It was their fourth and final day in the caves. Soon, they shall enter the Great Halls of Moria... and find what foul creature made a ruin out of this, once beautiful, Dwarven City.
He could hear Gandalf explain to Frodo the story of their stalker, Gollum. But Titus ignored that in favor of looking at the unsheathed dagger in his hands.
The Dagger's guard had the image of a menacing, half mask. Etched on the blade itself, were the words 'VINDICTA'.
As he stared at the dagger, a memory came to life in his mind. A memory that would never leave his mind, no matter how much he wish it would.
A Centurion's Memory, Past
"Forgive us, Lord Warden. We regret to inform the council that our mission to retrieve the Eagle Standard for the Centurions... has failed."
The Lord Warden's posture stiffened. She looked at Titus and could see his fist clench.
She took a deep breathe as she braced herself for the answer to her question.
She nodded to Cross and Stone. The two slowly made their way to Titus' side. Ready to restrain him should he do something reckless.
"What about... Centurion Marcus?"
The Warden General that she assigned the task to lowered his head.
"Centurion Marcus... has fallen in battle. He was too stubborn to see that the Eagle was lost. But he did not heed our warning and charged the enemy with half of the army you gave us."
"Then why didn't you help him?"
The question came from Titus, who at this point, unclenched his hand but they could see it was twitching as it inched closer to his Gladius.
"I ask you again. WHY!?"
The Lord Warden slammed her fist on the table.
"Silence, Titus!" She ordered. Her voice demanded authority and her eyes cold as steel as she glared at the Centurion.
Titus relented and went back to clenching his fist. His glare never left the Warden General's form.
The Warden General cleared his throat.
"Had we sent the remainder of our forces to follow him, we would've lost the entire army. The fortress was too secure."
The Lord Warden gave them a stare of disbelief. But Titus decided to voice her disbelief for her.
"Too secure!? I've seen the reports of the fortress before the attack. Fortified and filled with barbarians, sure. But that's why the Lord Warden gave you a vast army. Not just to take back the Eagle but the fortress as well!"
"You know nothing of strategy, boy! The only thing you know is drinking and whoring! You don't know when to see if a battle is lost before it has begun! You only know where to stab your blade and which whore you would bed next!" The Warden General yelled as he took a steo closer to Titus.
"I may not be as strategic as Marcus. But I know a coward when I see one. Your eyes show me fear and something else. I see deceit!" Titus countered as he unsheathed his blade and walked closer to the Warden General.
"That's enough! Both of you!" The Lord Warden demanded as her guards restrained the two.
The doors to the meeting hall suddenly flew open and a wind as cold as the harshest winter struck the room. The candles and lamps that illuminated the hall died and darkness consumed them. The only source of light came from the doors.
Soon a figure in black blockes the light from the doors. The figure walked closer to the council's table before he was stopped by the Warden General's personal guards.
Everyone in the room felt something grip their hearts and realized it was fear.
They observed the figure and saw it was covered by a worn and tattered, black cloak. The figure's armor was filled with cuts and dents. It was also stained in dried blood and mud. The armor screamed Centurion and the fact that underneath the hood was an obvious Galea with half of a metal face mask. Two red scratches marred the mask. One ran across the bridge of the nose and the other ran down the left brow to his cheek. The lower half of the mask was removed, like it was torn off. The figure's mouth cannot be seen as it was covered by a black cloth. His eyes, however, they could see was a menacing gold. In his right hand was a rusted Gladius and covered with dried blood stains. In his other hand however, was something the occupants in the room did not expect. In his left hand, the figure was holding to the very same Eagle Standard that Marcus and the Warden General were supposed to retrieve.
The figure glanced around the room, staring everyone in the with his menacing, golden eyes. Those same eyes lingered a little too long at the Lord Warden.
As for the Lord Warden, when the black-clad figure's eyes met hers. She didn't see a pair of unfamiliar, golden eyes. She saw a familiar pair of faded blue ones. Before the figure's eyes left the Lord Warden, she saw it fade back into gold.
Seeing those eyes, she knew who this man was. When she saw Titus from the corner of her eye, she knew he did too.
The figure finally set his gaze on the Warden General, who had a look of fear etched clearly on his face.
The man raised the Eagle Standard above his head and slammed it into rhe ground. Everyone saw that he slammed ot hard enough to actually plant it on the stone floor.
The man then pointed his Gladius at the Warden General and said with a calm, yet menacing voice.
"I, Damocles."
The Warden General backed away and ordered his personal guards to attack the figure.
"Kill him! Keep him away from me!"
His guards looked uncertain before doing what they were told.
The figure moved quickly and killed every single one of the personal guards. The guards didn't even have time to raise their blades to fight before they were beheaded or lying in a pool of blood.
The figure stared at the dead bodies before slowly setting his gaze at the Warden General. He took a slow, menacing step forward then another and another until he was nearly face to face with the Warden General.
The Warden General, who had droppes his Longsword on the ground, quickly snatched a shortsword from a guard and burried it deep in the figure's side.
He watched in horror as the figure barely flinched and stare directly at his eyes.
The man grabbed the Warden General's arm and gave it a twist, making the Warden scream before he headbutted him then cutting off his arm with the rusty Gladius. He kicked the man and sent him on his back on the ground, clutching his bleeding stump.
The figure pulled out the shortsword that was buried in his side and showed it had no blood. He threw it away and walked slowly towards the downed Warden.
He stood over the Warden and kicked the man's remaining arm to the side. He stared at the man's eyes before muttering.
"Vindicta."
He twirled his Gladius once then swiftly stabbed it at the Warden's throat, watching as the life faded from his eyes.
He pulled the sword out and turned around before walking back to the way he came. He stopped just a few inchea from the doors before looking over his shoulder.
"I, Damocles. I am Vengeance."
He pulled out a sheathed dagger and dropped it on the ground.
Without another word, Damocles left.
After that everyone was in a panic at what they just witnessed. Titus was still standing motionless and his gaze was fixed to the dagger on the floor.
Titus didn't care for the dead Warde General and his guards that lay on the floor in a pool of their own blood nor did he care for the panicked voices that echoed in the Lord Warden's War Room.
He looked to the Lord Warden and noticed that she had leaned back on her chair and was rubbing her temple. A look of disbelief was in her eyes but he also saw a bit of relief. He knew the Lord Warden and Marcus were close but he didn't know the extent if their closeness.
He turned his gaze back at the fallen dagger and, like a man possessed, walked towards it and picked it up.
He observed the dagger in his hands and saw the sheathe was etched with letters 'DAMOCLES'. The dagger's guard had the image of Damocles' mask and when he unsheathed the blade, he saw that it had the word 'VINDICTA' etched on it.
He sheathed the dagger and saw a small scroll was tied to the sheath. Taking the scroll, he placed the dagger on the back of his Balteus.
He unrolled the scroll and read the words written on it.
"Memento mei in saecula. ~MVF"
"Remember me for centuries. ~Marcus Valerius Felix." He muttered to himself.
He folded the scroll and kept it in his hands.
He walked back to his home and found the balcony doors open.
He walked through them and saw Damocles standing there.
"You know you look stupid just standing there, Brother."
Mines of Moria, Present
"Hey."
Titus snapped out of his memory and saw Rin sitting on the rock opposite of him.
"Nice dagger. Can you tell me what do those words mean?"
Titus looked at the dagger and replied.
"It says: 'VINDICTA'. It means 'Vengeance' in the Common Tongue."
Rin raised her eyebrow.
"I didn't figure you for the revenge-seeking type of man."
Titus shook his head.
"Most of the time, I'm not. But this dagger and this image is a reminder for all Centurions of Damocles. And what he does to those who turn their backs on their soldiers."
Rin nodded and brought her pipe into her mouth.
"Tell me about this 'Damocles' character."
Titus unsheathes the dagger and started telling the story, unaware that the Fellowship was listening in as well.
"Damocles was a great warrior. A revered leader in a vast army. During a massive battle, hsi cowardly commanders abandoned him. He charged alone and fought to the death. When the slain Damocles reached the Underworld. Nemesis, the Goddess of Revenge, was enraged at how the hero had been treated. She willed Damocles to return to the world as a vengeful spirit. A ghostly, black-armored Centurion who would hunt down each of the generals who had wronged him. To this day, many Centurions carry a dagger with the image of Damocles in the scabbard. To remind us to always look after our men or risk the return of the Black Centurion from the dead to avenge our selfish mistakes."
"Almost all Centurions believe this story, but the Knights of the Iron Legion do not. That is until one day. Damocles himself interrupted a war meeting and slain a general in front of everyone present in the room, including the Lord Warden herself."
Pippin was confused and voiced it out "But how is that possible?"
Titus kept his gaze on the dagger as he explained.
"The general and his ally, a Centurion, were tasked to retrieve the Eagle Standard of the Centurions and take back the fortress from the Warborn Clan. The Lord Warden gave them an army to take back that place. The Centurion sieged the fortress with half of the army. Meanwhile, the general took the other half and left the Centurion and his soldiers to death. The Centurion and his men fought off the enemy to secure the Eagle and take back the fortress. One by one, their numbers dwindled until the Centurion was the only one left. He alone took out the last remaining Warborn presence in the fortress and secured the Eagle. He should've died with the amount of blood he lost but he willed his body to live. Through anger, determination and will power alone, he walked the three day travel back to our capital. The lights in the room flickered out and the temperature dropped as if the harshest winter entered the room. When he revealed himself, everyone felt fear grip their hearts. His appearance alone was haunting enough. He was wrapped around a worn and tattered, black cloak. The hood of his cloak covered his Galea and his face mask. His own face mask's lower half looked like it was torn off. His armor was rusted and was littered with mud and blood stains. His blade, now rusted and stained with the blood of those he had slain. On his hand was the very Eagle the general failed to retrieve. The only words he uttered were 'I, Damocles.' The general ordered his personal guards to kill the Centurion but with inhuman speed, he had slain them all. He turned his gaze into the general and killed him mercilessly in front of those in the war meeting."
Titus took a drink from his second waterskin, this one was filled with water instead of wine, before continuing.
"When the Iron Legion believed Damocles as a myth. Now, they aren't sure what to believe."
Rin gave a skeptic look and asked.
"But why would they just believe it that like?"
Titus looked at her, his voice strong as he replied.
"Because that Centurion became the very embodiment of Damocles."
Aéd decided to ask a question.
"Who was this Centurion?"
Titus looked at Aéd then at everyone.
Rin saw this and slapped a her forehead.
"Oh, Kami. Don't tell me it was you!"
Titua glared at her.
"No. It wasn't me."
He rubbed the back of his head before deciding to answer.
"The Centurion's name was Marcus Valerius Felix. Centurion and Head of the House of Valeria."
Rin widened her eyes at this and Gandalf realized it too.
"He was your brother, wasn't he?" She asked.
Titus nodded in confirmation.
"Yes. My brother became Damocles himself."
Titus went back to staring at the dagger and everyone decided that story time was over.
Gandalf looked at the passageways and suddenly perked up.
"Ah, It's that way." He said.
The Fellowship stared at Gandalf and Merry stood up.
"He remembered it." He said enthusiastically.
"No." Gandalf responded "But the air doesn't smell so foul down there."
"If you don't know where to go, Meriadoc. Always follow your nose." Gandalf said as he patted Merry on the back.
"Of course you do. Crazy old man." Rin muttered under her breathe.