“Well, what happened?” Babiligus asked, cautiously eyeing the king.
It was a wonderful day by all metrics, bird song floating freely through the air, enthralling all willing to stop and listen, the clouds overhead puffy and white, half shading the sun which gleamed with a special radiance, and a gentle breeze which ruffled Babiligus’s well trimmed hair. But in that throne room, there was no joy, no love. The air hung tense, music falling dead on entry. Wrong. It was all wrong.
Babiligus stood in the center of the room, upon the grand red carpet trimmed with golden flakes, betwixt the many baroque marble pillars holding the roof far overhead, and before the marvelous gem throne carved from Elteran’s very finest minerals. To his left and right, stairs descended from the main path leading to the throne, opening up to two spacious balconies on either side adorned with luscious greenery and twisted wood lanterns–opulence to the highest degree. It was a popular design of the area, a mix of the natural elements of Elteran with the artificial safety of construction, but it also required extensive upkeep to keep everything alive. Beauty did come at a cost, after all.
Leaning against a pillar to Babiligus’s side was Gray, aptly clad in full gray garbs, a wide brimmed gray hat, and topped off with his naturally dull gray eyes. He didn’t look bored per say, his gaze not fully lost to their small congregation, but neither did he look fully invested. Something had his attention, and given the circumstances, and the slight twitch in his right eyebrow, it wasn’t hard to guess what.
On the throne, wreathed in expertly woven gold and purple silk, was the elven king, supreme ruler of New New Renland–the Benevolent. He cradled his head in his hands and tapped his foot anxiously against the ground, producing enough force with every tap to shake the very foundations of the room, a quiver which traveled the length of the castle top to bottom. His ears, long and pointy, were pulled far back; his face even paler than usual; his purple irises shining even brighter than the sun far overhead.
It was a rare sight to see the king this worried, this terrified. It was almost awe inspiring, the presence, the power, emanating from the king like pure hellfire to the lungs, an invisible hand clutching him at every end, nearly locking him in place. In all his centuries of service, Babiligus had only seen the king brought to this height twice before–all because of him. It seemed that even in all this time, nothing had changed.
“Avar is gone,” the king replied.
“He didn’t…” Babiligus muttered, almost breathless.
“You’re right, he didn’t. This is something else.” the king said, leaning back and bracing his head with his elbow against the chair's arm.
“Aria and Avar gone, Wyrm’s Perch in reconstruction, and Zerital in revolution. Verulik is falling piece by piece. Only a matter of time before it collapses,” Babiligus said.
Gray snorted, “Please, collapse? This is the Conqueror we’re talking about. He would never let it. Besides, Dasellium still stands untouched.”
“For now. He’s on borrowed time, Gray. The moment they set their sights on taking his head personally, everything will fall.”
“You think they can take him?”
“You don’t?”
“He rose that nation from nothing to the greatest power the world has ever seen in just 30 years. We both saw it. Hell, this whole time they’ve done nothing but pick away at the fringes little by little. They’re scared of him, too scared to face him directly.”
“It’s smart warfare. I’d do the same.”
“Sure, but it can only get them so far. Slaughter his soldiers, destroy his cities, disrupt the power hierarchy…what’s left? He is. One way or another, they have to face him. And the longer they wait to do it, the worse it’ll be. Only a matter of time before he snaps, and there's little more dangerous than a man with nothing left to lose.”
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“They’ll corner him, trap him into a deal he can’t refuse–him or his people. They’ve more than enough fire power.”
“I wouldn’t be so certain,” the Benevolent said, looking up to focus on them. “Do you recall what he did to the old capital of Lagasia?”
“Wiped it from the map. Tore it down with nothing but his bare hands because they killed Lorgain. I’m aware, but it’s been years. He doesn’t have our gift. He’s grown slower,” Babiligus said.
“I’ve always wondered about him, how he works. But one thing always bugs me. He has no presence, no way to withstrain himself. So how is it that he steps so lightly? Earthquakes should follow his every footfall, but they don’t,” the king said, his tone calmer than before.
“Do you mean to say it’s purposeful?”
“He means to say don’t underestimate the Conqueror. Hubris is the ultimate undoing, afterall. The guys a monster, no matter how old he is. And if the Bloody and those veils want to test that, power to them. We need to focus on our own affairs, sort our own problems before we worry about theirs,” Gray cut in, stepping forward from the pillar to stand next to Babiligus. “He’s back, isn’t he? No doubt about it?”
“Yes…he is,” the king said, his eyes glowing somehow even brighter. “But I don’t understand why. Why now?”
“Take advantage of the chaos. It’s what I’d do,” Gray replied, crossing his arms and leaning his head back.
“But it’s not what he’d do, at least not so obviously. He’d play the cards from the backseat just like he always has. No reason to get involved personally,” Babiligus replied, turning to face Gray.
“Things change, Babil. It’s been decades since he’s shown his face, and now he’s back. He isn’t hiding anymore. Something about that boy, Trenton, has changed things.”
“That boy has changed everything! Half the damn world chasing after his ass like it’s gold plated, and for what!? He’s ripped Verulik in half, and now he’s headed our way. What do we do if he shows up tomorrow?”
“Kill him,” Gray scoffed, turning to meet Babiligus’s gaze, even though he stood a solid head shorter. “I would never stand for such chaos on our doorstep.”
Benevolent looked up, pulling himself from his black thoughts for just a moment to pay attention to their argument, “How? How would you kill him? How do you kill something that lives without a core?” He said, half curious, half scolding.
“Well isn’t that just the question of the hour!” Gray said, stepping forward towards the throne, the air around him losing a bit of its shine, its color, as he spoke. “But I’ve got an idea, two even. If you want to kill something that can’t die, then the most efficient solution would be to simply wipe it from existence. But something tells me Walibeld wouldn’t be too fond of that idea, even if we could get in contact-”
“I could,” the Benevolent said, sobering rapidly. “Continue.”
“Regardless, it’s not an option, so we need to be a little more creative than that. Maybe getting rid of his core won’t kill him, but what about getting rid of his everything?” Gray said.
“...what are you suggesting?” Babiligus said, brow driving down over his eyes.
“Deconstruction at the atomic level, the most effective murder weapon this world has ever seen. Get him to do the dirty work for us. It’ll take a little bit of trickery, but I think we can manage. I happened to find something very special while I was doing some spring cleaning the other day that might even do the trick,” Gray said, pulling from his deep pocket a richly bound case.
It was bulky, big enough to fit a wide assortment of objects. Slowly he undid the latches, drawing the top up to show them its contents.
“Wait, is that…” Babiligus said, eyes wide.
“Sure is!” Gray slammed the suitcase shut, redoing the latches. “Had it in stasis all this time. So here’s the plan. We’ll take the generals and intercept them halfway. If they mean to bring their chaos to our realm, then they’ve no right to live. And as long as we play it up right, I think we’ve got a solid shot, only a couple fingers lifted.”
Babiligus stared down at him for a moment, considering the offer. It was bold, and risky, but it could work. Only one problem, they couldn’t go anywhere without permission. And trying t-
“If it’s my permission you need, you have it. We can’t afford to wait around for him to strike first. I’ll recall the generals immediately,” the Benevolent said, walking over to the open deck and gazing passively over his kingdom. As Gray and Babiligus dismissed themselves, immediately moving to discuss planning, the king muttered something to himself, words almost lost to the air, anguish almost lost to time, “...too much at stake.”