Destroy the things you love
and see if I remember
-Rob Zombie, "Return of The Phantom Stranger"
The palace had been sacked, and nary an arrow had been let loose. Nor had a battering ram been introduced to the grand doors. Not a single sword was drawn. The portcullis still was drawn up for that matter. The palace had fallen, and not a single drop of blood marked the occasion.
It was just the way that he liked it to be. Oh yes, he loved bloodshed. There was something so thrilling about hearing someone scream as you removed things that while important to them, was not so important in the long scheme of living. For instance, one did not need their fingertips to live. It made it easier sure but it was optional ultimately. It was enjoyable to hear people scream for their life, but it was far more enjoyable when they begged for their death.
He was not exactly a combatant by nature however. His skills ran in a different pattern, his talents were better used elsewhere, and thus his Great Queen had sent him on this most dangerous tasking. He had been quite victorious, for who else could say that they defeated the King of Mars without taking so much a scratch? Who else could say that they controlled his seat of power without staining it with the monarch's blood? Who else could claim such, that it was done so effortlessly? Few could, which was why he had been sent.
Wisely, he did not kill the foolish King. No, he was better left alive, for correspondence still arrived for him near daily. Word from the various points on the planet itself to word from outside planets, he kept well informed of the happenings. He knew, for instance that the False Queen of the Moon had requested the King's daughter for her court. He knew as well of the emissaries that had been sent when the King did not answer.
He knew that those emissaries were currently dead yes, messy business that but of things that existed in the cosmos, it was the Lunarians that he could not abide by. It was a moment of weakness, killing them as he had, but it netted him something far better. His spies that mingled among the various planets, not to mention the Lunarian court itself, told him that someone of importance; who he did not know, would be arriving to Mars. To collect answers, to collect the daughter of the King.
Important targets were always worth taking out, after all. Important targets could be turned, their minds corrupted, their values twisted. The more honorable the person the deeper the disdain ran, of course, for whom they served. He was just as guilty, for while he was loyal to his Great Queen so too did he despise her so. Important targets could become his, pawns for his plans that not even his Great Queen knew of. For if she did, he would exist no more. By taking away the free will of someone, he would ensure their loyalty first and foremost, yet also they would not harbor the deep resentment that everyone had.
No, this was an important target, one that he would savour and enjoy breaking. This one would serve him after he broke their spirit, for that is what he did best.
He was Pyrite, the Gold of Fools. But he was better known by his other title, the Deceitful. What he lacked for combative skills he made up with his great magics, the ability to twist the minds of those around him into doing his bidding. To manipulate the mind would initially take much of his concentration, leaving him vulnerable to attack, but once he broke into a mind and shut it down, the victim obeyed his every command.
Wisely he started off slowly. A servant here, a guard there. With time, it was child's play to manipulate his way through the Martian court until it took just a whisper in the King's ear; he was a most trusted advisor after all with his skills, and thus the King fell before him. The kingdom, so to speak, belonged now to him, to his Great Queen.
There was however one little problem.
Always a little problem, but he had plans to deal with such things. The King's daughter was absent, and this important yet still unknown Lunarian envoy was on their way. His information was still quite vague; was it male or female he had no idea. Assumptions being wrong to make, he felt confidence in believing however it to be a Lunarian and likely female, for the False Queen seemed to have them in abundance about her. How vain did one need to be to demand the Princesses from each of the planets after all?
Sitting on the King's throne he contemplated the problems before him. Both were equally of importance to solve, the question was which one first. Logically it was this Lunarian bigwig, for the False Queen would only send someone of importance if her summons and emissaries went missing. He was awaiting further word back from his spies of who it was, to have a better chance of dealing with that threat. The only that he had gained so far was that the person fought with a falchion.
He was not a combatant but he knew how to counter a sword. The puppet King had numerous warriors and trainers in his "command" that it did not take long for him to find one that would show him the way of the spear. With such a range, a falchion would be pointless and useless. It would lack range, the ability to get close to him. If this Lunarian envoy openly carried a weapon, it meant he could demean and ridicule them by beating them in combat. Defeat always made it so much easier to manipulate the mind. It was perfection, and thus he considered one of the two problems solved for the time being.
The other took considerably more effort, but with much faster results given that it just required the planet to be searched. Thus he encouraged the warlords to roam free, originally their loyalty had been to the King yes, but it did not take much for the King to do away with them with just the right words spoken in the right company. The warlords now fought amongst themselves for ruling, amassing armies only to crush each other, with the victor absorbing the loser's own fighters and starting the cycle anew.
What a grand army he would have when it was all said and done, for the cosmos knew that Martians were peerless when it came to combat. They may lack the brute strength of the Jovians, or the supposed grace of the Uranians, but Martians were vicious. They knew battlefield tactics, they knew their lines of succession should an officer fall in the field, and every last one would rather die than surrender.
Yes, there was a reason why his Great Queen had desired to take over Mars first.
Regardless however, he still needed to find the Princess. She was to be his prize for his conquest, knowing he could beseech his Great Queen for a reward such as her, especially while handing her the planet of war. That was the superficial, easy to understand motive. The real one was for her abilities, that she could commune with the elemental nature of the planet and foresee events. Oh the things he could do, if he but knew how the future worked. It took far too much effort on his behalf to know who to brainwash to his servitude, more often than not selecting a person that had no power or sway over anything yet their mind was weak.
No, with the gift of foresight, he could pull the right people away. He would be informed of what would happen, and thus he would cheat fate and draw his own destiny.
His thoughts were broken by the arrival of one of his trusted few. A mind manipulator such as he rarely needed anyone, for he could do whatever he desired on his own. But this was something he could not do, and thus found a amibical working relationship. Of course he scanned her mind first just to make sure, but found nothing harmful to his personal cause. Melinite may hold grudges, may be quite volatile, yet her ability to commune with the essence of the planets themselves made her a worthwhile ally.
The Princess of Mars was a Priestess of some sort, if the writings of the False Queen were to be taken with any truth. Having someone then that could equally commune with the same beings would help narrow down her location. Melinite explained it to him once amid the King's bed and their personal naked glory that she could find the Priestess based off of where she prayed to, further if she prayed to the Fires of Mars itself. Even better, which was perhaps the real reason why he entered a partnership with her, was that she could corrupt the Fires, if given enough time.
Corrupting the Fires would drive the Priestess insane. Insanity was the perfect way for him to take over, for the mind would be open, akin to a fortress with its gates unsealed and its doors unlocked. Insane, he could control her reality, her perception, and she would be none the wiser for it. Instead she would trust him and him alone, doing exactly what he desired for he would recreate her entire world to suit his purpose.
Melinite didn't give a fuck one way or the other what his end goal was with the Priestess. She just desired the glory that would come along with his conquests. They had explained that to each other too, during one of their times of fucking in the King's bed. It was actually amazing the things they accomplished there but neither here nor there.
His attention was drawn to her as she stopped in front of the throne he sat upon, looking rather bored but the brunette could unless something caught her attention. Unassuming, she could blend in near anywhere; there were few stand out things about her other than truly her skills. Leaning forward he looked at her before pushing up to his feet, stepping from the dais to speak to her.
"You've brought good news I take it?"
"Of course. The Priestess consulted the Fires today, concerning her visions. I've already planted the seeds of doubt and insanity."
"This is wonderful news indeed." His eyes gleamed a shade of gold, lips curling to a smirk that moved the reddish goatee with it.
"It gets better. She also consulted the Fires regarding your Lunarian envoy. The two of them travel together."
The day could not get any better. Both, together. Oh what a treat it would be for him to lay capture to them, to destroy the one and have the other. "Have you learned any more of this envoy?"
"Female, blonde, apparently a Lunarian." The woman shrugged, having no real way of knowing if the origin was correct given she was going off of the Priestess' interpretations. "Your Priestess is quite confused over her possible feelings for the envoy; apparently she is both infuriating yet alluring. She has been teaching her how to fight with the sword."
Curtly he nodded, his plans already in motion. "Continue your work, if this Lunarian is so trained to be able to teach another the art of swordplay, then I shall need to hone my own skills. See if you can sow discord between the two of them. Separately they will be far easier to deal with than if they are together."
The woman merely nodded, their conversation at an end as they went their own separate ways within the palace. There was much to be done in preparation to this inevitable meeting, after all.
A/N: Short chapter just for the sake of plot advancement. Things can't always be Reinako all the time after all, but they sure can be it indirectly. Huge thanks to farronheit for ideas of dealing with writer's block. Also, thanks to everyone that has followed, favorited, reviewed, set up alerts and all that over this. Its a pretty nice feeling.