.
From the beginning Thron was Beld's right hand man. He helped organize and build the Marmo Empire from nothing. Only Beld himself did more to make Marmo the country it was. Ashram never knew much of Thron beyond that because he was on the way out just as he was on the way in. The story Ashram heard was that when the Empire started to attain real power Thron tried to seize the Marmo throne for himself.
Apparently the takeover didn't go exactly as planned. Thron failed to gain much support and his plot was exposed before his rebellion even took off. He was captured without bloodshed and for that reason, or perhaps because he had once been Beld's friend, was banished instead of being executed.
Ashram could remember Thron being escorted out of the palace by guards during his second week on Marmo. There were a handful of others who were part of Thron's conspiracy and they accompanied him into exile.
Beld never spoke of it to Ashram, but through overhearing some servant's gossip, he had pieced together parts of the story. The real motives behind Thron's actions were unclear at the time, but now Ashram had his chance to get things straight directly from the source.
"So, Priest Thron, I'm curious about something." Ashram began.
"Go on." Thron invited.
"Why did you turn on Emperor Beld all those years ago?" Ashram asked, wasting no time on small talk. "He was your friend; did you simply turn on him for a lust for power? From what I've heard about you, petty treachery doesn't seem in your character."
"I turned on Beld..?" Thron grunted objectionably. "Ha! You have to ask yourself who really turned on who boy." He began to repack his pipe with more tobacco. "What I did wasn't for reasons as simple as a desire for power. As the Governor of Marmo, I already commanded enough power to keep myself satisfied."
"So there was another reason then?" Ashram asked.
"Yes indeed." Thron answered. "I was led to believe that Beld was under an evil influence and that he was planning to have me killed. And as it turned out he was being controlled by the very Demon he thought he had vanquished with Soul Crusher. Somehow, part of the Demon survived within his Beld's sword. I started to see changes in Beld's decisions after the final battle with the Demon and..."
"Wait." Ashram cut in. "A moment ago you said that you were led to believe Beld was being controlled; who first led you to believe this?" He asked suspiciously.
"It was a woman." Thron replied. Ashram got hollow feeling in his stomach. "I don't know who she was. I had always assumed she was a dancer or concubine, judging by the way she dressed. She wore a fancy gown and a lot of jewelry. She approached me on several occasions and poisoned me against Beld. I ignored her at first but…"
"Jewelry you say… did she wear a circlet?" Ashram asked, interrupting him again.
"Yes, I believe she did." Thron answered. "How did you know?" Ashram shook his head with disgust.
"The woman you speak of is known as Karla." Ashram signed. "She is witch, in every way possible. Her motives are difficult to fully explain, but she's a master manipulator, pushing people towards her goals and against each other."
"I see..." Thron looked down.
"If it makes any difference to you, she wasn't lying. Beld was being influenced by the demon within Soul Crusher. Only recently was he free of it, but I'm afraid that freedom was short lived."
"Beld's dead?" Thron looked back up at Ashram. "How did he die?"
"By Karla's hand I assume." Ashram answered solemnly. "I wasn't there to see it for myself, but everything pointed to her."
"Why do you carry that sword?" Thron asked. "Don't you know how dangerous it is?"
"This sword will help me rule all of Lodoss and give me the power to avenge Beld's death." Ashram replied. "I will not throw it aside."
"You do not fear the Demon's power?" Thron leaned forward in his chair.
"I have mastered this sword, it serves me." Ashram answered.
"Beld sought to control the Demon Blade too boy, but it was the Demon Blade that controlled him." Thron warned.
"I am not Beld." Ashram snapped back. Thron studied him for a moment.
"I think the sword controls you already boy." Thron pointed at Ashram. "I will take that sword from you and destroy it. The world will finally be rid of its evil and my people's banishment will finally be ended. I will return to Marmo as its ruler, as I should have been years ago."
"That's some imagination you have old man." Ashram smirked. "I can see that rotting here for all these years must have eaten away at whatever brain you had. To think you have any claim to the Marmo throne now shows the limited powers of your feeble mind."
"Insolent cur!" Thron declared angrily. "I challenge you to single combat!"
"I accept." Ashram's eyes narrowed.
Ashram and Thron stood facing each other in the large open area in the middle of the camp. All of Thron's followers gathered around to watch. There was about thirty of them in all.
Thron brandished a very large broadsword and it appeared to be way too heavy of a weapon for him. Perhaps in his younger days Thron could effectively wield such a weapon, but time seemed a more challenging opponent than Ashram could ever be at that point.
Ashram also observed that Thron was wearing only light leather armor, which meant he would be very vulnerable to quick slashing attacks during combat. He found it odd that Thron would make such a mistake with the weapon he chose, but perhaps he simply lacked anything more formidable to wear.
After measuring up Thron, Ashram wasted no time. He rushed towards the older man and struck a forceful blow sending him reeling. Ashram pressed the attack, quickly striking from every angle with a variety of attacks to confuse Thron.
As Ashram had anticipated Thron was weighed down by his weapon. The few times Thron managed to swing it at him the attacks were extremely slow and easily avoided. And after each miss Ashram made him pay for it with another quick slash from Soul Crusher. Thron's light armor offered little protection.
The older man just couldn't keep up and was cut repeatedly on the arms, back, and chest. He collapsed to the dirt. Ashram stopped and watched him for a moment, almost feeling pity.
"Yield old man and you may yet live." Ashram offered. "You can't win this and there is no honor in striking down an opponent like you."
"Ha!" Thron laughed as he crawled on his hands and knees with blood dripping off his body. "You think this is over boy? It's very far from over. You underestimate my power."
Ashram watched Thron crawl around bloodied and boasting, thinking he had lost his mind. The old man inched his way forward on his hands and knees getting closer and closer to Ashram, finally stopping and looking up.
"I failed to mention something to you earlier young Emperor." Thron stared up at Ashram. "I'm a priest of Semitar, one of the Dark Goddesses that fell during the War of the Gods." Ashram had just about heard enough, it was time to end this mockery of a duel.
"Well that would explain your ridiculous snake banner." Ashram moved in closer to Thron with his sword posed to finish him off. "If I remember correctly, Semitar was a keeper of snakes, dragons, and demons. I hope she will accept an old worm like you too."
"When she was struck down in battle, she fell from the heavens to this very island." Thron ignored Ashram; his voice seemed to get deeper as he talked. Ashram paused. "The dead Gods still have an echoing influence boy. They can empower those who follow their banner." As Thron finished the sentence his skin started to undergo visible changes.
Suddenly old man found the strength to rise to his feet and face Ashram once again. He appeared to have grown in stature as well as girth as he stood up fully. His clothes stretched and then gave way as he continued to grow, tearing slightly under the strain.
Thron's grotesque transfiguration continued as his legs merged together and elongating forming a tail. Thron curled forward grasping his sides in pain, turning his back to Ashram. He quivered for a few brief seconds and when he turned back everyone could fully see the extent of his change in appearance.
He was now distorted into a monstrous serpentine being and his wounds had all completely healed. In addition, he had grown a snout and took on other features of a cobra. He had shimmering brownish-gold scales with black stripes down his back. The pupils of his eyes sharpened while his irises turned yellow with spots of red. He had hoods protruding from either side of his neck and even a pair of small fangs.
Thron started to move towards Ashram, his eyes were fixed on the black knight. Ashram didn't move. He just stared into the serpent's eyes, as if he was in a trance. He was at a loss. The man, who just a moment ago was at his mercy, was now bearing down now him with a renewed and unnatural strength.
Thron's sword, once oversized, now seemed ideally suited for him. It became clear to Ashram then that the clever old fool had been planning for this turn of events all along. Soul Crusher began to illuminate as Thron approached within fifteen feet. Ashram reclaimed his composure and prepared to clash with Thron as he continued to close the gap between them.
Ashram made the first move, an oblique attack from the side trying to cut Thron's base out from under him. To his surprise, Thron easily managed to avoid the attack. His snakelike body somehow managed to bend around the path of Ashram's blade. He slithered back quickly and countered. Ashram bought up Soul Crusher to deflect the blow, but Thron's attack was strong enough to force him back a few steps.
The power of it caught Ashram off guard and put him on the defensive. He worked hard to stay ahead of Thron, who moved with unreal speed. Ashram stopped and held his ground. He exchanged several blows with Thron, who was moving so fast that Ashram had a difficult time keeping up.
Thron managed to take a free hand and strike Ashram in the face. Ashram was knocked back a few paces and when he stopped, blood started dripping from his nose. He could also feel blood pooling in the corner of his mouth and running down his throat. Fury started to burn behind Ashram's eyes. He could not allow himself to be beaten by such a freak. Too much weighed on him.
The anger continued to build as Thron closed in again. Soul Crusher seemed to feed off of Ashram's anger; the purple light of the blade began to intensify and pulsate. Thron swung his tail low at Ashram's legs. Ashram jumped up and brought his sword down at Thron's head.
Thron managed to dodge out of the way, but Ashram pursued him relentlessly. His anger was giving him more and more power and he finally seemed to be gaining the upper hand. Thron retreated, trying to regain a sense of balance and slow down the momentum building against him, but Ashram was less than a step behind him with every move he made.
Thron was knocked back after a strong blow from Soul Crusher and fell against a tree. Ashram was on him in a split second. He jumped forward and kneed Thron in the chest, then struck him in the face with a powerful downward elbow as he came back down.
Thron tried to recover and counter attack with his sword, but Ashram in a blur of speed knocked his hand to the side and then sliced it clean off. Blood spurt from the limb as his hand flew away.
A second later the severed hand and Thron's sword hit the ground, followed by a second spurt of blood splashing into the dust. Before Thron even had a chance to react Ashram thrust Soul Crusher in under his chin and pushed it up until it broke through the top of his skull; sticking him into the tree behind him.
To the amazement of all who watched, Thron was still moving. His still intact hand grabbed Ashram by the neck and tried to choke him, but there wasn't any strength left in his grasp. Ashram easily broke the grip, knocking his arm away. He then withdrew Soul Crusher from Thron's skull. His serpentine body began to fall forward slowly. As it fell, Ashram spun with his sword delivering an uppercut that sent Thron's head whizzing off. Thorn's body hit the ground; a second later his head hit the ground twenty feet away.
Ashram breathed hard as he watched Thron's body twitch, ensuring sure it would not rise again. His face had sprinkles of blood on it from the violent decapitation. When Thron's body had not moved after thirty seconds, Ashram relaxed his guard. He wiped away the blood from his nose and looked around at those who watched the battle.
Ashram was silent for a moment. He rubbed his sore jaw, and then he reached in his mouth and pulled out a tooth that had been knocked loose. He spit out some blood and then walked over to the Snake Standard, kicking it in half with a grimace on his face. He looked back the men who were still watching him, trying to decide their fate.
"If you have any honor left in you, then come with me and serve the throne of Marmo once more." Ashram announced. "I lift your exile."