Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.
Chapter Twelve: Origin of Sin: Wrath
Let us now turn back the clock to view a past long forgotten…
Aragoth stood at the top of the cliff, watching the battle wage before him from atop his warhorse. The commander of the Hell Dragons stood tall in his red armor. Behind him his retinue of guards kept their distance, knowing their commander's temperament.
Their fear was quite justified. Aragoth was a mountain of a man. He was distinguishable amongst his fellow knights. Unlike his shining, silver armored compatriots, the long-haired man wore crimson red armor, a dragon emblazoned on the pauldrons. On his back was his feared sword, Crimson Tide.
One of the knights, a female with long, ebony hair, rode up to her. "It's not going well…" she noted. "We're being pushed back."
Aragoth spoke in a gruff, stern voice, his eyes fixed on the battle. "Reinforcements?"
The girl shook her head. "We've received word they're on their way but…"
"It'll be too late." The man stepped off his warhorse and reached for Crimson Tide. "I'm going down there."
"That is inadvisable…"
A second person rode up to them. Sweat gleaming from his bald head, the man looked at the commander and scowled. "To rush into battle is folly. You're quite clearly outnumbered."
"Perhaps, Iago," Aragoth noted, saying his advisor's name with contempt. "But never outmatched."
The girl continued to show worry. "But…father, don't you think you should wait?"
"Ariana," Aragoth glared at his daughter. "In battle, you will address me appropriately."
The girl nodded, knowing she was forgetting protocol. "Of course…Commander."
Ignoring his page and his advisor, Aragoth leapt off the cliff, throwing himself into the battle. While Ariana continued to watch the man turn the battle into a slaughter, Iago turned away and huffed. "Mongrel…"
Later…
Staring deep into the campfire under the stars, Aragoth sat on a log, sharpening his sword while a pot of stew cooked over the fire. He sat on top of the hill, the rest of his men camping at the foot of it. Aragoth considered it to be important for the commander to observe his men from a higher position to keep watch over them, providing them with the comfort of his watchful eye.
He cast a glance to Iago's tent, his expression wrinkling when he saw the shadow of the toady advisor talking with his daughter. After a few shouts, Ariana stormed out of the tent and made her way over to her commander/father. "What an arrogant pighead!" she groaned before sitting down next to Aragoth.
The man grunted as he poured the young warrior a bowl of stew. "More of his sniveling cowardice?"
Ariana nodded before eating a spoonful of stew. "He keeps griping about the way you jump into battle. He says you don't care about your own life. That's why you fight so viciously."
"Is that what you think, lieutenant?" Aragoth asked, staring into the fire.
The young daughter looked at her father with a cautious glare. Her father was always testing her physically and mentally and she didn't know if this was another test. "I think you really love to fight."
"Yes…and no…" Aragoth answered. He looked up and surveyed the men below. "Battle is a part of me. It's in my blood." He glanced over at his daughter. "It's in your blood. But it's more than that." He turned back to the men below. "I took action because I care for the lives of my men. As their commanding officer I am responsible for their lives. To simply stare and watch as they're cut down because of tactics is sheer idiocy. They are my men. I refuse to sit by just because some coward advises otherwise."
"I don't like him…" Ariana pouted, putting her hands under her chin to support her head. "Why is he even here? Can't we win the war by ourselves?"
"My superiors seem to think he's useful. I have to confer with him tomorrow morning about our next move."
Ariana put down the bowl and stood up. "Well, get some rest then. You'll need it. Good night, father." The girl gave her father a quick hug before returning to her tent.
Aragoth watched her leave, the shadow of a smile on his face. "Good night, daughter…" He looked out onto his resting men and felt pride fill his heart. These were good men, strong men who'd fought at his side for years. It wasn't just his responsibility to lead them, it was an honor.
The man clenched a fist as he thought of today's battle and the battles to come in the coming weeks. But he knew he would be there to lead his men.
The next morning…
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Aragoth slammed his armored fist down onto the table, cracking the fine polished wood. "That's a death trap, Iago!"
The bald man was unimpressed by Aragoth's rage, his own bodyguards standing at the back of the tent. Ariana stood next to her father, a look of similar outrage on her face. "Our orders were clear. We're to march through the gorge and intercept the enemy army."
His rage growing by the second, Aragoth pointed at the map. "Take a look, you simpleton! Our enemy has fled into the gorge and will be expecting us to follow!" He pointed to a specific area on the map. "That is a huge chokepoint! Our men will only be able to get through a few men at a time. They'll be slaughtered!"
Iago laughed, a cold sound that filled the tent. "What's the matter? Has the great commander of the Hell Dragons suddenly become a coward? Or is it that you can't charge in and hog all the glory for yourself?"
Aragoth snapped. He'd taken Iago's snide comments during the campaign for days but to have him openly insult both him and his men was too much to stomach. He grabbed Iago by the neck and lifted him off his feet. "You…POMPOUS LITTLE TOAD!" He reached for his sword.
"Father, no!"
Though Aragoth's speed was well known, the speed of Iago's bodyguards was greater. A blow to the side of the head by one of their clubs made him drop Iago. While Ariana fended off one of the attackers, Iago took the opportunity to draw a small dagger from his robe and stab Aragoth in the side. Though it didn't strike anything critical, Aragoth found his limbs go numb in seconds.
"Father!" Ariana cried out as her father crumbled to the ground.
Iago put his foot over Aragoth's head. "Amazing what a few drops of Sunfire snake venom can do. Even an ogre like you goes down like a baby."
"Iago…you…"
"Silence!" the treacherous advisor sneered as he stomped on Aragoth's head. "Aragoth Stromforg, to openly strike at me, one of the king's advisors, is a crime of utmost severity. I hereby charge you with treason and sedition in addition to dereliction of duty because of your cowardice." He gave a glance to the girl, who'd been subdued by his men as well. "As your second-in-command, I hereby declare your daughter, Ariana, as temporary commander under my command. Perhaps she'll be braver than her cowardly father." He nodded to his men. "Take him away. Keep him subdued until he's in the capitol's dungeons."
Aragoth snarled as the men picked him up and dragged him away. "IAGO! YOU SNAKE! YOU'LL KILL ALL MY MEN!"
Ariana ran out after them until Iago grabbed her by the arm. "Let me go, you-"
"Now, now…" Iago cupped her face and dug his sharp nails into her skin. "I wouldn't try the same trick as your daddy. Either serve me," he looked over at Aragoth as they put him in the back of a wagon. "Or you can join your father in the gallows."
"Ariana…" Aragoth called out to her. "Protect my men! Do whatever you can to keep them safe!"
"I will!" Ariana called out as the wagon began to roll away. "I promise I'll get you out of this!"
"Ariana!"
"Father!"
Iago watched the man be dragged away before turning away, smirking as he returned to his tent. "That went better than expected…"
Days later…
In the dark dungeon's of the captitol, Aragoth sat in his cell chained to the wall. His proud armor had been removed, replaced by drab prison rags.
The doors to the dungeons opened up and he heard footsteps. A growl came from the massive man when he saw Iago's smug, arrogant face smiling down at him. "Well, well. How the mighty have fallen."
"Why are you here, Iago?" Aragoth demanded, standing up. "The campaign. The men. My daughter! What happened?"
Iago shook his head. "It was such a shame. It would appear that the newly appointed commander was too inexperienced. The battle was quite a massacre."
Aragoth merely stared. How could this man talk so casually? Because of him, his men were… "Ariana!" His chains rattled as he struggled against them. "Where is my daughter?!"
"I'm afraid she was among the last to die," Iago said with fake pity. "She tried desperately to order her retreat. Unfortunately, the enemy had already overwhelmed her and the remaining men. You'd be proud of well she fought, even to the end."
"Why?!" Aragoth roared, try to reach for Iago's neck, even though the chains forbid it. "Why would you do this?!"
"I have no plans to remain a lowly advisor," Iago grinned. "My plans are much more grandiose. But in order to move them along, I need to eliminate any obstacles in the military along the way. You and your Hell Dragons were just such an obstacle."
"You-"
Iago turned around. "I look forward to tomorrow's execution. Such a fitting end for Aragoth the Coward. Ta-ta…"
Aragoth seethed as the man walked away laughing at his misery before slumping to the ground. Tears fell down his face. He'd lost everything to this slimy bastard. His command. His battalion. His daughter.
"Gone…" he wept. "They're all gone…"
The dungeon rang with his scream. Aragoth sat slumped on the floor, the countdown to his imminent death ticking away.
His ears picked up the sound of the dungeon opening again but this time he didn't look up, fearing that it was Iago come to gloat again. His anguish was halted when a foreign voice spoke. "Commander Aragoth, why do you despair?"
Looking up, Aragoth saw a knight in silver armor standing in front of his cell. "Who are you?" he asked, standing back up. He looked at the sigil on the man's shield. "I don't recognize your coat of arms. What battalion are you with?"
The man chuckled. "I'm afraid I am not a member of your military. But I am not here to discuss me. I am here for you. Who put you down here?"
"Iago!" Aragoth spat. "That treacherous snake! My men! My daughter! Dead by his hand!"
"I see…you must be angry," the knight nodded. "What would you give if I could give you the chance for revenge?"
"I'm not angry," Aragoth seethed. "My rage is beyond words… and as for what I would give," his eyes burned with fury. "Everything. Anything to kill that rat."
"I see. I am called Pride. And I would let you…" he reached into his bag, "become Wrath." Through the bars he offered an apple.
"Is this a joke?" Aragoth asked as he took the apple.
"This is no jest. Eat, and you will get your revenge."
Aragoth looked at the apple before throwing caution to the wind. If this was a joke then at least he was going to have a full stomach when he died. He took a bite of the apple and swallowed.
"ARGGHHH!" Aragoth screamed as his eyes burned with fire, sin filling his heart. The rage he felt grew and grew as his body was filled with evil energy. The chains snapped as his strength grew. Armor materialized around him as he stood tall. It was similar to his red armor but painted charred black. The disgraced commander Aragoth was no more.
In his place stood Wrath incarnate.
Twenty-four hours later…
The treacherous Iago strolled into the dungeon, flanked by his personal guards. After enduring Aragoth's brutish behavior, he'd have the satisfaction of seeing the man hung. 'Perhaps I'll ask His Majesty if I can have him drawn and quartered for my amusement.'
Reaching Aragoth's cell, Iago looked in and saw the shadowy figure in the corner. "Time to die, my disgraceful commander. I hope you're ready to see your daughter in Hell."
"Oh, I'm not quite ready yet…" the figure mumbled as he shambled to the door of his cell.
"Hmm? What's that, traitor? I couldn't…hear…" Iago's words stopped when he noticed something crucial: Aragoth's chains were broken. "Guards! He's-"
The bald advisor was caught off guard when Wrath slammed his fist into the cell door, sending it flying into him. Crashing into the wall, Iago called out to his guards. "Guards! Kill this man!"
The men drew weapons but Wrath drew his bloody sword, returned to him by Pride. Iago watched in horror as Wrath destroyed his men, watching as he murdered them in the most brutal ways a demon can think of.
Trying to escape the vengeful demon, Iago struggled to crawl away, his leg broken from the cell door. "A monster! He's a monster!"
Wrath's boot stopped him. "You're going nowhere, you little rat!"
"Ahhh!" Iago screamed like a little girl as he was hoisted off the ground. When he was turned around, he saw Wrath's face and knew that this wasn't the Aragoth he knew. "The…the king and the generals won't let you get away with this, traitor!"
"I don't care," Wrath seethed, his hatred growing as he continued to stare at the man who'd robbed him of everything. "They're going to die next." To him, a kingdom that allowed a snake like Iago to exist was just as guilty for his men's death as Iago.
"P-please!" Iago begged as Wrath grabbed his head with his massive hand.
Wrath merely scowled beneath his cowl before he crushed Iago's head like an egg. The headless man dropped to the ground, Wrath stepping on and crushing his chest as he walked over him.
As he headed out of the dungeon he saw Pride standing in the entryway, a proud smile on his face. "Very good. Your reputation is well deserved, Commander."
Wrath punched the brick wall next to Pride's head. "Never call me that!" he roared. Turning away, he headed up the stairs, his bloody sword ready to deal more vengeance out to the rest of the kingdom that betrayed him. "Never call me Commander," he told his new comrade.
"My name…is Wrath."
To be continued
