Author's Note:

Some time skips to jump over unecessary portions.

Now believe it or not, Lelouch is quite the moral character. His whole demaenor is a mask. His quotes showed his inner self. The most damning evidence was his guilt over Shirley.

An excerpt out of the oxford dictionary:

amoral (adj.)

Lacking a moral sense; unconcerned with the rightness or wrongness of something.

example: 'an amoral attitude to sex'

His whole life was shaped by the amoralessness of his father's decision. Season 1 showed his whole character shifting to the darker side as we see him sacrificing others for greater gain, yet... in season 2 it changed throughly. He played the matyr in Zero Requiem.

What was his real character? The man behind the mask or the man in front of Nunnally and his friends. Certainly, he accomplished great evils for his sister, but would he strip himself of all morals because she isn't there anymore? Do you think Lelouch such baseless? Do you believe him to be such simple minded human?

As much as he saw himself as the devil, his goal for world peace was quite idealized. Although, the whole point is moot as everyone can derive for himself the interpretation of Lelouch. Be it moral or not.

We could continue the discussion if you send me a private message as the review function in ffn is impeding (perhaps Lelouch could be discussed in a forum).

Thank you all for the not so useless feedback. It was constructive that it helped me in writing this chapter, so without much further ado: have fun reading the chapter.

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Odyssey

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Lelouch gripped the railing, near hugging it as the ship shook. He looked down, saw his reflection on the surface of the restless water; same old face, but with the mark on his forehead. He looked up and saw the ominous clouds warring as lightning slugged into the sea like a furious Zeus. His eyes swung ahead of the bow of the ship. The sea exploded in motion, revealing the devouring mouth that swallowed the lightning strikes.

A deathmatch. Zeus versus Poseidon. A Civil War. Rebellion. A term derived from the Latin verb rebellō which meant: "I renew war."

The symbolism, he found it indeed fitting. The stage was prepared at least. The props ready.

He was now the captain of a meagre slaver's ship which resembled the Trireme, yet only had two banks of oars, instead of the traditional three. In that case, the designation would be bireme, which literally translated from ancient Greek to two-rowers. However, to think that it was a small ship would be an inept observation as the ship was big enough to carry more than 200 humans. The downside was obviously the slow speed. A medieval galley would probably be a better description, but still -

"Captain!" He turned to the side, looking at Leja, even as the rain splattered on his freezing skin which was already numb and impaired his sight, he could still see the hulking mass of the tall woman at the stern.

She was one of the women and men who steered the vessel or tried to; as strong as they were, they could only control the ship with the traditional steering oar. The pressure of the waves worked against them.

In science, this phenomenon was labelled Hurricane which was part of a family of storms on Earth. It was mother nature's work of moving heat from the equator to the poles. An analogy would be the car engine which would need fuel to work. In this case, the heat from the ocean air was the fuel which converted into energy for the powerful winds and waves to grow.

"Azor Ahai, it is ready." The voice of Kinvara, the tattoed woman brought him out of his musings. She was indeed a priestess, he had learned. A Red Priestess, she called herself.

As much as he would want to watch the spectacular show of natural power, his ship was unfortunately caught in the storm. Already, a plan was in motion which would hopefully help them to escape the wrath of Zeus. He detested trusting in something as vague as Magic of all things, but science didn't help him much in this situation. After all, his ship was something out of a movie set in ancient Greek which wasn't very famous for its survivability in storms.

He shouted over the cracking thunder, "Begin the ritual!" He gritted his teeth as he trembled in the cold embrace of high rising water.

What he had in mind to survive the hurricane would be ludicrous for a scientist, yet the Red Priestess of R'hllor could invoke the power of the Lord of Light, their god. Firemagic of all things. However, as he was taught the theory behind, he noticed that it wasn't only fire that could be controlled but heat itself.

Lelouch's plan was relatively simple as long as they've had enough slavers to sacrifice in the soon burning pyre on the deck. The ritual would establish a connection to the heat of the storm and through the hands of R'hllor, it could be manipulated. The heat was the fuel which meant no heat, no fuel. In other words, the ritual would sap the energy of the hurricane which would weaken it so much that they could steer away from it, even with the pathetic ship.

He breathed a sigh of relief as the heat of the burning pyre washed over him, fighting the cold out of his body. He really wouldn't want the cause of his death to be Hypothermia. He smiled ruefully, probably better than to be stabbed by his friend at least.

Kinvara spread her arms, intertwining her hands with the woman right and left beside her who did the same with others besides, creating a human chain. "īlon, pāsābare, call upon R'hllor to paghagon the perzys!"

He muttered, "We, faithful, call upon R'hllor to breathe the fire." The low hum of the chant changed as the first slaver to sacrifice was thrown into the flames which engulfed him completely while his screams lasted only seconds.

His eyes caught the first sign of change in the tumultuous sky. The rotation slowed to a crawl as the sacrifices continued to feed the fire. The winds and waves calmed down.

His thoughts went to the flames on his deck, fortunately, Kinvara could control the fire in such fashion that it wouldn't damage their fledging vessel, else the storm would be the least of their problems. Essentially, a high-risk gamble, he often played, yet sometimes desperate times called for desperate measures. Although, Kinvara showed him her talents with fire which convinced him, in the end, to use her for his plan.

"Xarros! The compass!" An instrument which the ex-captain and generally everyone in the world did not have as it was seemingly not developed. The compass didn't exist, so he used an iron nail and hammer to craft himself an improvised compass without the use of a magnet as it wasn't in the items they had in storage.

It was a simple process as he just needed to strike against the iron nail with the hammer for several times while orienting the nail in the north-south direction. The hammer strikes would destabilize the magnetic domains within the nail which would then cause the magnetic field to reposition the domains after the Earth's magnetic field. Now, although, he wasn't on Earth, every planet with life had a magnetic field to protect it and that external factor was needed to create the improvised compass.

Finding North was complicated, more so that he wasn't on Earth. Normally, he would only need to use the sun on the horizon and the time to calculate its axis to get the direction of North, however as he did that he noticed the discrepancies like how time elapsed. For example, a minute wasn't sixty seconds. That alone confirmed his suspicions.

Fortunately, Kinvara gazed in the fire to ask for direction weeks ago. Literally. He was at first sceptic, after all, asking a god was ridiculous. Yet, he could only trust her answer; or her god. And she used the time he spent with her to try converting him to her Red Religion. He assumed that the god she worshipped was part of the collective human unconsciousness of this world.

Lelouch gripped the bowl securely with his fingers from Xarros' massive hands. He observed how the nail spun around until it settled on a direction.

He called out, "North! This way!" His arm struck out in the direction. His steering rowers saw that and obeyed. The ship lurched as it changed its course sharp left, away from the gradually calming storm. They were a disciplined lot, coordinated to the bone as the necessity was a very good teacher.

"Melisandre! Attend to the bowl! Take care that we follow North!" He saw that she was staring into the flames, yet at her called name, she came over to him with a happy smile. With trembling hands, he handed the bowl over to her who stared amazed at the nail. As he first crafted it, she called him a sorcerer for his work, even as he tried to explain the science behind it.

His mind wandered to the day he saw that which science couldn't explain. Fire out of thin air as if she had conjured it with nothing but strange words; incantations. Her hands moved while the fire in the air followed the pattern. Impossible, as much as he might deny it, his skin felt the heat. He admitted that Geass was something out of a fairytale, however, it was grounded in reality as he used it many times, successfully or not. He even saw the World of C, yet this little Magic spooked him.

Did she have a Geass? If she did that would mean there was another code bearer in this world. No, she couldn't have a Geass as such control over the fire wasn't a trait he ever saw in other Geass. Even in the research facility of the Geass Order, there wasn't something so physical. And not to mention the telltale sign of a Geass - the red flapping bird - was missing.

It stumped him honestly. "H-How?" She smiled at him serenely.

"The Lord of Light gifted me." He narrowed his eyes at her.

She turned slightly, showing him her bare naked skin. He glanced at the black ink on her hips, running down her legs.

"R'hllor marked me." Her eyes stared into his with a mad gleam in the same vein of Mao's madness.

With a grimace, he asked, "The champion of R'hllor is Azor Ahai?" Even as he already deduced the answer, he feared the confirmation.

She smiled. "Yes. Kinvara belongs wholely to Azor Ahai, the champion of R'hllor." He didn't like her smile one bit.

He stated. "You saw it in the fire." Her smile widened. Precognition hurt his brain. "And what task would I need to accomplish?"

"Darkness will come and consume all." He raised an eyebrow, finding the vague threat amusingly.

"I assume that I will lead humanity against this extinction level threat." At her nod, he continued. "How much time do I have?"

Her gaze went to the fire which flames swayed restlessly. He observed how her iris widened considerably as if she took Refrain. He grimaced at that. He tried to use that drug once to escape reality. He was foolish. Fortunately, Kallen's hand took him out of the foolishness.

Her empty voice shook him out of his thoughts. "The Darkness will sleep for centuries to come." He smirked.

At least, he had centuries to prepare.

"Who exactly is the enemy?" He would need to know more about them to plan ahead.

"The dead ones. They shall rise in the Far North. Every dead body shall be added into the ranks." His smirk vanished.

As much as he wanted to scoff at the notion of the dead walking, he knew that the danger was at least real. However, he wouldn't trust a god which meant he would need other sources of information.

Lelouch turned to the map laid on the table. It was crudely drawn. The map was inherited from the dead slaver whom he slit the throat. A black line was drawn onto it, leading to a landmark which was a city called Volantis. He used the Chip Log, which was a knotted rope attached with a weighted wood panel to the reel, to measure the speed of the ship by throwing it into the sea and counting the number of knots that went into the sea by a given time interval.

And with the entries in the logbook, he could draw the distance on the map with his calculations. It was simple as he deduced the distance through the logbook while the speed was measured with the improvised device. In other words, to get the time, he divided the distance by speed which got him two months or two moons in High Valyrian. Well, the ship was at the speed of measly five knots. At least, the proviant was enough to last them four months with his issued order for rationing.

He grimaced as his thoughts strayed to the food situation. He remembered the day clearly as it was yesterday.

As his hands felt the foul meat, he threw it to the ground.

"Do we not have salt at all?" At his question, everyone looked bewildered.

Melisandre asked, "What's salt?" Curiosity was written on her adorable face.

"What would salt accomplish, Azor Ahai?" He looked at the red priestess incredulously.

"You're not kidding." He cursed the World of C.

"Xarros, get some men who will gather water in buckets." With his order given, Xarros went to accomplish the task.

While he turned to Kinvara whom he learned could control fire. He scoffed, not believing it for one moment. "Kinvara, if you can control fire, use it to heat the water until it boiled." She bowed her head.

To the bloodrider, he said, "dothrakhqoyi, watch her carefully. I do not trust her."

A hand brought him out of the past. He turned his head and saw the concerned face of Kinvara, the Red Priestess who used her gifts to heat up the water to the boiling point. At first, he chalked it up to something science could explain, but now that she showed her full powers here in front of him, he did not think science would help him explain that at all. He admitted that there were probably powers beyond Geass.

"We first need to arrive in Volantis." His first order of business would be to arm his men and women.

"I shall summon the priests and priestesses the instant we arrive." Of course, he would need to have the necessary knowledge to form a strategy which he would get through Kinvara's connection to the Red Temple, the place of worship for the religion of R'hllor.

He said, "I need books. Bring me them while you will discuss my apparent status."

"It shall be done, Azor Ahai." The unnatural devotion creeped him out, even if it was very useful to him.

Time was on his side -

"Lelouch." He let go off the railings as the storm subsided, turned around to Melisandre who held the bowl in her chest like a Teddy bear which she hugged. It brought a smile involuntary out of him.

"Is something the matter, Melisandre?"

She answered, "The sky." He looked up and saw the monstrosity. He never thought to see a dragon flying in the sky. As much as he would want to believe the hearsay of the Red Priestess, he would only believe in that which he confirmed with his very own eyes.

"Zaldrīzes." A whisper.

He muttered, "The Valyrian Freehold." Volantis was a colony of the Valyrian Freehold, the dominant power in Essos, one of the continents, which was ruled by noble families who had the ability to ride dragons. It sounded like it came fresh out of fantasy. Dragonrider, what nonsense he thought initially, yet the dragon he saw had a rider on its back. The dragon was an ugly black creature with wings that spanned so wide it encompassed their little ship in its shadows; it covered the sun.

The Valyrian Freehold used slaves for the labour like the Romans did in the history of Earth. If they had access to dragons, it would mean they also had access to magic. Indeed, a powerful enemy.

Essentially, the Valyrians had air superiority.

He couldn't help himself as he laughed; cackling like a madman. He couldn't obviously fight the Valyrian Freehold head on. Did he even need to fight them? Yes. Slavery was a sin he wouldn't accept. But the dragons would be useful in the coming apocalypse. Although he had time to advance technology considerably, he could certainly use dragons. Perhaps, he could steal some eggs. Anything was possible.

There was another reason why slavery wouldn't work for long. The Romans did that and it broke them including other factors. It was in the end wasteful. Actually, as much as he tried to convince himself that all his reasons were logical, he had another. His Geass showed him the truth of complete submission. Euphemia. He hated it. He essentially enslaved her. It wasn't even needed. The same with slavery which would not be needed in the future to come.

Lelouch sighed and felt a hand grabbing on his tunic. He looked down and saw the blinking wide eyes of Melisandre.

"Azor Ahai!" His view changed to Kinvara who was already close. It surprised him a little because he hadn't heard her steps at all.

"I've looked through the eyes of R'hllor and saw pirates attacking us."

He just asked, "When?" When will they attack?

"In ten days." As he opened his mouth to ask another question, she answered it as if reading his mind, "Near Volantis." If they would attack them near Volantis, that would mean the ruling family of Volantis sanctioned pirates. Which meant he couldn't escape the pirates so easily.

"How many ships?" He would need to know the actual numbers of the enemy to formulate a plan.

"Two ships with the same size as this ship." He could assume that they also used rowers.

Kinvara looked at him little hesitantly before she told him. "I spoke with the high priests in Volantis." His eyes widened a little. "He consulted with others and suggested that it shall be a test."

He stated. "They did not believe you. They do not believe me." She bowed her head in shame.

Lelouch was a little annoyed. Of course, nothing would go smoothly. Religion wasn't devoid of politics. It stood to reason that some high priests would clink onto their power, guarding it like jealous nobles that feared others who would deprive them of that.

As he saw her submissive, quite fearful stance, he said, "I won't punish you. After all, it is natural that mortals lust for power."

"Of course, my prince, they will in time come to see your greatness." He hid his grimace behind a smooth mask of a smirk. Her devotion wasn't healthy. It chilled his bones.

"Lelouch, I'm hungry." Her pout was devasting. Her small fingers twisted the fabric of his tunic as she tried to drag it to her. His eyes searched for help as he looked to Kinvara whose smile mocked him.

"Lelouch." Another pull. He looked down. Pout. Wide eyes. Tears.

In the end, he gave up and sighed, "Alright. Kinvara, give her something to eat." It was his privilege as a captain to assign extra rations to his crewmembers. It wasn't really a problem as they had enough food to keep them from starving and Volantis wasn't far anymore.

Her tears vanished while her pout transformed into a bright smile, giving him the impression that he was played which he wasn't, definitely not.

"Xarros! We will take a break. Gather everyone on the deck." He nodded.

Lelouch looked up and watched with a serious mine as the dragon spat fire in the sky. After a while, he stopped watching and walked with a steady gait to his destination: the food storage. His plan would call for a little bit of alcohol which he had in quantity.

The children ran around, disturbing some of his guards while making a nuisance to others like the Bloodrider whose mine was expressionless as some little girls surrounded him.

He cracked a small smile as he heard, "Please! Let me fly! I'm not fat!"

"Me too!" Another girl hugged the bloodrider's leg. He could see the face softened slightly. Well, apparently the Dothraki had a soft spot for children.

He saw him carry a girl on his shoulders whose happy expression told him everything. He gave the Dothraki a nod as he passed him and the children.

The wooden floor creaked as his leather boots made contact with it. On his way to his destination, people bowed to him while whispering, "Azor Ahai." As much as he liked the deference, the religious fervour made him uncomfortable. Fanatics were after all a dangerous bunch. Rowdy too. They must be controlled with an iron fist or his own words would work against him.

His mind went over the plan to distract him from the fanatical mutter. Normally, wine or alcoholic drinks weren't enough to build a Molotov cocktail. It was misleading to think such drinks would accomplish a working petrol bomb. Molotov cocktails were mostly created by pouring gasoline or pure ethanol into a glass bottle, then putting a cloth piece which would be used to ignite the flammable substance. The Japanese resistance made enthusiastic use of that.

He would need the alcohol to be in the range of over 50 per cent or 100 proof (200 was pure alcohol) to use it as a flammable substance. It stood to reason that grain alcohol would be very effective.

The guards in front of the food storage stepped aside as they saw him coming. Lelouch opened the door. His nose was promptly invaded by the thick aroma of spices. He coughed a little.

He made his way fast to the wine. He did not want to stay any longer. He didn't like the smell at all. He took out a jug from the crate and took a brief sniff. He found the right crate as he could smell the alcohol.

"Guard, send Leja to me!" He couldn't carry the crate. Even the wine jug was heavy for him to hold it longer than necessary.

It didn't take much time for Leja to arrive. She leaned her upper body forward to pass through the door which was small for her tall body.

"Carry this crate" - He pointed at the crate filled with wine jugs - "to the deck." Leja obeyed.

He went ahead without waiting for her as he knew she wouldn't have any problems carrying a measly crate if she could row a steering oar alone. He was right. Her muscles weren't just for show. A very useful fighter whose loyalty he won through freeing her of the slaver's chain.

On the deck, he saw that everyone was gathered around a circle. All bend the knees after he arrived. The show of submission filled his ego, but it wasn't necessary.

"Rise!" His command was obeyed with little hesitation.

"Pirates." Silence. The faces he saw paled. Yet, he could detect hope amidst the eyes of them.

"Pirates will try to enslave us all once again." He paused, letting the uncomfortable silence stir their emotions.

He struck his right arm out in front of him and clenched his fist. "Our freedom was earned by fire and blood." He felt the change in emotions. Fury and anger dominated.

"I see in you all the fear, yet there's something more profound hidden in your deepest heart." They were all confused, yet curiosity conquered them.

His arms spread outwards to the side.

He quoted. "The human heart is the source of all our power. We fight with the power of our hearts." Nostalgia filled him while he recited it.

He smirked slightly as he saw the moral rising to new highs. The chants were deafened for his ears.

His arm rose with the palm open. The chants gradually calmed down. The crowd, as restless as they were, stopped chanting his religious title.

He turned to the crate on the ground and took out a wine jug. "Give me a piece of cloth." Leja cut off a piece of her tunic and offered it to him which he took.

"Kinvara, fire please." The cloth lit up as fire caught it. Lelouch put it in the wine jug. He waited until the fire spread.

And threw it with all the force he could muster into the sky. Three. Two. One. The jug exploded, flames spread like fireworks in the sky over the calm water. He heard the gasps of the watching crowd.

The next days were used to build a scorpion by cannibalizing the wood from the ship. The scorpion (or scorpio) was one of the famous and most used Roman field artillery pieces. It was a type of Roman torsion siege engine that utilized the torsion to launch projectiles. The torsion was the twisting of an object due to an applied torque which was the rotational force. Torsion siege engines were developed by the ancient Greeks whom the Romans copied. The Romans were pretty much influenced by the ancient Greeks and other cultures.

The torsion spring was basically an iron coil which they got by cannibalizing two daggers with the help of Kinvara while the coiling was done by Leja.

The launchpad was a leather piece made with the help of the females who had the trade.

His strategy was to use the scorpion to combat the two pirate ships from the distance. After all, if he could defeat his enemies without ever closing in, he would do it.

Lelouch watched as the Bloodrider cranked the scorpion and loaded it with a fruit. He aimed and pulled the trigger. The fruit sailed far enough for his strategy to succeed. The Bloodrider would need to work on his aim, but the loading was satisfactory for the purpose.

"Your genius is without match, my prince." The soft voice of Kinvara disturbed his silence.

"Of course, yet this test is nothing but a sham." Her silence was enough for him to conclude that she already knew of the corruption.

He said, "Perhaps, my title spread already to the Valyrians. I can certainly believe that the ruling family in Volantis would want me dead."

"You will show them the truth regardless, Azor Ahai." He sneered. It was in his best interest to eliminate his opposition. His enemies would be numerous alone for the religious title he got.

His eyes wandered to the windsock fixed on the mast. The wind favoured the direction which his ship steered to.

"Double time!" His command was repeated by Xarros who used the drum to sound out the command. It was an exercise for his rowers to accelerate. These last days were used to drill them harder than any slavers would have. The moral was high for such training.

A shout. "Captain!"

Lelouch looked to where the Bloodrider pointed. In the distance, he could recognize the outline of a ship. Slowly, another ship appeared on the horizon. It was time. The pirates found them. It seemed that someone wanted him clearly very dead. He wouldn't oblige to his enemies.

He looked back to the windsock and saw that the wind changed a little to the left.

He called out, "Portside!" The ship lurched as the steering oars worked in tandem. Leja repeated the command. "Portside!"

As the wind hit perfectly the sails, he shouted, "Halt!"

Now, the speed should be over seven knots which was quite fast for such a big ship. The pirate ships changed their course, trying to align to his, but the wind didn't favour them that much. The condition was set as predicted. With the speed, they would never catch up to him.

"dothrakhqoyi, fire on my mark!" He waited. He would need the enemy ship to be in the range of minimum 400 meters while the best accuracy would be achieved in 100.

700.

600.

500.

400. He would need them to be closer to get an accurate shot.

350. Closer.

300 meters. He shouted, "Fire!" The shot went far too wide. The blame laid on the moving ship.

"Double time!" 300 meters was far enough that the pirates wouldn't catch up while the scorpio could hit the pirates accurate enough.

Seconds later, the scorpio was loaded. He yelled, "Slow down!" The ship slowed drastically to less than five knots which was the same speed as the enemies' ships.

"Aim!" The Bloodrider obeyed and raised the scorpio a little higher.

Now. "Fire!" The jug flew in a parable. Three seconds. Two. One. Hit!

The first ship was engulfed in a fire. The flames spread quite fast with the help of the wind, even getting to the other ship as it sailed beside. The spectacle brought a cheer from his crew, even the rowers noticed the mood.

Well, that was quite easy. Too easy. The tension in his shoulders disappeared.

"Azor Ahai!" The chanting bellowed in his ears.

He smirked as he watched the flames devouring the ships.

The test, he passed with flying colours.

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Author's Note:

Now that the timeline is vaguely established, Lelouch will write history literally. Religions were quite political, even to this day.

Again, tell me what you liked or what you don't liked. Opinions have some merit, although Tywin Lannister said it on point: A lion doesn't concern himself with the opinions of sheep.

Yes, some opinions won't have merit, well but that's for me to decide.