“An oasis, Great One! Up ahead about a league.”
The words rang in my ears as I reset back to my save point, and I nodded my thanks to the scout for his report, but then I frowned as I thought about how to handle the situation. My people weren’t likely to have any immunity to whatever had killed off the village in the oasis, and I didn’t want to put anyone at risk if I didn’t have to.
This was a job for a god.
First, I had to update my army leaders about what was going on, and then I would check in with my women before I went to investigate the empty village, so I pulled Goliath’s head to the side and began to ride back down the procession. I spotted Riondale near the tail-end where he usually was, and I hailed the young general as I approached.
“There’s a village in an oasis up ahead,” I explained quickly.
“Every resident was killed off by some mysterious disease. I don’t want any of our people to go near it until I can cleanse it.”
“How do you intend to do such a thing?” Riondale frowned.
“Probably magic.” I shrugged. “I have a few tricks up my sleeve. I need you to keep the army calm and under control in my absence. Have you been practicing the common tongue words I taught you?”
“Yes, sir,” Riondale confirmed. “I’ve also been teaching all the soldiers and tribal warriors the hand signs like you instructed. I will be able to communicate with our forces in your absence.”
“Good.” I nodded. “I’m going to check in on the girls before I go to the oasis. Carry on, Ri-Guy.”
“Aye, sir.” My friend and general saluted, but a smile twisted one corner of his lips.
Next, I aimed for the carriage where the women rode, and I dismounted Goliath before I trotted alongside the moving vehicle.
Then I jumped onto the step, swung open the door, and slid smoothly onto the bench inside. The three ladies gasped in surprise then burst into laughter, and I flashed them all a charming smile.
“I have some news,” I said.
“What’s going on?” Eva frowned as she sensed my less than pleased tone.
“There’s a village in an oasis up ahead,” I explained. “But the entire place has been wiped out by disease. The bodies are all covered in these marks, and the stench is worse than anything dead I’ve ever smelled before.”
“Maybe something contaminated the water source?” Zenda asked.
“It’s possible.” I shrugged. “I need to investigate it before I can be certain. I have a few theories, though, and I’ll update you as soon as I gather more information.”
“It is unusual for you to lack information,” Mahini observed in a teasing tone. “I hope you solve this predicament soon.”
It was nice to spend some time speaking in the common tongue of Sorreyal, and I bantered with my women for a little while longer before I finally jumped back out of the carriage. Goliath had been keeping pace with the wheeled vehicle, but he halted when he spotted me. The well-trained warhorse stood patiently as I remounted, and then I nudged my heels against his flanks.
Goliath charged forward, and we quickly outpaced the entire procession, so a moment or so later, we were back at the front of the
caravan. Mikino rode at the head of a formation of warriors on sleek black chargers, and I aimed my steed’s head in his direction.
“We need to halt the procession here,” I instructed in the Gupuana dialect. “I need to ride on ahead and investigate the oasis.”
“Allow me to go with?” Mikino asked, and his gaze flicked to the horizon. “It could be dangerous.”
“The only harm there is disease,” I said. “I can survive exposure to it thanks to my powers, but you aren’t a god. I don’t want you to get sick because then you could spread it to the rest of the army. No, I need to go alone.”
Mikino was obviously struggling to keep up with my words, but I tried to keep it as simple as I could. Finally, he nodded begrudgingly, so I saluted and trotted away without another word. As long as the head and tail of the procession had orders to stop the caravan, then I was sure the army wouldn’t get too close to the diseased oasis.
The trees came into view a few minutes later, and the ocean breeze tickled my neck, but I stayed focused on the path ahead. I trotted beneath the branches of the surrounding forest until I came to
the stream at the center of the village, but then I tied Goliath to a limb and went to the edge of the village.
It would be essential to burn everything that had been exposed to the disease, and I hoped the heat would be enough to sterilize the area, so I pulled my turban down over my mouth and ducked inside the first house. These structures were built in a much more permanent fashion than the rest of the dwellings I’d seen in the desert, and I wondered how one tribe had managed to claim an entire oasis for themselves. It didn’t make a difference now, though, since they were all dead, but if the water source was ruined, then no one would ever be able to live here again.
“I’ll be back,” I said over my shoulder to my white stallion, and I had to admit it was nice to not be completely alone with all the death.
As if my thoughts had given him a cue, Nameless chirped loudly and swooped down from the sky over my head as though reminding me he had my back as well.
“I know, I know,” I chuckled in response to the dragon’s antics, but then I entered the shadowy depths of the semi-subterranean structure.
The stench of death and decay greeted me like a slap in the face, and the bodies strewn about looked like they’d toppled over dead in the middle of their day. I resisted the urge to gag, but then I secured the piece of fabric over my nose and mouth, and I set about my task. I pulled all the corpses outside by their feet, and I threw them into a small pile before I blasted a couple fireballs at the stack of bodies.
Then I continued on to the next structure.
It was tiring work, and sweat dripped down my brow, but it soon grew easier to ignore the smells all around me. I could only imagine how badly I stank already, but there was a lot still left to be done. There had to have been at least one hundred residents of the small village, and I burned the bodies of men, women, and children.
The children were the hardest, but they were covered in the same diseased pockmarks as all the rest. I couldn’t risk letting any of the infection out to my people, though, so I carried on despite the pain in my heart.
I hurt for this village, but the only thing I could do was lay them to rest.
I worked through several more houses, found the chief’s lodge, and burned every surface clean. I added the wooden and woven
baskets, bowls and eating utensils onto the flames as well since they likely had DNA on them still, and I cast fire spells inside every house to scour them.
After a while, I needed a break, so I found a fallen log to rest on, and I summoned some water into the palms of my hands. I rinsed off my hands but didn’t have soap, but it was fine since if I caught something from handling those corpses, I could always just reset.
Once I drank my fill, I glanced around the sky above in search of Nameless, but I couldn’t see the little dragon anywhere.
So much for keeping me company.
Then I heard the crackling of the fire getting closer, and I frowned. I didn’t want the blaze to spread to the forest, so I pushed myself up from the log and went to investigate. Sure enough, the flames had begun to creep along the ground as they found dried-out leaves and sticks to ignite.
“Son of a bitch,” I cursed as I once more summoned water, but this time I drenched the ground surrounding my funeral pyres.
I needed to keep a close watch on the fires or the whole oasis would go up in flames, so I continued with my work. I finished
combing over the structures, and then I began to widen my search to the woods outside the village. I didn’t want to have missed anyone who’d died while outside their homes, but I didn’t see any more bodies.
Then, while I was walking back toward the village, I heard the faint sound of wind echoing through a hole. I glanced around in curiosity at the noise, but all I could see in every direction was vines and shrubs. A rock suddenly tumbled from a small hill and disappeared into the vines, but it was several moments before I heard it strike against stone.
There was something there.
“Fur!” I chanted over and over again as I blanketed the vines in flames.
The leaves were green, and the bush beneath was still alive, so thick smoke bloomed from the flames. I coughed and waved the air around my face, but then I peered into the slowly growing hole my spell was creating. Shadows slid back into the side of the hill, and as I leaned forward, a breeze emerged from inside the fire to tickle my face.
It was a tunnel.
I had to figure out what laid underneath all the brush and debris, so I began to yank at the edges of the tangled mass of vines covering the opening. Once I had enough room to walk into the tunnel, I switched my magic to water spells, and I doused the blaze in a few short bursts.
“Here we go,” I muttered, and I summoned a single flame into the palm of my hand to illuminate the shadows.
The walls of the tunnel were carved from the rocky ground, and it was textured with large bumps and dips in the stone face. The air was cool and moist, and the breeze grew stronger the deeper I went. There was an opening of some kind on the other side, but it could be something as small as an air vent in the rock.
“Only one way to find out,” I said to myself as I continued deeper and deeper into the tunnel.
The ground was slippery and damp, and algae and moss grew over every surface, but when I scooted some to the side, I noticed carvings in the stone walls. I tore at the mossy covering some more until a huge petroglyph emerged. It looked like a depiction of death, and a skeletal figure stood in the center of a pile of bodies with arms outstretched.
“Creepy,” I breathed.
The tunnel began to curve and wind sideways, and the floor dipped down as I traveled even further underground. I was careful with my footing on the slippery floor, and I went slowly so as not to miss any details. There were more carvings at different segments of the wall, and each one was just as gruesome and as creepy as the first. It was like they were warnings about something kept locked inside a vault, and I wondered if a clue to the mysterious plague lay up ahead.
I had to find out.
Nameless squawked at me from the entrance of the tunnel, and the sound echoed down the corridor until it bounced off the walls all around me. I paused to look back, and a moment later, the iridescent dragon was flapping his wings in the tight space to the best of his ability. I waited until the little dragon caught up to me, and I let him take his customary position on my back before I continued on down the corridor.
A short while later, we came to a flat-walled dead end, and I glanced around in confusion. The walls were covered in moss and fungi, and a hole in the ceiling above explained the draft I felt earlier.
Was this just a tunnel to nothing?
It didn’t make sense, so I started to pull away at the earthy coverings on the wall in search of a clue. A carved stone door emerged from behind the moss, and it was covered in detailed depictions of death and disease. I looked for a handle or a button to open the catacombs, but I couldn’t find anything. Whatever was trapped inside or hidden within was still safely behind the stone door as far as I could tell, but my curiosity was growing.
I’d just have to come back with some tools to bust through the entrance and see for myself what laid beyond.
With that decided, I returned to the entrance of the tunnel, and I took a small break on a fallen log before I went back to the village.
The fires were beginning to smolder, and the stench of death was being carried away in the wind, but it would still take some time for the bodies to burn completely, so I settled in to wait.
A short while later, however, a rider appeared through the trees, and I stood up as I waited for them to cross the distance to me. It was one of the scouts I’d sent out in search of the warlord’s stronghold, and I waved as he approached.
“What’s going on?” I asked once he was within earshot.
“We’ve found it, Great One!” The rider spoke in the Gupuana dialect, and his excitement was obvious. “We’ve found a castle!”
“The asshole’s stronghold?” I clarified, and the man nodded.
“Perfect.”
I shot a glance at the fire, but it was slowly dying down as the bodies fueling it were incinerated. It wasn’t likely to spread, but I sprayed a wet line around it with magic anyway. Then I unhitched Goliath, mounted up, and followed the rider out of the oasis toward the army caravan. I rode straight to where Riondale was guarding the rear of the procession, and I trotted Goliath beside his steed.
“Send some men to the oasis to guard the catacomb entrance I found,” I instructed. “It’s a hundred paces north of the village.”
The mystery of the locked door was still tugging at me, but I had a warlord to face, so dungeon crawling would have to wait for now.
“Is it safe for them, sir?” Riondale asked. “I will only send volunteers if not.”
“I burned everything touched by disease with fire spells,” I explained. “It should be safe near the catacombs since I didn’t find any bodies near there. Instruct them not to enter the tunnel, but to
keep watch at the entrance. Send them with enough supplies to last a week.”
“Yes, sir.” Riondale saluted.
“Oh, and one other thing.” I grinned. “The scouts discovered this wannabe warlord’s stronghold. We will ride into battle soon.”
“Excellent news, sir,” Riondale said.
“Let’s get a full report from the scouts when we make camp tonight,” I said, and I glanced at the sky to check the sun’s position.
Nameless’ shadow crossed over the light of the orb, and I waved up at my pet dragon. It was a few hours past mid-day, but we still had time to get some distance covered. I would press the lead of the caravan onward until shortly after sunset, and then we would halt for the evening. It would be the perfect time to organize our strategies, and to lay out the details of the upcoming battle, but I still had questions that needed to be answered.
Namely, how many men we were up against, and what kind of weapons they had at their disposal. I didn’t want to rush headlong into battle only to have countless casualties, but fortunately, I was never stuck with a bad outcome.
I was the fucking God of Time.
If anyone could annihilate a multi-tribal army and a warlord rising in power, it was me.
We traveled for several more hours before striking camp for the night, and I helped the caravan unload all our necessary supplies before I joined my women in our tent. We were getting to be pros at quickly setting up our living environment for the evening, and soon we were relaxing and waiting for the tail-end of the procession to catch up to us.
Fires were burning and food was being cooked by the time Riondale came to report the entire caravan had stopped, and I fed Nameless before we organized a gathering of the leadership. The iridescent dragon chirped happily and growled noisily as he ate his dinner, and I watched and chuckled until he was satisfied. Then we made our way to the center bonfire where I’d told everyone to meet.
Riondale, Jorgen, and Corvis were there to represent the Sorreyalians in my army, and the seven tribe chiefs arrived with their bodyguards in tow. Mahini and Serini showed up arm in arm, and Zenda and Eva made an appearance shortly after. I’d also summoned Mikino and Akina because I trusted the experienced warriors’ opinions on how their tribe fought best, but they were acting as Chief Kuaki’s escorts as well. Finally, the scouts arrived to give
their reports, and all the bantering among the attendees started to die down.
I stood up in the center near the fire, and I cleared my throat loudly to get everyone’s attention. Once all eyes were focused on me, I jerked my chin to the rider who had found me in the oasis, and he stepped forward.
“We discovered a castle surrounded by the camps of three tribes.” The scout puffed out his chest with pride, and his veil wavered over his face as he exhaled sharply. “We believe it’s the location of the warlord.”
“Where?”
“How many?”
“Which tribes?”
“Were you spotted?”
The questions came all at once, and I quickly gestured for silence, but then I nodded for the scout to continue. The runner answered every question one at a time, and silence followed his final words.
“The tents stretched from one horizon to another,” he finished.
“Alright, people,” I said in the Gupuana dialect, and then I repeated myself in the languages of a couple other tribes present who didn’t know Gupuana. “This is it.”
It would be tiring to continuously repeat myself in multiple languages, so I hoped they’d all learned enough of the new common tongue to understand my speech, but at least now I had their attention again.
“Leave the warlord to me,” I instructed. “We’ll divide our forces evenly to outnumber each of the allied tribes two-to-one, but the main goal will be to create a pathway for me to access the warlord’s hiding spot.”
“You think he hides?” Mikino asked.
“Once he knows I’m coming for him?” I smirked. “He’s going to want to hide.”
I told each tribe which enemies they would focus on, and we discussed different strategies and instructions for the next hour or so. Then we all landed on something we could agree on, and I nodded in satisfaction.
“Right, here we go.” I clapped my hands. “We’re going to fight for the people of Kotar, for their rights to freedom and liberty, and for
their right to live how they want. This warlord thinks he can conquer you? Pshaw. You are born and bred warriors. You are children of the harshest terrain in the world. You are survivors. This asshole isn’t going to know what hit him.”
Cheers followed my small speech, and everyone applauded and stomped their feet in unison. Together, we represented an army almost a thousand fighters strong, and nothing was going to stand in our way.
The Kotar Desert would be freed.
Nameless screeched, and the tiny dragon swooped out of the sky to land on my back. He was still an uncomfortable sight for the majority of the tribal people, but they were starting to get more used to his sudden appearances by my side. I wondered briefly if he would ever breathe fire or anything cool like that, but for the moment, I was content to have him as a dog-like pet.
“Are you really ready for this?” Mahini asked in an anxious tone. “The tribes have never been this united before. You’re changing history, Bash.”
“All for you,” I murmured, and I pulled her into my arms. “When this is all said and done, your mother is going to come home with us,
and the baby is going to have the best damn birth ever.”
“Elissa is due before me,” Mahini pointed out. “I’d like my mother to arrive before then so she can help Lissy with your firstborn.”
“I’d like that, too.” I grinned. “Let’s get this war over with, then, shall we?”
“Absolutely.” Mahini nodded curtly, but her ice-blue eyes glimmered with a smile. “But, thank you, Bash, for everything.”
“This will all be over soon,” I promised.
My mixed army of Sorreyalians and Kotarians traveled across the desert to our final target, and it was only a couple of days before the tent city surrounding a large castle came into view.
The castle sat on a peninsula that overlooked the Eastern Ocean, and the tents spilled down the side of the hill toward the coastline. Banners dyed black with a three-circle design flapped from the ramparts, and three other colors signified each of the tribes that had joined the warlord’s cause.
Lamarian’s colors were a burnt orange and black with a viper sigil, the Truchi Tribe’s banner showed two crossed blades over a
white backdrop, and the Gamma Tribe flew a purple flag with fangs as its design.
It looked like they had nearly five hundred tents spread around the peninsula, and it would be tough to split their forces enough to allow me access to the castle, but I knew we’d manage fine.
We backtracked slightly until the warlord’s encampment was no longer visible, and we made sure to set up camp in the middle of a valley surrounded by large dunes. We’d attack at sunset, and hopefully we’d catch our enemy half-asleep.
I ate my dinner rapidly and washed it down with a hefty swig of wine, but then I crawled into my bedroll to take a nap. I wanted to be well-rested and full of energy before I faced the battle ahead, but then my women came in to snuggle with me, and soon I was snoring peacefully.
Riondale poked his head in my tent opening a couple of hours later, and he revealed the dying rays of the sun behind him as he held open the entrance flap. I blinked into the orange light that silhouetted my general in fiery rays, but then I realized the only reason the young man would interrupt my sleep.
It was time for war.
We all climbed out of bed, pulled on our gear, and sharpened our weapons. Mahini, Zenda, and Eva would stay behind in the camp, but there was always a chance our enemies would locate it and try to attack our back side. I wanted to leave a few trusted people behind to guard my women and our belongings, but we had plenty of people to spare.
The only problem was everyone wanted to fight.
I eventually had to command some of my Sorreyalian soldiers to stay behind, but they obeyed my order with silent salutes.
Riondale had them well-trained, and not a single man had abandoned their posts since we’d entered the desert. I was proud of each and every one of them for withstanding the harsh terrain and long journey, but they were Bastians, so of course, they came to conquer.
Mikino, Akina, Serini, and Rystuni approached me at a quick pace, and the four of them were jostling with each other to reach me first. The nudging and racing were amusing, but then I cleared my throat and arched a questioning eyebrow.
“Allow me the honor of protecting you in battle,” Akina said, and the fiery warrior maiden inclined her head respectfully. “I wish to gain honor for my family.”
“No, let me guard your back!” Mikino insisted.
“I will be by your side in this battle,” Rystuni declared.
Serini glared at the other tribespeople, but I could tell from the look on her face that she was here for the same reason. I laughed and shook my head in awe at how many fans I’d acquired since arriving in Kotar, but I wasn’t about to turn aside volunteers.
“You may all join me,” I said. “We fight for Kotar, so we must fight side by side.”
Bright smiles and nods followed my words, and I jerked my chin toward where the horses were hobbled.
“Time to get to it,” I said.
They all rushed to their steeds, and a few moments later, I was mounted on Goliath’s back with the army moving into formation behind me. My honor guard stayed a pace behind my horse, but they seemed content just to be near me.
Then we crested the rise and rode toward the warlord’s stronghold.
Whoever this fucker was who’d been terrorizing the Kotar Desert was about to come face to face with the God of Time.
The infantry portion of my forces moved into the lead as we approached the peninsula, and I stayed with the cavalry, but that mostly consisted of the Kanuaki Tribe on their sleek black chargers and me on Goliath. The warriors on foot spread out into two flanks, and the horses formed the tip of the blade formation.
Then I unhooked one of my panabas from my waist and hoisted the blade into the air as I let out a fierce battle cry.
“Charge!” I shouted to my army.
The seven tribes and Sorreyalian soldiers rushed forward with fierce cries of their own, and we swept past the first few rows of tents before any of the enemy even noticed our approach. Several of my warriors carried torches to help us see in the dark, and the fabric of the enemy’s dwellings were ignited with the flames, but that finally got the attention of the three tribes.
Chaos ensued.
“Form a knife!” I shouted in the common tongue I’d created, and I flashed the hand signal to accompany the command.
The cavalry charged forward, and they slammed into anyone who stood between us and the peninsula. I galloped behind them
and gave Goliath plenty of the reins, and the warhorse leapt over obstacles and fires on the way to the stronghold.
A shirtless warrior with a mohawk charged toward me with a wicked curved blade, but I blocked the blow with my panabas, and his head rolled off on my next swing. I kicked Goliath to urge him onward, and the sound of his hooves hammering into the rocky ground echoed around me like a drumbeat.
The waves crashed against the rock wall far below, and I spotted several warriors being knocked off the cliff face, but I kept my focus on the castle walls up ahead. There was a gate, but it hung open, and the front end of my cavalry had already almost reached it.
We’d have to dismount to enter the castle, but first, we’d clear out the courtyard and the walls, so I flashed a few hand signals to command my forces before I charged through the open gates.
Riondale appeared at my side a moment after I passed beneath the wall, and he fired arrows up at the ramparts as bodies tumbled to the courtyard below. The Kunuaki warriors ignited their magical flame swords and got to work on clearing the area before the castle entrance, and a moment later, I was dismounting at the front door. A warrior rushed up to take my steed’s reins, and I smiled gratefully as I handed them over. Then I took out my second
panabas, made a new save point, and kicked open the front door of the warlord’s castle.
Time to kill this son of a bitch once and for all.
The interior was filthy. It looked like people had been sleeping and eating in the hallways, and the stench of body odor permeated the air. I grimaced as I trotted past hides and bedrolls strewn along the corridor, but I paused at the first side door I came to.
Where was everyone?
The room to my left was a sitting room, and it was in a similar state of filth as the hallway, but there wasn’t a soul in sight, so I continued onward. I gripped the hilts of my weapons tightly, and I prepared myself for surprise attacks, but none came.
So much for fighting my way inside.
Then I came to a set of large double-doors carved with intricate designs, and I kicked it open to reveal a large, cavernous throne room. The space was full of people, and they all turned around to blink at me in surprise for a long moment.
The moment passed, and they all yelled with ferocity as they charged toward me, but I was ready for them. I killed the first man
with a stab straight to his heart, the second died from a slash across his throat, and the third was impaled clean through his back.
The bodies began to pile up around me, and I still hadn’t spotted the warlord. I couldn’t see the throne through the press of people surrounding me, but I used the doorway to my advantage, and I had them bottlenecked so they couldn’t get behind me.
Sweat began to drip down my face beneath my helmet, but I pressed forward, and I killed man after man after man until the flow of enemies began to slow. Then I spotted a tattooed man sitting upon a chair made entirely of bones, and a thick white fur clung to his shoulders.
That had to be the warlord asshole I’d come to kill.
“Qufa!” the man on the throne shouted, and all the warriors in the room halted.
I paused in my attack, and I peered up at the man with curiosity. The language barrier would make it hard for me to understand anything he was saying, but maybe he could understand me.
“I am Bash, the God of Time,” I announced first in the Gupuana dialect since it was the most well-known. “I have come to take you
down.”
No one showed any comprehension, least of all the warlord, so I repeated myself in every language I knew until I saw the eyes around me begin to widen with recognition. In the end, Trahana’s dialect was the one most understood by the people in the throne room, but I was pleasantly surprised that I’d been understood at all.
“You may call me Krakair the Sand Devil,” the warlord chuckled. “It will be fun to kill you.”
“My thoughts exactly.” I grinned. “It’ll be a pleasure.”
Krakair lifted a finger and inclined his head slightly, and the warriors around me charged toward me once more. I was locked in a defensive pose, and surrounded on all sides, but it was a simple matter of hacking off limbs and slicing open throats.
A few moments later, I stood in a pile of bodies, and my chest heaved as I struggled to catch my breath. Krakair the wannabe warlord stared down at me in amazement, but he didn’t move to attack me himself.
He must be a coward.
“My army will defeat you,” Krakair hissed as I made my way toward the throne. “I have countless men outside.”
“They’re all dead,” I said. “How else would I have made it this far?”
“You think you are clever,” the wannabe warlord snarled, but then he pushed himself to his feet, and he flicked the palms of his hands open.
Brilliant blue flames erupted from his hands, and I had to leap out of the way to avoid the white-hot fireball that flew past my face. I had a magical shield summoned in my next breath, though, and I pressed onward toward the throne dais.
“I’m going to kill you,” I said in a cold, calm voice. “You’ve terrorized Kotar long enough.”
“Try,” the asshole had the nerve to sneer at me.
I took another step, and a white-hot fireball smashed against my magical barrier, but the force of the impact caused my shield to sputter slightly.
It wouldn’t hold forever. I needed to end this.
If he wanted a magic fight, then I was more than happy to oblige, so I took a moment to summon my vines.
I grunted in the language of the Wild Southern Lands, and the green plants shot up from the floor like Jack’s magic beanstalk in the
fairy tale. They imprisoned Krakair within a jail cell of vines, but he withered them with fire an instant later. I felt the pain of my plants as my own, and I grimaced as I sensed them screaming silently.
Then I threw out my own fireballs, but the warlord ducked behind the throne to avoid the projectiles. He used his chair as a shield to lob more magic blasts my way, and I had to recast my shield a couple of times. One fireball came so close I could feel the dragon scales of my armor heating up, but the fire-resistance buffs would protect me.
“It’s over, Krakair,” I said as I marched forward up the steps of the dais. “Give up now.”
The next thing I knew, a whirling sandstorm bloomed into existence in the middle of the throne room, and it swept toward me like a tornado. Then the dust devil sucked me up and sent me flying into the wall with a hard thud, and I felt my armor dent beneath the pressure of the impact. I fell to the floor with a loud crash, and the Sand Devil was on me before I could regain my footing.
Krakair’s eyes gleamed with malice as he stood over me with two orbs of swirling sand hovering over each hand.
This was new.
I’d faced off against pretty much every other element besides sand, so I was eager to learn the secrets to Krakair’s magic, but I’d have to defeat him first.
Chime.
Time to kill this son of a bitch once and for all.
I didn’t bother to introduce myself as I fought my way to the throne, but Krakair watched me with growing disbelief as I killed off his warriors by the handful. Once the way between us was clear once more, I flicked the blood and gore from my blades before I approached the dais.
“Who do you think you are?” Krakair shouted.
“The man who’s going to kill you,” I said as I continued onward.
I faced him down with deadly intent, but he leapt from his throne and lobbed a white-hot fireball in my direction. I’d been expecting just such a move, though, and I had a magical shield spell cast before the fireball even came close to me. I didn’t halt my pace toward the throne, and I followed the warlord to the edge of the dais before he summoned another fireball.
“Give it up, Krakair,” I said. “You’re not going to win against me.”
“Who are you working for?” the wannabe warlord asked as desperation creeped into his voice.
I knew he still had a few tricks up his sleeve, so I kept my guard up as I summoned my own fireball, but I had a feeling he possessed some sort of fire protection enchantments as well.
“I work for freedom,” I said, and a shit-eating grin spread across my face. “And that means you need to die.”
The warlord asshole shouted out a battle cry as he charged toward me with a curved blade encrusted with jewels. It looked more ceremonial than deadly, but it was likely the only weapon the man had on him when I’d arrived.
I liked catching my enemies by surprise. It made for a hell of a lot easier fight, but it was time to end this. I’d suffered enough of his taunting attacks, and I knocked aside his blade like it was a wooden stick.
“Give up!” I chanted over and over again as I pushed the warlord back into the corner.
The supposed Sand Devil hacked and slashed at me with growing ferocity, but the fear in his eyes was plain to see. He was fighting for his life, and he knew it.
But I was getting bored.
“Listen, pal,” I said in a casual voice as I blocked blow after blow. “You’re not going to win. You might as well give up now.”
“Never!” Krakair’s eyes were wide with fear, and his back was pressed into the corner of the room, but still he slashed out at me with his blade. “Death first!”
The Sand Devil summoned his swirling sand orbs, and he tossed them at me in a similar fashion as the fireballs, but they felt like a cannonball when they struck me in the shoulder.
Motherfucker, that hurt.
Chime.
I was going to kill this asshole without taking a single hit even if it took me a thousand lifetimes, but I’d accomplished far more challenging things before.
I was the God of Time, and I wasn’t going to accept defeat.
I kicked in the doors of the throne room and slashed out at the closest warriors without pausing to talk, and then I stomped my foot to activate my fleetness ability. I zoomed through the room spinning my panabas in a figure eight, and I was like a deadly chainsaw set loose on the room full of warriors.
Blood sprayed in my wake like a body going through a woodchipper, and I knew I’d be spending hours cleaning it all out of my armor.
“Surrender, Krakair!” I shouted. “Or die.”
“Never,” the supposed Sand Devil hissed. “My army will defeat you.”
“I’d like to see you try,” I said as I flashed him a mischievous grin. “Seeing as how my army is currently defeating yours as we speak.”
I was ready for his sand balls and dust devils this time, and I managed to dodge every fireball he lobbed in my direction, but then he pulled out his fancy sword again.
“Death first!” Krakair barked as he charged toward me and slashed his sword at my neck.
“I am more than happy to oblige,” I countered, and I knocked his weapon from his fist with a twisting motion of my blade.
The sword skittered across the floor until it slammed into the back of the throne, and before Krakair could summon any sand to his rescue, I tackled him to the ground and pinned his arms to the ground with my knees.
A part of me wanted to ask about his sand magic, but I was sick and tired of looking at this asshole’s face. I’d find some other way to learn the magic.
Then I pulled back one of my panabas for a final time, and I swung at his neck with all my might. His head slid off his throat with a bloody line dripping from the slash wound, and then the warlord’s skull rolled across the ground.
I’d won.
The Kotar Desert was free from the rampaging maniac attempting to unite the many tribes into one army, but I’d succeeded where he’d failed.
All in a day’s work for the God of Time.
Noise from outside brought me out of my thoughts, and I turned to trot back to the entrance of the castle. As I approached the front door, the noises turned into cheers, and I emerged to find a victory celebration occurring in the courtyard.
“We did it, sir!” Riondale reported. “Every enemy is dead or captured.”
“Well, that was easy.” I grinned at the irony, since no one had seen me try it a dozen times.
My army had won against the three most feared tribes in the Kotar Desert, and the unity I’d created would spread peace throughout the realm for decades to come. There were still plenty of mysteries to be solved in the south, and many questions remained unanswered, but for the moment, I wanted to savor my victory.
“Time to party!” I announced.