Crimson Twilight: Dusk

Chapter 7: Mortals and immortals

"Stop staring at me, knight. I won't explode you know." The doppelganger said as he looked back at Eliarainne for the eighth time.

Eliarainne had agreed with Makaelthos about not telling their troop about Osiris and the doppelganger but it didn't mean she was going to stop watching them for any sign of a sudden attack. She remembered the times she fought against the doppelganger. She had often traveled with her companions whenever duty permitted them to do so. During those travels, she had come up against some of the strongest monsters on Rune-Midgard; Baphomet, the Dark lord, the Orc Hero and Drake. Of course, that also meant Osiris and the doppelganger. "I'd prefer it if you did, "swordsman"." She shot back. "I'll have fewer things to worry about with you gone."

The doppelganger put on such a hurt expression that for a moment, Eliarainne was actually taken aback. Then she remembered the situation and frowned at the doppelganger's dramatics. "You shouldn't bully the weak like that, Miss knight!" He laughed.

Eliarainne's expression darkened. 'Weak!' She thought. 'You're anything but that, doppelganger!' She recalled her experiences while fighting against the doppelganger. Perhaps the most terrifying thing about fighting against him was his speed. The broadsword was heavy and wide-bladed sword that required two hands for proper use. Yet, he wielded it as if it were a knife in his hands. He struck faster than an assassin and harder than your average knight. His appearance as a swordsman made the experience of fighting him even stranger. What really bothered her was the way he fought against Eddga. To her point of view, it seemed as if he was moving faster than ever. She looked at her partner. To her surprise, Makaelthos was walking beside Osiris!

Makaelthos spoke in low tones. It would not be good if his men heard him refer to the cloaked figure as "Osiris". No knight would willingly travel with the morrocan emperor's mummy if they could help it. While anyone who had read so much as a few pages of a history book could tell that Osiris was once a noble emperor, more recent encounters with his mummy always ended in horrid carnage. His eyebrows furrowed. They couldn't help it. Osiris had them in a compromising situation, something he had to remedy soon before he was caught in another battle between Moonlight's alliance and Osiris's. Drake's interference will make matters worse. Red eyes gleamed slightly from Osiris's hood. The mummy stared at him with undisguised interest.

"I watched your battle with Moonlight earlier, crusader." Osiris began. "Few beings can stand up to that cat's spells for long. I must say I am somewhat impressed by your prowess; yours and that knight's."

Makaelthos tried to gauge Osiris' intentions from his words. Osiris was not flattering him. The mummy was stating a simple fact. He glanced at Khaesilya to see how she was doing. She was clearly not comfortable with Osiris walking beside him.

'Be careful, Master Makaelthos!' Her warning sounded only within his own mind. 'A blow from the once-great warrior emperor can spell death!'

Makaelthos took heed of his sohee companion's warning. The memory of Moonlight flying several feet at the force of Osiris's blow was still fresh in his mind. Still, there were things he had to find out for himself. "You weren't bad there yourself, Osiris." He replied. "So what is it you're fighting about anyway?"

Osiris stared at the crusader while they walked. There was something about the man that intrigued him. "The war is a complicated matter; something I wasn't clear on myself until the doppelganger explained it." He answered. "Your sohee slave seems to know some details herself. Needless to say, it is something to be fought until only one immortal stands."

Makaelthos watched Khaesilya for a while. A lot of people assumed that she was his slave. That was the general condition of any sohee found among humans. In return, her race detested people and killed any that they could. Khaesilya was different. He had long since freed her from her original binding; having shattered the silver knife of chastity that was used on her. She was free but she chose to stay by him. He would much rather treat her as a companion; in equal terms with any of his friends. "She's not my slave and she does not seem comfortable with the subject." He answered. "I would rather find out from an active participant in your war."

Osiris glanced at the sohee. That was all it took to confirm that the crusader was right. She was not bound by a silver knife of chastity as most sohee slaves were. He returned to the subject though; sohees that served men out of free will were Moonlight's problem. "I know little about it myself." He answered. "It was the doppelganger who told me the details. He mentioned something about reading them from a hidden library in Geffenia; which means most of us have no idea why we awakened in the first place."

Makaelthos thought hard for a brief moment as he processed the new information. It seemed as if even these immortals did not know why they had to fight in a war. "You "awakened?" what does not mean?" He asked.

Osiris watched as his "partner" continued to banter with the crusader's knight companion. For someone who was more knowledgeable about the current situation than he was, the doppelganger was acting like an ignorant child. "As the doppelganger put it; for the past two thousand years we have been asleep." He continued. "Our bodies were acting out of impulse while we slept. They rose by themselves fighting against your kind over and over again. Apparently, we cannot be killed that way so each time our bodies were destroyed, they simply reformed again. The awakening was the time when we regained consciousness. Our bodies could not make full use of our powers back then, making us much weaker. That has changed now. Regaining consciousness has made us vulnerable to destruction but it has also granted us full access to our powers. You have seen that in Moonlight have you?"

Makaelthos had to agree. He knew that Moonlight Flower was capable of spellcasting, but only the basics. It was the first time he had seen the immortal cast a storm gust spell as well as a jupitel thunder. Still, understanding why these immortals became so much stronger was not enough. He wanted to find out about the war. "You haven't told me why you have to fight and kill each other." He pressed on.

Osiris eyes flashed red momentarily. "And you haven't given me as much as your name, crusader." He replied. "I would have it before we continue."

Makaelthos nodded in agreement. In his curiosity, he had forgotten certain formalities. It wasn't surprising that a former emperor wouldn't. "Makaelthos." He replied. "Makaelthos Solcry."

Osiris suddenly stopped upon hearing the name. Makaelthos gauged the mummy's reaction carefully. Did his name mean something to Osiris? The mummy regained his composure and continued walking. "Truly?" He asked. "Do you know what your last name means, Makaelthos Solcry? It has quite a history and it surprises even me that it should still exist."

Makaelthos frowned. He didn't expect the conversation to turn at the mention of his name. He decided to follow the mummy's words for a while. It would be bad to push the immortal too much. "I did not look too deeply into it." He answered. "It is a derivative from "Sole Cry" I might guess. Strange circumstances surround my birth regarding it. The one who took care of me said that someone from the dead made sure that I retained my identity. Besides that, it has done little to affect my life. Perhaps it meant more in the past, it doesn't matter now."

The light from Osiris's eyes dimmed to faint points. "Fool that you are then...for the past is what drives this war and it is your future that is at stake." He answered. "No one in your time remembers Solcry anymore but I still do. It was a name of great importance. Perhaps it will be once more." Osiris said those words softly, his deep voice almost breaking as he did so. Makaelthos struggled to hear them but he didn't reply. He was never that concerned about his own name. When he was younger, even now, there were always more important things. Osiris didn't mind the lack of a reply though. He continued to speak. "Completely destroying an immortal means absorbing its strength, Makaelthos Solcry. I fight to survive. I would rather devour someone's essence and become more able to defend myself than to become fodder for some other immortal's power. The other immortals have begun their bid for power as well; some have more ambitious goals than simply surviving while others such as Drake are content with terrorizing your kind. I do not want to be caught in a situation where I am outmatched by some immortal simply because he has consumed the essence of others."

Makaelthos finally caught sight of Alberta's walls. A few more minutes of walking and they will enter the city. "So it's more of a competition then." He replied. "Is that all there is?"

Osiris' eyes flashed once more under his hood. Makaelthos noticed the mummy's bandaged hands clench. "Make no mistake, Solcry! This is a war! The other immortals command armies of their minions. The orc tribes will spill across that Pronteran colony your government has set up. The coming times will be marked by battles; one after another until every immortal perishes or until your civilization ceases to exist."

Makaelthos stared at the white buildings of Alberta. Destroyed? He would never allow such a thing to happen to Rune-Midgard. "Until every immortal perishes?" He asked. "Does that include you too, Osiris?"

Osiris' fists unclenched. "Once the last of my enemies fall, I will gain my rest." He answered. "I have had enough of Rune-Midgard in my previous life, Solcry. I do not want to experience it all over again."

Makaelthos looked back to his partner. Eliarainne steadfastly tried to ignore the doppelganger; who was pestering her with all sorts of comments. The other knights were looking on nervously. Their Knight Commander was notorious for her temper. The last knight who told her that her fighting style was "cute" had to be carried away in a stretcher. Joe Buck was flirting with disaster with the way he bantered with her. "What about your partner?" He asked.

Osiris paid the doppelganger's antics no heed. "He and I have an agreement." He replied. "When all the other immortals are gone, we will duel. If he wins then so be it. He has no plans to dominate your world; he simply wishes to do as he pleases. If I win then I will be free of this undeath and rest forever." The entire troop finally reached Alberta's gates. In a few moments, Makaelthos found himself walking across Alberta's white stone streets. Osiris pointed a finger directly at the harbor. "He's already waiting for us."

Makaelthos followed Osiris' gaze and saw the ominous ship sailing around the harbor. The ship looked as if it was on the verge of sinking. Large holes gaped from its flanks like open wounds. The masts were tattered and fluttered uselessly in the wind. A black flag flew above the ship's main mast; identifying its owner to everyone. Eliarainne rode beside Makaelthos and stared at the ship. "Drake!" She growled. "He's pretty arrogant, strutting about in the open like that. In broad daylight too!"

Makaelthos's gaze turned to the mob of the pirate captain's skeletal sailors that guarded the harbor. "Eliarainne, we'll need reinforcements on this one." He told her. "You should send a message to Prontera." She had anticipated him, however. She was already detailing a knight with a butterfly wing and instructions. Makaelthos's grip on his sword tightened. Some of the men had already recovered from the battle with Eddga but he didn't want to risk a frontal attack until he had priest back up.

The doppelganger ran up to Osiris. "So do we slaughter them already?" He asked eagerly.

Osiris continued to stare at Makaelthos. "We'll wait, doppelganger." He answered his ally. "Moonlight and Eddga are probably still recovering from our surprise attack. Let's wait until these mortals gain their reinforcements. If everything goes smoothly then there's a chance we can finish off those two as well."

The doppelganger shrugged his shoulders and continued walking. He didn't like waiting but the benefits of doing so seemed pretty good. He never really considered himself a good planner and, normally, that wasn't a problem. However, watching the Dark lord and Baphomet ally with each other had convinced him that he needed someone who was. Though it had been about two thousand years ago, he had somehow remembered working with Osiris before; back when Osiris was still mortal and alive. He smiled inwardly. Retaining his memory after such a long period of time had proven itself to be quite useful. The advance knowledge he received when he broke into that secret library in Geffenia was also proving itself as a boon. Drake was bereft of either, leaving the pirate captain vulnerable to attack.

As for the mortals they traveled with right now, he found them quite amusing; especially the two commanders and their sohee companion. The crusader was a careful planner and a tenacious and analytical combatant. The doppelganger recalled how he swiftly reacted to Moonlight's spells even while being battered by a storm gust. Most mortals would panic and try desperately to break the caster's concentration when someone directs a jupitel thunder at them. The crusader was smart enough to now that he wouldn't make it so he took the next best option, reflecting a portion of the spell.

The female knight on the other hand was an impulsive and headstrong fighter; her fighting prowess was enough to keep even Moonlight on the defensive and her sheer toughness made a cold bolt pummeling seem like fresh spring rain. 'They make a good pair! One a careful thinker and the other an aggressive striker.' He thought.

Then he turned his attention to the sohee. When he first saw her accompanying the crusader, he had thought that either the crusader was extremely rich or extremely lucky. To tame a sohee required immense monetary resources as well as luck. Sohee slaves fetched a veritable fortune in the market both for their services and their appearance. Rune-Midgard economics was something he took pride in keeping up with but he also knew what sohee slaves looked like. Their subdued and miserable expressions annoyed him somewhat; as if their mere appearance encroached on the freedom he liked so much. The crusader's sohee was no slave, a slave did not fight side by side with her master and a slave would not speak without being spoken to. No, the sohee served out of free will. This was probably one of the reasons why Moonlight chose to eliminate the crusader's troop instead of using them. The cat-demon considered all sohees as his servants. 'The reason for her doing so might be an interesting story...perhaps I could ask her later, if she lives through this battle that is.' The doppelganger grinned and kept going. Somehow, he felt as if these people would influence the war. He ignored the hunch though. Only individual immortals will matter in this war, the mortals were mere tools to be used. 'Still...perhaps that's the reason why they're so interesting to watch. How can these limited beings change the course of a war beyond their reckoning?' He chuckled slightly. He couldn't wait for the answer.

World notes

Pets and slaves -non-sentient creatures such as porings, drops, poporings, baby desert wolves, rockers and lunatics can simply be captured and tamed by food and human contact. Sentient creatures such as orcs, ises and sohees will refuse to be enslaved unless magically compeled. Certain objects, if enchanted can magically break down such a creature's will and force them to obey whoever uses it on them. The magic is powerful and the effects are permanent but the dominating process can be unstable and is subject to failure, consuming the enchanted device without dominating its target. Should the enchanted device break while the creatures is under its effect, the effect immediately ends, freeing the creature. These enchanted devices attune themselves to their owners after a day of close contact and the slave obeys whoever its enchanted device is attuned to. To transfer ownership, the enchanted device is given to another and a day must pass before ownership is properly exchanged.