Nicole stepped onto the balcony, smiling to her small army and basking in the morning sun.
“Morning peasant soldiers! How was your sleep?”
“Where’s the king?” asked one of the satyr soldiers.
“The King is retiring from king stuff. We’re changing management, but it’s gonna be great.” she smiled.
“We were told the king ordered us to assemble. Where is he?”
“He’s busy, I’m in charge now. Isn’t that great? Look, this village is fine, but don’t you wanna get out from under elf rule and stop being their bitch?”
“So the king isn’t even here?” he scoffed, turning to leave as others began turning as well.
“HEY!” she yelled, casting a ball of blue fire into the stone wall, cratering it, and blocking the way back. “NOBODY IS LEAVING!” she roared, eye glowing and hair sparking with static energy, another strand of hair turning white. “Guard…go retrieve the king.” She sighed. “You guys made me do this. I was trying to be Nice Nicole but you boys just don’t listen.” She said crossing her arms as the guards retrieved king Krade in chains “Look, he’s fine, he’s just restrained. That can actually be fun sometimes, don’t judge me. But the point is we’re just sitting here with a navy and all this power doing nothing while the Elves treat you like shit. You. Need. Motivation. So...” she smiled, silently clapping to herself. “We’re gonna take over Ulferling. Isn’t that great? Think about it, your own Elvin city, no more lower class. YAY! I’m kind of the best Queen ever.”
“So instead of staying where it’s safe, defending our home and being ruled by an elf king, we leave and die fighting only to be ruled by you?” asked one of the skeptical men. Nicole took a deep breath to calm herself. Another soldier laughed at her orders.
“You don’t even know your kingdoms, Ulferling is to the East, we’re ruled by Spirecrest you stupid witch.” He yelled.
“Firstly. I’m a god, I deserve nice things, and so do you people. And you’re not dying in battle, because I’m going with you. Spirecrest is not your problem, hear me out, I SAID SHUT UP DAMNIT!! That’s better. Ulferling’s army is marching to war right now, and Dravenguard’s army is going to meet them in battle. They’re both distracted, and BOTH dragons are in Dravenguard in a stalemate over the city, so in a day, Ulferling will have no dragon, no army and no defenses, and you have ships that can sail right behind them. Right up the river, right to their door. What is Spirecrest gonna do? We killed their dragon already, they’re cowering in their castle scared of Dravenguard’s army. They have no balls anymore. Ulferling is the Prize, not your masters.”
“Why should we listen to you? You invaded our home, proclaimed yourself queen, captured our king, we like him. We won't bow to Elf or some strange witch of the north, just becaue-” he stopped, interrupted as Nicole stepped from the ledge and grabbed his throat. The men drew swords and bows as ice spread across the defiant soldier's armor and his face turned blue.
“Because if you disobey me, I’ll kill you. Go ahead and release the arrows. The first one who has the guts to do it, gets no punishment, the next ones that do will hang and burn for it. Now…we can do this the fun way or the shitty way. Are you really gonna throw a fit about obeying a giiiirl and then diiiie, and make a whole thing of it?” she dramatically rolled her eyes. “Or can you just listen to a god and make this easy? We can take a fucking Elven kingdom down, and you all can be rich and prosperous and free and stuff.” She smiled as two arrows struck her. They bounced off her energy shielding as the staff glowed on impact. She huffed and shook her head. “Who shot first?” she asked.
“My queen, they fired about the same time.” Said her new kings guard, winking to the guard who fired second.
“Shit… Well, I can't just flip a coin and kill one of you. That's not fair. Okay well, how about this: I forgive both of those, CUZ I'M NICE!!...and you all bow to me just once, pledge your allegiance to this cause, and if you all just go with it, nobody dies. See? I don’t wanna kill people. I really don’t.” she promised.
“I think you’re bluffing. You don't have the guts to kill with your own hands.” Said a satyr in black armor. Nicole pointed her staff and knocked him off the stone wall, flat on the ground.
“Guards, throw him in the big dead body hole we talked about.” She sadly shook. “Does anyone else wanna go in the big hole, because it’s called the big hole, it’s big. I CAN fit all of you in there. Actually guards, wait a second, just hang on.” She said, placing the staff to the body’s chest.
“Will you willingly follow me if I bring him back to life?” she asked. They gasped and muttered. “I don’t have all day, people…goat, people. I’m a merciful and loving god, I’m cute, I’m fun, there’s gonna be parties and cool stuff, I’m not really a violent person unless I have to be, but one thing I’m not is a patient bitch. Ask my husband, I am not good at waiting for people to decide shit. Everyone can live, even this guy, if you hurry up and just TRY to like me. Please?” she asked, pouting and batting her eyes as the men slowly began to kneel down one at a time, until they all took a knee.”
“Bring him back, and the army is yours. He was a friend, and a fellow soldier. We will follow mercy and forgiveness.” said the lead guard.
“YAY!” Nicole clapped happily like a kid on her birthday, giving the unconscious soldier a healing shot from the staff, jolting him awake with the cattle prod as he marveled at his life. “See? This is gonna be fun. Fuck the Elf patriarchy, You guys deserve gold and land. Not them. They stole it with turbocharged cheat-dragons and god weapons and frankly as a god who didn't even get a free dragon, I’m annoyed by that.”
“The dragons are powerful, your highness. Do not underestimate them.” Said one of the older soldiers. She stepped up to him, her eyes turning black and breathing an exhale of frosty air in his face.
“Where do you think the dragons got their powers from? Those monsters that torment you are just animals, fed with a little bit of the bones of a dead god. You think that’s powerful, wait till you see what a living one can do when I’m good and pissed off.” She growled darkly, her robes glowing blue and flames flickering from her nostrils. Her eyes turned back to their normal dark bronze and white pupils with a cheerful smile, now more haunting than innocent. “Anyway, so let’s get motivated. I want a ship ready to sail down river, and ten of your strongest men ready to fuck up some of Santa's lil helpers. And then everyone gets cake and beer. It’s spooky season after all, you guys don’t have pagan holidays like Halloween where I come from, but we’re gonna start. It’s gonna be the best Halloween ever, and there’s gonna be REAL skulls, which is metal as fuck and that makes me very happy. Everyone go get some sleep, you’ve all had a rough day, especially this guy, he died just now…yikes. Talk about a shitty day at work, amiright?” she giggled. The men nervously giggled along, half out of fear and half trying very hard to believe in a world free of Elf rule. They all made their leave as Nicole headed back upstairs to her tower.
King Hafth, eyes cold and dead inside, marched the men onward towards Ulferling, taking the southern pass, hoping to meet them head on in open territory where their forest traversing advantage would be lost. Memories of his wife and their unborn son burning and fueling his hatred, as he wanted nothing but to see his brother’s head on a pike for his treachery. A lone rider made his way backwards through the army, turning to give him a message.
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“Has Faeryn been delayed, or did he unleash his foul beast on Ulferling? Tell me he rides for home and the castle burns.”
“My lord, Faeryn is missing. His dragon rides alone, there is talk of a white witch bringing his head to King Krade.”
“Rumors and nonsense. If he was dead, Ahndra would fall. The dragons of chaos are bound to their king. If she flies alone, he is alive, Ulferling must have taken him captive. If he wishes to bargain, there will be no pardon for what he has done to my queen. I will have his head regardless. His army is surely marching to meet us in battle, to keep us from the city.”
“What do you want us to do, my lord?”
“We have double the men and horses he does. We will tear through them like cloth and bring the city down. Every man, woman and child will burn for his sins until he lays down his life. The coward will not go willingly. He will hide behind his walls and let thousands die before we get to him. And so be it.”
“Yes my lord. In a week, our army will not be the only red army. We will stain them to match, and may their rivers run red as well.
Gizzy rode onward, south, to the mountains. Vinn looked rather lonely as he peered over his shoulder constantly.
“Vinn, stop worrying about her. She’s a clever girl, she has a castle for safety, Silverback will keep her company, and she has her staff and robes of protection. Nothing is going to happen.” Gizzy assured. “All she has to do is stay there and wait for us.”
“I know, I just can’t help but feel something is wrong.” Vinn felt in his soul.
“Everything is wrong, have you seen this world? It sucks. In two days we’ll cross the border into Ulferling territory, another 2 we’ll be in Forgeton. We’ll barter with the dwarves, get the shield, and go hunt some dragons. The damn Elves will probably wipe each other out in the meantime. They’ve apparently been aching for a war, and the power shift gave them the reasons to move.”
“So, how is the house?” Asked Dee.
“Oh it’s ruined. It’s so glitchy now, I don’t trust it for anything but a paperweight. Maybe I can make a bomb out of it or something, I dunno. ” She said as the sound of hooves got her attention. A large group of men marched in a line, raggedy and poor men, women, families.
“Where’s everyone headed?” Gizzy asked. One of the men diverted and stopped in front of her.
“We don’t know, anywhere but Dravenguard. After Thalebrook burned, we went south for safety, but there’s no safety for us anywhere.” He said, looking strangely at her. “You are the dragon bunters that brought down the Quake.”
“Yea. That’s us. We would have taken down the little black dragon, but the son of a bitch won’t stay still and fight.” She sighed. "Work in progress."
“Well, if dragons are what you seek, there are two of them in Dravenguard. The Rose guards the town but not those outside the walls, and Azure of Ulferling remains close to the city. We want nothing to do with their disputes and their beasts.”
“Well, if they stay there, after our little necessary stop, we’ll go start some shit between them. Hopefully they will do more damage to each other than the city, and the weakened survivor will have us to deal with. You have our word that the day of Dragons and Elves ruling over everyone are about to end. It’s just a matter of how much damage they cause struggling on their way down. Try Dyrecove. Tell them the gods sent you.” Gizzy said tossing him one of her crossbows. “Give em that. If any Elf tried to herd you back into captivity, just give them the arrows, one at a time, very quickly, to the face.” She smirked, he nodded and silently went on his way. Vinn watched the riding party moving along.
“What if the Satyr don’t like humans?” he asked.
“They seemed cheerful, They seemed fine with us weirdos and halfbreeds. I bet they like everyone that isn’t elf, or forcing them to bow.”
Glass shattered on the wall as Nicole paced.
“Nathan, I don’t think they like me.” She pouted.
“Well, you enslaved their king, killed one of them, and then forced them to bow.” He said from the deep hole in the center of the room, eating stew from a wooden bowl, as guards watched his cell. “You also…enslaved your friend by the way. Me. My ankle is still broken.” Silverback complained.
“Hey, you said it didn’t hurt unless you walked on it. So just don’t walk on it, and then you can’t try and escape. Nathan I didn’t enslave anyone, it’s temporary confinement during re-management. Like one of Gizzy’s lockdowns during alien invasion…for safety.”
“Except she was protecting us from an alien invasion, and you’re the invading alien here and the reason they’re not safe. If you remember, we also broke quarantine and rebelled a little.”
“I didn’t even kill a guy, I knocked him out and gave him a recovery shot. He probably feels better than before, I probably cured his scurvy or whatever these people probably have from being slaves to the Elf kingdoms. I’m gonna free them, and you…eventually. But you’re a silly asshole who’s gonna get yourself killed. I’d rather you be mad now and healed later, than dead fighting some battle. You’re old, you don’t have superpowers, Nathan. You’re a danger to yourself.”
“And those robes you won’t take off, those aren’t a danger to you? You know they corrupt people. That’s why Gizzy keeps that sword sheathed most of the time, and why Dee keeps that bow in a case. You’ve not taken the robes off. Listen to yourself. We’re not gods, we’re tricking them.”
"That’s the whole mission, Nathan. Lie to them, save them, pretend to be gods. And I’m not pretending anymore. We basically are gods to these people. Gods are just immortal aliens with a ton of power, and now I have a ton of power, and I’m gonna get more. Gizzy does the same thing.”
“And we all debate on whether she’s the villain, don’t we?”
“Dude, you’re fuckin her, don’t even.” Nicole scoffed.
“Oh, so I can’t fuck a hot villain for some reason, but you can do the same thing she does and not be a villain?” he questioned. She pondered her wording and stood with an attitude.
“Mkay, just for that, no more beer for you. You want villainous bitch, ya got her. You get water and food, no treats. You know what, not even seasoning, toss me that salt. That’s the king's salt anyway. You’re a prisone-…guest in the king’s house. And the king is now my employee, so no more salt or beer. You’re ruining my mood here. Why can’t you just be supportive?” Nicole barked.
“Because you are a nice girl, currently going mad with power. Gizzy’s never been a nice girl, and she’s been mad with power so long she knows what she’s doing with it. You’re a kid with a bazooka, Nicole. You’re gonna hurt yourself or someone else.” Silverback shrugged.
“So I’m the chosen one and the main character and have to be the moral compass of every mission because I’m nice, but a nice girl can’t rule a kingdom? Gizzy can rule a moon because she’s a mean bitch, but now I can’t rule one because I’m being SORT OF a mean bitch? Pick a lane, mister Silverman. Mister Nathan Silverman, big construction crew overlord and fake team leader when we use we get to any town that’s sexist as shit. Gizzy trusts me, so should you. I got this. These robes don’t control me, I control them, and guess what? Nice girls can be a bitch too sometimes. When they gotta be.”
“I’ve only ever seen you act this way one time in the years I’ve known you…and that was the clone, that you yourself called Evil Nicole. What’s that say about those robes? You went from sweetheart to coldhearted when you put them on. Just like we were warned about. Guess your plot armor doesn’t protect you from a villain arc, hu?”
“… You’re just jealous because I’m young and successful, and you’re old and keep getting your ass kicked by strangers. Vinn would just be proud of me.” She said, staring at her prisoner in his hole, eating cold stew with no salt or beer. “They’re gonna all be proud of me, and the goat people are gonna like me, and I’m gonna be popular.” She said storming off.
The white witch stared into the nothing with her foggy eyes and a perplexed look, as Uldor approached her. She moved her hands in a pool of blood as if feeling her way through a story made of liquid.
“What vexes you, my love?” he asked,
“The blood has changed. Something is different. It's cold.”
“Perhaps you just got a bad peasant.” He sighed, nudging the dead body drained of blood on the ground.”
“I life taken does not lie. The blood tells all. Something slumbering has awoken, and Azure is uneasy. The dragons are all in distress.”
“Of course they are. Their kings are marching to war.” King Uldor smiled.
“A king is already dead. Ahndra rides alone with a bloody saddle and pain in her heart. She should be dead if Faeryn is no more, yet she flies erratic, searching for someone. The Rose’s heart is broken. Something has happened to King Hafth. There is only hate in his heart now. Azure is being pulled in two directions by fate. Perhaps Ulferling is dying.”
“Good. Then they are all in dismay as we planned."
“Something new is here. I do not understand it. It calls to Azure, like a whisper in the frozen wind, and I cannot quite hear the words. It is cold to the touch. Azure hears it clearly, hears her voice louder than it hears King Ulferling.” She said as she lifted her head up, her horns reared back and exhaling cold fog from her mouth.
Nicole exhaled a frosty breath into the air as the boats were loaded and prepared. She placed her nails on the sides of the stone window opening in the Dyrecove tower, lightly dragging them down and whispering incoherently into the night as her robes glowed, and the symbols changed, rearranging as if reading a book, or rewriting it.