Capriones 8/16/2006
Disclaimer: We shall make use of several of the characters from The Slayers, none of whom belongs to us.
Chapter Twenty-Eight -- Heir Apparent
It was a terrible sight. Amelia's casting hurtled pulsating, electrical energy through the body of Prince Randolph of Seyruun, short-circuiting every nerve in its path. His face wrenched into a silent scream and his body convulsed. Sylphiel stumbled to where Amelia was standing, weak and shaken, tears streaming down her cheeks. She wrapped her arms around the princess and held her tightly while both watched the man's final death spasms.
In the distance rose a cry, which Amelia first thought was in support of her, but when she heard Sylphiel groan, she looked up. Rezo had arrived with his red cloak flapping and jangling staff upraised. The cheers rose from the Red Guard troops who had accompanied Randy, greeting him with vehement enthusiasm as a demonstration of their loyalty. Behind him were hundreds more men, darkening the fields beyond; possibly the entire Red Guard was bearing down on the Caprione settlement.
On the second day since Princess Amelia had been married twice, she faced Cardinal Rezo. She was exhausted, her energy drained from casting the Ra Tilt which had killed her uncle, and Zelgadiss had not returned. Hope drained from her.
"Oh, Sylphiel," Amelia said with despair. "We can't fight this alone."
At her side and partially supporting her, the priestess, Miss Sylphiel, took heart when she felt Amelia losing her courage.
"Amelia!" Sylphiel cried out. "We don't have to-- look!"
With rustling shirts, the beautiful Queen Zelas of the Capriones joined them apparently prepared to enter the fray in defense of her people.
"Move out! Find the statuette and kill anyone in your way!" Rezo's voice could be discerned even from their distance.
"Looks like he has big plans," Sylphiel said.
"Rezo's brought several companies of his own– more than enough to raise this place to the ground," Amelia said, "which can only mean that after he has "cleansed" the settlement, he's taking his guard for a tour of the valley, wiping out anyone lending aid to the fleeing Capriones in one unrighteous act of criminal intent!"
Sylphiel tugged at Amelia's sleeve. "Leave Rezo to Zelas. There's nothing we can do to stop him, but there are those innocent people that need our protection."
"Yes," Amelia said with renewed purpose. "We must protect them from injustice and demonstrate that magic and law can co-exist. The righteousness of our cause gives us strength and will lead us to success!"
"Uh, huh," Sylphiel agreed half listening and pushed Amelia ahead of her. "I hope Miss Lina gets here fast."
Zelas swept past them wordlessly, skirts flowing, bangles jingling. Zelas was angry. What should have been a nuisance visit from some small-beans prince, one easily handled, a matter quickly disposed of, had now grown out of proportion to an all-out altercation with a powerful sorcerer. The situation was moving from the realm of inconvenience to danger, giving her cause to worry.
She had long ago handed off her offensive tasks, both unsavory and aggressive, to her sons. For Gourry, who had only mild inherent magical abilities- and those only for his father's heirloom sword- she had obtained the finest sword training to be found. Valgaav had received a combination of sword and magic training, as suited his nature. Xelloss was born her equal in power, and so she had vested Xelloss with her amulets, giving him magical abilities superior to her own. And he had Lina...
Xelloss should be here to handle this man. Damn him anyway! And he sent Valgaav off as well leaving her practically defenseless! And where had Gourry taken Lina off to?
Now was the time for Lina and Xelloss to utilize the training she'd put into them. Zelas believed her magic could take Rezo out, but she wasn't sure it would be enough to defeat the Red Guard at the same time. Her sons and Lina were her insurance against failure, but they were missing.
Rezo and Zelas faced off, measuring each other with narrowed eyes, neither willing to make the first move or reveal a hidden weakness. The air tingled. Electricity from the threatening thunderstorm was rapidly sucked up, charging both magic users with energy, crackling when Rezo raised his staff or Zelas gestured.
Zelas felt Rezo's eyes on her, studying her as she approached. His smile grew smug as she neared, as if he sensed victory was at hand. She attempted a minor enchantment, tempting him with a glamour spell, but discovered that he was blind to women's charms.
"Witch! I accuse you of thievery, harboring criminals, and sorcery. Your punishment is death. You may save the lives of your people, if you turnover the statuette that is mine and the two outlaws."
(o)
It had taken Rodimus and Zolf no time at all to enlist the fighting strength of Zelgadiss' followers and leave Atlas City in hopes of freeing from the Capriones Zel before Rezo discovered his whereabouts. Unencumbered by rations or equipment beyond their weaponry, the grim faced troops rode hard and swiftly.
"Look! Thunderstorm ahead!" shouted a man at the head of the line.
Rodimus joined him momentarily. "That's no storm—that's Rezo!" he shouted, then spurned his horse into the lead.
Racing to catch up, Zolf brought his horse head to head with Rodimus'.
"Are we too late?" Zolf asked.
"No, there's no smoke. Rezo's still drawing power, but we must ride directly."
Wizened ex-commanders under Rezo and green, young revolutionaries alike halted as Rodimus wheeled around his horse and announced, "No stopping now! Zelgadiss is there facing that! We will not allow him to face Rezo alone, not this time!"
"To war!" cried Zolf.
"To war!" roared the stalwort men in their wake.
(o)
The smell of ozone was heavy in the air. Flashes of light and thunderous roars grew more brilliant and resonant as Xelloss and Zelgadiss rode through the valley. They suspected that the storm ahead wasn't all weather related and urged their steeds to gallop faster.
"Rezo's near!" Zelgadiss shouted to Xelloss. "I recognize his magical aura."
Xelloss clenched his jaw and drove the horses off the main road and onto a little used path. "Faster way," he explained crisply.
Capriones fleeing the settlement met them within the horse encampment, where the familiar scent of dry straw mixed with the sharp tang of fright and sweat. One man caught Xelloss' eye and ran to meet them.
"Prince! I'm taking the women and children to safety. I didn't know what else to do. There's no time to harness horses to the caravans or even a few wagons and save anything else," he said.
"Zangalus," Xelloss interrupted, "Has Lina returned...with Gourry?"
"No."
Zelgadiss asked, "Have you seen Amelia?"
"I think so. She used some pretty impressive magic on some loud-mouthed kin of hers, and then all hell broke loose with these murderous monks," the man explained. "And now she and another sorceress were our queen, last I saw."
"The Red Guard is inside our borders?" Xelloss said, dismounting. "Here, take my horse, Zangalus. Take all the horses! Guide everyone toward the mountains where the Golden Cepheid tribes live. Reinforcements will be coming from that direction."
"Okay," Zangalus said and changed horses, giving his to the next passing man. He didn't mind the upgrade to Xelloss' fine animal.
Xelloss looked over at Zelgadiss, nodding to the side. "We can move unseen on foot, avoid any guard, and get close to Rezo."
"Fine." Zelgadiss jumped off his beautiful palimino relunctantly, and lent it to a lucky man assisting children out of the camp.
Everyone was frightened, but heartened by Xelloss' arrival. They smiled and wished both men well as he and Zelgadiss plunged on, heading upstream closer to the confluence of magical activity. Along the way, Zelgadiss strained his eyes for a glimpse of Amelia, and Xelloss searched for his mother, questioning anyone running past for any clue to where he could find either woman.
"I don't see them," Xelloss said, puzzled.
"Me, neither," Zel agreed unhappily.
As they entered the part of the settlement nearest Seyruun, the only people they spotted were Red Guardsmen, searching tents. Zelgadiss slit the throats of any he could without drawing attention. Xelloss moved unobserved the final few yards, hiding from guardsmen, shattering one or two with a deadly magical spell, gutting a few more with black energy, until an abrupt turn brought them onto the main road leading to the road to Seyruun. Rezo was easily discernable even at that distance in his red mantle and cloak. He was leaning heavily on his staff, a few his guard near at hand, perhaps listening as his issued commands, but hundreds more were standing in scattered clusters reaching out to the horizon.
Xelloss and Zelgadiss stepped out into the open. There was no sign of Amelia, Sylphiel, or Zelas. Both men hoped that meant they were still safe. Catching sight of Xelloss and Zelgadiss, Rezo squared his shoulders and straightened.
"I want to talk to him first," Zelgadiss said. His clear brow clouded over with dark memories mixed with apprehension.
Xelloss nodded and let his friend pass. He kept his eyes on Zelgadiss, but Xelloss was aware of the large oddly perverse figure of Rezo in the background. Now and again he felt a prickle of danger from the powerful man. There was something in the cardinal's confident stance which suggested he would become an ugly enemy.
Rezo didn't move, but his eyes followed Zelgadiss' arrival with complete absorption. He said nothing. His raised hand checked the guard from intercepting the young man.
"Grandfather."
"Zelgadiss! I wasn't certain it was you. You found someone able to cure you then?" Rezo quickly covered his surprise at Zel's dramatic change in appearance.
"Obviously," Zelgadiss spat contemptuously. "You have overstepped your bounds coming here."
"I have no boundaries. Soon, I shall rule all the civilized world."
"It won't work your way."
"Oh? You think you and your silly revolutionaries know better?"
"Yes. First of all," Zelgadiss said, "get rid the suppressive laws. Get rid of all the mistakes of the past. Make a clean sweep of it and start over."
"With new rules?" Rezo smiled. "Your rules?"
"There you go again!" Zelgadiss accused him. "You can't even think without rules. You pretend to be listening, but you're not. You're just like all the other would-be leaders with god-like aspirations; imposing your will on everyone else. Power, power, power all the time. No rules, people are suffocating under them already."
"So, what do you want? Remove the laws and you have, well, apart from chaos, no food, fighting in the streets, no heat, no transportation, no commerce, no protection for the weak. That is what you revolutionaries want in place of my ordered society?"
"Of course we don't want that! None of us want real chaos, just an end to the oppression. Whoever heard anything so totally idiotic as destroying all justice so you could create order again from the resulting chaos?"
Out of the corner of his eye, Xelloss noticed a man bending over a formless mass on the ground. On second glance, he found that it was Milgasia applying healing magic to the fallen. The picture came into closer focus, and Xelloss recognized the still form being attended.
"No..." he murmured under his breath, backing up to intervene, leaving Rezo and Zelgadiss locked in verbal battle.
End Capriones, Chapter Twenty-Eight.