OCTAVIA STROMFREY

I was summoned by Vayr, so I made my way to his office without delay. On my way there, I saw the princess leave. She didn’t notice me since I approached from a different passage, and I preferred not to call to her attention. I just felt it was better to avoid unnecessary conversations, so I stopped walking for a bit, and waited until I was sure that she had completely departed.

Upon arriving Vayr’s office, the guard in front of the door announced my presence before I walked in.

“You called for me, General,” I said to him.

“Yes, please sit,” he replied.

I sat, waiting for him to tell me why he called for me.

“You don’t seem concerned about the state of my office. The princess made quite a fuss about it,” he remarked.

“Well, she is royalty, and I am not,” I replied.

“Fair enough,” he conceded.

We fell into silence again as he continued writing, and I patiently waited for him to speak.

“Octavia Dalgroth Stromfrey,” he suddenly called out.

The calm on my face suddenly transitioned into a shocked one, but I did my best to pull myself together.

“I never told you that my name was Dalgroth. How did you know?”

“You didn’t think I wouldn’t know that you are an Elder Guard, did you?” He responded.

I remained calm, having fully recovered from my initial shock. It wasn't fear that surprised me. Rather, it was the unexpected nature of his revelation, far beyond what I had imagined for his reason to summon me.

“Well, it wasn’t really a secret, was it? I mean, it was, but it wasn’t,” I said to him.

“I had my falx brought to this continent not long ago. Though I tried to do it discreetly, not to draw any attention, I guess you found out.”

“No. I knew way before then,” Vayr replied.

“Wow, that’s interesting,” I remarked.

Vayr smiled,

“Did you notice? You’ve changed so much in this very short amount of time. It feels like I am talking to a completely different person.”

“This is the real me, Vayr,” I replied, chuckling.

“I don’t need to hide it anymore since, well, you already know who I am.”

I paused for a moment,

“So, when did you find out?” I asked.

“The very moment you were assigned to me as an assistant,” he replied.

“I thought it was unusual for the Emperor to call a favor, so I did a little digging and found out that you were an Elder Guard.”

“You’ve known for a long time, yet you did nothing about it,” I inquired.

“That’s because I didn’t see any reason to. We both serve the Emperor, albeit for different purposes. I figured your mission was probably to keep an eye on me, and report to the Emperor as you see fit. But I have also been keeping an eye on you too, and so far, you haven’t caused me any problems,” he said in response.

I relaxed on my seat,

“They say; don’t fix things that aren’t broken. You could have just continued to pretend you had no idea about who I was, and everything would have been fine. So why are you doing this now?”

“I think you are getting it wrong. I am not trying to fix something that isn’t broken, rather, I am trying to make the best out of the situation. You know, as well as I do that you can’t keep your identity a secret for much longer, given the current situation of the war. Things are different now. And secondly, I also wanted you to know that nothing gets past me because I am very good at my job.”

I fixed my gaze at Vayr,

“It’s common knowledge that you are smart, but I think you’ve made a mistake. I am an Elder guard, Vayr, do you know what that means? I am the highest-ranking officer here, and you know that. Now that you’ve made the revelation about my identity, doesn’t that change the power dynamics here?” I asked him.

“You are Octavia Stromfrey, an Elder Guard, and I am Vayr Hightide, the Military Chief Commander of the Azkhan Empire. That doesn’t change, and no, you don’t outrank me here,” he replied firmly.

I scoffed,

“Don’t get ahead of yourself pretending that you don’t know how much weight the title of an Elder Guard bears. We are the finest creations of the Azkhan Empire, and we take orders from no one except the Emperor.”

“It’s ironic isn’t it? You’ve been taking orders from me for quite some time now. But I understand; that’s because you are fulfilling the duties entrusted to you by the Emperor. So, here is why I called you. You are to assume a more active part of this war henceforth. I have no use for Octavia the Assistant; you can kill that alter ego of yours. Right now, I need Octavia the Elder Guard, which means your identity would have been revealed sooner or later, regardless,” Vayr affirmed.

I did my best to remain calm, suppressing the anger that simmered within. The disgust I felt while pretending to be someone else was overwhelming. Yet, I held on, constantly reminding myself that I was doing as the Emperor commanded. It was a bit bearable since every other soldier or lieutenant treated me with respect, and I only had to kill my ego for Vayr and the princess. The anger stemmed from the realization that all my efforts to contain my ego had been for nothing.

I sighed deeply,

“Vayr, first of all, I would appreciate it if you'd stop speaking to me like I was a subordinate of yours. Secondly, I don’t think you understand what I meant by my initial statement. Just because you are the Military Chief Commander of the Empire, doesn’t give you any authority over me. I do as I please, if I please, so far the Emperor commands it. I could kill you in a heartbeat if I wanted to, but I am sure the Emperor wouldn’t approve of it. So, be careful on how you address me henceforth.”

Vayr didn’t break his gaze from me, the tension was palpable, but he didn’t look scared, nor did he flinch.

“There is a reason why I am the Military Chief Commander, and not you or other Elder Guards. You can’t do half of what I do, even if you tried. My work is a lot of work, but I am pretty sure that I am very good at it. I really don’t care about your status as an Elder Guard if you aren’t going to be useful. So, I will give you two options; you can either leave if you won’t follow my lead, or you can stay and contribute to this war as the Emperor expects of you.”

I was silent, my ego was hurt but Vayr was right. The Emperor’s final instructions to me were,

“Keep an eye on every situation, report to me, and ensure the safety of my daughter.”

I wasn’t given specific directives on how to carry out those instructions, but it was common sense I hid my identity since the Emperor didn’t introduce me to Vayr as an Elder Guard. So far, I have done a good job monitoring and reporting the situation, but not so much on protecting the princess. In my defense, she didn’t see me as someone capable of keeping her safe.

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I took a deep breath, reciting a line from the Oath of the Elder Guard.

“As the Emperor commands, I shall fulfil without hesitation.”

The gathering rage in me suddenly went calm, as I stood and left his office. Before I left his office, Vayr voiced,

“I would take your silence as a positive response,” but I said nothing.

I tried to gather my thoughts as I walked down the passage. An additional layer of anger simmered within me at the thought of taking orders from someone who wasn’t the Emperor or the Guard Master. But deep down I knew it was my Blood Ego acting up—a side effect of the many rituals I underwent as an Elder Guard.

Three ranks existed among the Elder Guards; the Initiates, the Broken, and the Altered Souls, with a Guard Master, an Altered Soul in command. I was an Altered Soul, and a strong candidate for the next Guard Master. So, it was understandable why I was furious, knowing that I wouldn’t be in charge even after my identity as an Elder Guard was revealed.

To be more rational, I acknowledged that Vayr was a more experienced commander, and was very good at his job. War wasn’t just about fighting; it involved numerous complexities, and he was simply better at navigating them.

***

We rode at dawn crossing the base of the Forlon mountain range, before we finally caught the sight of the enemy. There were just fifty of us, falxes excluded, against an estimated twenty thousand. All my life, fighting had been the only thing I knew, but facing an army this large was novelty.

“What the hell was he thinking?” I thought inwardly.

The imperial soldiers, along with Lord Tulika’s men, were already assembled in battle formation. It was apparent that they were expecting us. At the forefront were the knights of the Order of Death—ten of them in total.

We halted our advance, and the situation turned into a standoff.

“What’s the plan now?” The princess asked Vayr.

Vayr hesitated before responding. When he finally spoke, he said,

“The Choryths, Her Majesty, and I will take on the knights. Octavia, you will assist the lieutenants against the rest of the army. Depending on how quickly we deal with the knights, we will eventually join the battle against the rest of the army.”

“And how do you intend on separating the knights from the rest of the army?” I asked.

“Svan will do that for us,” he replied.

The princess looked at me, as her expression conveyed a tinge of surprise. I was certain she noticed the change in my tone, but that was the least of my concerns.

I watched as Svan unmounted his horse and walked forward before stopping for a bit, as he stared at the enemy soldiers ahead. He had gained a lot of reputation among Azkhans soldiers, as stories about his feats spread like wildfire. I watched expectantly, eagerly waiting for what he was going to do.

I blinked, and he vanished, reappearing right in front of enemy lines. In a flash, he clashed with every knight in the frontline, and somehow, managed to engage all of them in combat. They were stunned, their attention entirely focused on Svan. It did not take long before he sent all of them flying in our direction with a push force so strong that it was felt from where we stood.

“Now!” Vayr commanded, and we charged.

I reached the enemy lines almost instantly, with my falx, Reaper, sticking as close to me as possible. Armed with two short swords, I attacked with ferocity. Everyone in front, or around me was cut down as I spread death along my path. I conjured different spells at will, to meet my needs, and counter any challenges I faced; ice spikes flew in whatever direction I desired, the ground quaked at my intent, rocks crushed many, spears impaled whoever stood in my way, lightning struck down more than I could account for, and my sword sent its victims to the afterlife.

I couldn’t tell how strong the soldiers I faced were, but they were simply no match for me. As an Altered Soul, I had achieved profound mastery of elements at my disposal honed solely for the purpose of killing. I continued my rampage and at some point, it became exhilarating.

I screamed like a crazed maniac,

“More!”

Before long, I found myself in front of another battalion of soldiers, but they posed no threat to me. By my intent, the ground quaked and broke apart, sending many of them tumbling as rocks gave way and crushed them. The ones who managed to brace themselves or shield their bodies were cut down one after the other.

As I continued to wreak havoc and spread death, it became apparent that my only enemy was fatigue. I lost track of time; though I couldn’t tell how many soldiers I had killed, the numbers were surely in their thousands. Some spells managed to hit me, but they either had little effect, and the injuries they caused healed up as quickly as they were inflicted.

The number of soldiers I fought got fewer and fewer, until there was none left. My breathing was a bit laboured from the strain of the battle, but it was nothing new. I looked around me, and all that was left was chaos and ruin. The ground was mostly upturned, littered with broken weapons, scattered shields, and dead bodies—lots of dead bodies.

Reaper stood by my side, thankfully still alive. I couldn’t tell when Vayr, the princess and the Choryths joined the battle, but I was certain that their involvement brought it to an end. We were victorious, but it didn’t come without a cost as all our lieutenants and their falxes lay dead, save for three, who were in no shape to continue fighting.

Just when I thought the battle was over, I spotted horses with riders approaching from a distance—ten of them. As they drew closer, it became evident that there were Knights. It wasn’t the best outcome for us, but I was thrilled—an opportunity to face the famed soldiers of the Imperium.

Though I felt drained, I still had a lot of fight left in me. I probably had more mana reserves than the others, thanks to my dual nexus—the second one, being an implant.

Without awaiting any orders, I charged at them. Before I could reach the knights, I was stopped in my tracks by one who swung blades at me with high precision and speed, as I barely managed to dodge the attack.

The knight walked slowly towards me. Her composure exuded a lot of arrogance, like she held very little regard for me. She was armed with blades that were dual-wielded, large and menacing on appearance, radiating raw energy and very intense heat. I couldn’t tell if the blades were forged with a molten fiery core, or simply forged to accommodate the spells she imbued in them. Either way, it gave off a bright orange hue which shifted and pulsed like liquid lava. Chains extended from the base of their handles, glowing faintly with the same fire-like energy as the blades.

She approached, dragging the blades lazily as it left a molten trail on the ground. The Elder Guards had excellent artificers, but what I looked at now, was a work of art—a mastery of the highest level I could imagine.

Instinctively, I knew that I had met someone just as strong, but there was only one way to find out whether or not we were evenly matched.

I reinforced my swords with lightning, the energy so powerful that the space around me vibrated. She swung her blade at me again, but this time, I met it with mine. My blade held firm, lightning coursing through it as we clashed back and forth, matching each other in precision and speed.

Every spell we sent each other’s way was quickly dispelled, and eventually, we were locked in a melee-only combat. I’d ordered Reaper to not to get involved, because as advantageous it might be for me, there was a very high chance it would get killed.

The heat from her blades became a growing problem, as it grew even more intense. I had to shield myself in an icy armour to counter. She pressed relentlessly, swinging her blades in every direction, the chains extending her reach, and providing her with more flexibility. Earlier, I was an unstoppable force that took down anything that stood in my way, but at the moment, I was challenged by an immovable object.

The knight was impeccable in both attack and defense, and I struggled to find an opening. I knew that I was losing momentum when I started conjuring spells to find a way to distract her, but she countered every one of them with ease. Reaper sensed my distress, insisting on joining the fight, but I ordered it to stay put.

Nothing worked against her, as she kept me at arms length, never allowing me to get too close. In a momentary lapse in concentration, she struck true. One of her blades found its mark, slashing across my abdomen, and I tumbled over.

A huge chunk of my stomach was gone, and the sight of it was ghastly. I writhed in pain, but it wasn’t the worst thing that had happened to me. I was going to survive, but the knight wasn’t going to give me that chance. She capitalized on her advantage and struck again.

I was furious, letting myself down, and bringing myself within a hair's breadth of defeat. Reaper saved the day, as it lunged forward, taking the brunt of the blow. My black flames ignited, patching what remained of my abdomen. In that brief amount of time, I watched slowly as Reaper was struck right across its eyes after it put up a valiant charge. My falx fell with an agonizing roar, life slipping away from it.

My wound wasn’t healed completely, but I had no choice than to charge at the knight. Her blades came at me once again, but I parried them in a maneuver that brought me close to her. I was exposed completely, but it was a calculated risk. She smelled blood, thinking I’d attacked carelessly, and she seized her chance.

In very quick and successive movements, she dropped one of her blades, and pulled out a dagger driving it into my chest. The dagger glowed in the same fiery hue as her blades as it struck me. I managed to slash across her hand, but she paid no attention to it. She thought she had me; I could tell by her poise. My chest burned, and the pain was unbearable, but I managed to steal a laugh.

The words, “You are done,” left my mouth, and before she could react, I grabbed her wounded arm with my bloodied hand from a cut I had given myself earlier. She pushed me away, but it was too late. Before she could get a grip of what just happened, she was blown to pieces.

It turned out that I was the only one left fighting, as all other knights were dead. I was surprised—wondering if I fought the strongest of the knights, or if the others had simply been better. Regardless, I was glad nobody interfered in my fight.

The princess walked up to me, as she pulled the dagger out of my chest. I screamed in pain, collapsing to my knees.

“How did you guys take them all out?” I asked, curiosity seeping through my agony.

“The Choryths did most of the work. They are absolute monsters,” she replied.

She looked at me in the same expression she wore before the battle began,

“The second group of knights were exponentially stronger than the first. I wasn’t even able to hold my own alone against one of them, but you did. Who are you?”

“I looked at her,

“Octavia Dalgroth Stromfrey, ranked member of the Altered Souls, Elder Guard of the Azkhan Empire.

The surprise on her face said it all.