"Kai! Let me go! Don't do this!" Treydon urged his brother. At first he thought Kai intended to trade his life for that Gem that was inside Kaida's chest, but now he realized that was not what he was going to do. He was going to try and take the gem from her no matter what. Treydon knew from the visions he had as a younger man showed him that Kaida and Kai do fight, and in his heart he knew Kaida would defeat Kai. He was worried that if Kai took his life, Kaida may go beyond that. Aimee and Astra would be too far to be affected, for now. There was no way that Kaida was going to let either of them be harmed by Kai, or this god, Amaia.
"No, you will be a part of my sacrifice. It's the perfect ending for us, brother. Don't you agree? We never really were fond of each other throughout our lives. I am giving her the blood of my blood so she may walk among us! I am almost tempted to keep you alive long enough to watch Amaia take her first step among us, so you can bask in her beauty and greatness. Watch her bestow her love on me." Kai said as he stood above Treydon staring down at him.
"Kaida can not give you the gem, Kai. She won't. You don't know her." Treydon said.
"She will when Amaia takes it from her, Treydon! Amaia needs that gem, and I promised to deliver it to her. By taking your life, your daughter will seek me out, no matter what. We both know that girl cares for her family above anything else. You could never have raised her to not. You are soft." Kai laughed then Kneeled in front of Treydon, looking him in the face.
"How did you manage to hide from me all these years, brother? Where have you been hiding? You know, I have looked for you. I wanted you to be a part of bringing Amaia here at first. My brother!" He stood up and turned his back. "But then your awful daughter happened to show up at that seer's house, Vala, with Bellator. And I knew, I knew she was the one to lead me to the gem. What were the odds that my brother's daughter would show up after all these years, at the same mountain village that I was looking for the gem in?" He laughed again. "No, no, it was all too much. It was perfect." He sat in a chair facing Treydon and picked up a flattened horned cup, sipped some of the contents and shook his head. "Really though, I knew you turned your back on being Magus for a bigger reason than what you told us all. For a long while I thought it was because you were weak. That you and that woman, what was her name? Astra! That you and Astra actually intended to raise a family together." He drank again and motioned for a man across the room to refill the cup. "How many children did you have then? Just Kaida? You raised a child to destroy your only brother. How did that feel when you put her first sword in her hand?" He grinned as though he was enjoying the idea.
"Raising Kaida was a privilege. She is more than just your end, Kai." Treydon said darkly, "She will not stop until that god is dead along with you."
Kai stood from his seat in anger, strode across the room and slapped Treydon in the face. "That girl will be dead before long, mark my words, Treydon. You and your daughter will enter the gates to Nef together." He turned and walked out of the tent.
Treydon breathed out heavily after Kai left. He knew trying to escape was something he was going to be unable to do. His leg was full of infection from being stabbed by a guard trying to escape as they dragged him through the forest to the Valley's camp. Kai used it to lure the awakened people here, and there were hundreds of them. All unaware of what was really going to happen. Kai and his men were the only ones who knew what they were really there for. Many of the men and women were convinced their lands were under attack by a predicted threat by their great Magus. Treydon, who was gagged, bound, and bleeding as he was dragged through the groups of men and women in the camp, towards Kai's tent and command center, wanted to yell at them to leave. He was unable to cast or help anyone, as Kai kept him in a binding spell to control him. He knew Treydon would try and take him down the first chance he got, and he wasn't wrong. Treydon was going to try and kill him if he got the chance to.
Treydon could hear many voices outside of the tent walls, the men and women asking out about what the Magus's brother was doing. Was he against the Magus? Why? What was happening? The guards were not able to keep up with all the questions they were hammering them with. He was hoping this would buy him sometime so that Kaida could get there with the dryad guild. He was sure Bellator was alive. He trusted the gods.
"You there! I need water!" He beckoned to the man that poured Kai's wine before. "Water!"
The man cautiously brought Treydon a ladle of water and poured it into his mouth for him. "Are you really the Magus's brother? The rightful Magus?" He whispered to Treydon as he poured him another ladle of water. Treydon nodded in silence.
"Kai is an evil man, sire. He does not deserve power. You must help these people" He urged in a rushed whisper.
"Do you not see me now? What position am I in to change their minds?" Treydon said to the man. "Tell you what, heal my leg, untie me and set me free."
The man shook his head terrified at the thought of doing such a thing. "He would kill not only me, but my family, sire."
"Take a message to my family. My wife and child." Treydon asked. "Please. A single man among many will not be missed."
"A message to whom?" The man asked.
"My wife. Please." Treydon said. "Tell her I'm sorry, bring her news of what has happened here, what Kai intends. Tell Aimee and her to go north and hide." He told the man. He didn't dare to mention anything about Kaida. He didn't want to tempt the man with that kind of information to change his mind and use it to gain favor with Kai.
The man agreed. He was too happy to be leaving the camp, especially after finding out his family was more than a week, maybe two away from here. He bowed to Treydon, and left the tent. Treydon could only hope he would be able to leave and get the message to Astra and Aimee, giving them time to leave.
He tried to move his body to take some weight off of his bad leg. He knew it was getting worse. His whole body was sore and raw from the treatment his brother had given him since they arrived in the Valley of Gweiadur encampment. He was sure if he didn't die of Kai's hand, he was going to die from this infection. It would get into his blood and that would be the end. He needed to free his hands, try and heal himself at least enough to survive for now. His hands clasped behind him in manacles and then chained to the post. He tried to cast fire in his hand, holding it against the metal, except it started to burn his wrist and skin and was doing more damage than helping. He eventually gave up trying to free himself. Resting his head on the post behind him he closed his eyes. He was exhausted and weak, and he worried about Kaida. What she will do when she finds out Kai has captured him. Worried about what she will do if he is killed. He silently prayed to Ota. That he would watch over Kaida. They owed her that much, all of them, Amaia was their fight and they pushed her onto Kaida.
Treydon passed out, his head still resting on the post behind him.
Kai was walking through the camp making sure his men were doing what they were supposed to be doing, setting up the altars. He was going to have to find a few willing people to fool into volunteering for a sacrifice. He didn't care about lying to these people, none of them matters, not really. He was anxious to meet his love, the woman who haunts his dreams. To finally touch her skin, and look into her beautiful godly eyes. He knew he was going to be more than just a Magus to these people, soon enough he would be as good as any god. Amaia had promised him long life, power, and much more. He was ready. Killing his brother was a bonus, he hated him for lying and hiding all these years. For all he knew, Treydon and his family were the ones with the yellow gem the entire time. He was angry that Kaida showed up and changed everything. Vala must have sought her out, he was happy she was dead.
"You there, make this middle altar a grander one. One fit for the sacrifice of a king." He ordered one of his men to work on the altars already. "This one is for Treydon, my traitor brother. He has volunteered to pay for his crimes against me, and become tribute to the Gods to gain favor for our cause." He told the working man.
"Yes, Magus." The man said and got straight to work gathering a group to alter the altar.
Borge stepped up to Kai's side from behind him. "What is it, Borge?"
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"We have another meeting we must attend, despite how much fun you and your brother are having." He told Kai.
"Oh, verywell. Shall we?" Kai responded.
Kai and Borge continued walking through the camp until they reached the edge of the woods, farthest from anyone in the settlement. Kai pulled his hood up and strode through the trees quietly, Borge behind him, stumbling occasionally in his blind manor. Kai heard the familiar rushing sound coming upon him on either side of him and Borge, they stopped waiting patiently.
"Are we always going to have to meet this way, Nivik?" Kai asked out loud.
A ravager came out of the woods slowly, hissing quietly as it moved towards Kai and Borge. "You are late." Nivik said in a hissing snake-like voice.
"Please, does your kind have anything else to do?" Kai asked the creature.
"Don't patronize me, awakened. Or maybe we will take what we are owed now." Nivik threatened.
Borge stepped forward holding out his staff, "You know that is not up to you, soulless." He spit at the ravager. "Bring your master a message for us."
"Yes, tell the draugr that he can collect his payment tonight. We will have them waiting for him. By the cliff." Kai said to Nivik.
The ravager hissed in disgust for having to take any order from Kai. "And my payment?" He asked Kai, cocking his head to the side like a cat.
"There will be plenty of food for you soon enough, take your pick from those who happen to leave tonight." Kai said waving his hand in front of him like whatever Nivik said was meaningless.
"Tonight we all get what we want. Now go." Kai ordered.
The ravager left reluctantly.
Borge laughed, the sound was more like a crow's call mixed with the gurgling of water. Kai turned and looked at Borge's surprise. "Why, Borge, are you actually enjoying yourself, you blind bastard?" Kai asked him.
"We all have our moments of weakness, Magus." He croaked.
Both of them turned back to the camp, walking in silence. The time was coming for Kai to finally fulfill his fate. He has worked so hard to get this far. He was not going to allow that girl to ruin things. With or without the gem, Amaia comes tonight.
A group of Kai's men, his true followers, split into two different groups of soldiers were dragging caged carts through the woods. It was full of non-awakened men and women. The woman cried as they were moved through the woods, scared. roughly a hundred men and women were being pulled to their deaths. They tried to fight, but the magic users were never going to lose, especially when they simply burned the entire non awakened village down. Who would miss them? Kai asked when his men questioned why the non awakened were to be used for the payment of the draugr.
"Faster, I don't need to be around for this. I'm glad this is the last load." Said one of the soldiers pulling the cart. "I don't care what kind of god it is, I am not one to mess around testing their loyalties." He said to one of the men across from him on the other arm of the cart.
"I don't care, Magus says that the god we are working towards releasing is going to change our lives for the better. Whatever god a draugr thinks..."
"Shut your mouths!" Another soldier on horseback yelled at the men. "That's exactly the kind of talk that gets you killed. You think the draugr gives any care about you? You are just another soul to it. Now do your job without your opinions." He ordered the two men.
They came to a set of cliffs, the men dropping the arms to the carts. A soldier on a horse trotted over to a torch standing on the edge of the cliff. He threw a flame into it from his palm, lit it up in a bright fire, and turned to leave.
The soldiers all left in a hurry. A few hesitated on the few visits after they had left their carts full of people on the cliff side. They didn't return with the rest of the soldiers.
After the men had disappeared into the trees, back towards the safety of the camp in the valley, the entire area around the cliffs went into silence. Not even the birds dared to whistle.
The men in the carts trying to pry open the locks on the cage door locked with magic. Kicking the wooden sides trying to break it apart. It was no good. Realizing there were no sounds around them, not even a cricket, a mixture of shushing spread throughout them.
"What is that?" A woman asked in a whisper to the people around her. "Look, just there on the cliff edge. A shadow." She pointed.
The shadow was no shadow. At first a black mist seeped over the cliff's edge, a long black arm reached over the side, the fingers digging into the rock as if it was clay. Pulling itself over revealing a body that was covered in thick matted fur covering the skin that was not rotting or missing. The upper and lower jaws of the beast, much like that of a wild dog, extended far out from the rest of its head. There were two fangs pointing straight up from the beast's bottom jaw, and two more small fangs from the top, all of them dirty and dripping green and yellow saliva. Its two forward facing green eyes, large and lidless, were staring at the caged people. Each heavy open mouthed breath moving its shoulders up and then down again. It growled as the black mist crawled across the rocky ground towards the cages, swirling around them faster as the draugr got closer. Eventually engulfing the cages full of men and screaming women, the draugr ran towards them on two legs, releasing a hissing howl as it jumped onto the first cage and melting into the mist, tearing the people apart, and consuming them. The chewing sounds of bones flesh and the squelching of blood filling the air among the screams. When the draugr was finished with both wagons, it left nothing. The wood from the wagons was splintered into pieces of all sizes and scattered. It left back over the side of the cliff, disappearing.
Kai was standing by a great fire that lit up the area around it. Borge convinced six men and women to volunteer for sacrifice for their Magus. They were tied against the altars with white hoods over their heads, and hands tied down by their sides, held in place by tight ropes. Treydon in the middle of the others. He was sick, and barely able to stand. He was tied so tightly to the altar post breathing was proving to be a task. Kai insisted he wasn't leaving anything to chance. Treydon tried to fight when they pulled him from the tent, failing when he was knocked in the face by the hilt of a sword. His nose was bleeding and cracked; he knew what was coming. He prayed to Ota, he was not afraid to die, he would walk through the gates of Nef proudly. He has earned that right, Kai couldn't take that from him.
The awakened men and women in the encampment were all standing together to honor the sacrifice they seven men and women were offering tonight for the Magus. There were hundreds of them who came to Kai's call. Treydon's heart was broken to see how many lives were at risk because of their loyalty.
"Tonight is a great night!" Kai began. "Tonight we change everything. I am proud of you all for coming to aid my call. For coming here to support me. Thank you, for helping me so much more than you will ever know." He finished.
Kai stood on a platform built separate from the altars, his soldiers lining up behind him, Borge beside him. Kai pulled a sword out from his side, pointed it at Treydon across the platform.
"Treydon of Theramill, You are a traitor to the Magus, and therefore sentenced to die. Your life will be sacrificed for the god Amaia. For our future." He slashed the sword to the side, Treydon's throat opening up as if Kai had cut his throat and not the air. Blood poured from his neck down the front of his armor, his vision blurring and body weakened, his head slump forwards. His eyes closed. Then nothing. Treydon of Theramill, was dead.
Kai laughed after his brother's life ended. He threw his hands in the air, lighting the fires on the altars all together. A few of his men cast fireballs from the sky, landing them purposely into the crowd of people behind Kai causing scared screams and people to try and run. More of Kai's men binding the awakened people in place that they could so they were unable to run. Kai turned around and cast dragon's fire from his arms, blasting the men and women frozen in place, burning them alive. Kai let the dragon fire lose, using every single part of his being to cast. The dragon's flame exploded into the air moving in all directions like a water wave, killing everything in its place. Burning everything.
The awakened people who managed to leave the encampment could be heard from the trees screaming as they were torn apart by ravagers. Kai and his loyal men had completed their goal.
In front of Kai, a swirling red and gold light started to show, growing larger until it was the size of a proper doorway. A woman's arm emerged from the light, Kai slid his hand down the reaching hand, clasping the woman's wrist. His body vibrated with excitement. He started to walk backwards, guiding Amaia through the doorway.
Amaia stood looking at Kai, and Kai stared at her taking in every inch of her. She was more than he could have hoped for. Her hair was long and black as the night, her golden eyes looking upon him making his skin sweat. Amaia smiled, dropping Kai's arm, and released a bright red energy that blasted the entire camp, including Kai's loyal men, and Borge. Anything in reach of the blast that wasn't Kai or Amaia was dead, their life force pulled into Amaia as the blast snapped back into her body. Amaia smiled and began to laugh.