In recognition of Barkley’s special day, the guardian of Lamgard blessed those who had gathered with a rare gift. The licks of flame ever raining upon the desert land at Rumail’s command relented, leaving a gathering of around two hundred of Barkley’s family and friends to freely bear witness to his promotion.

The day was still hot, but not unbearably so. A dry breeze ruffled the fine clothes most of the observers donned for the occasion. Raven remained in his robes and Van in his normal attire, but Valentine and her parents braved the heat in garments as fine as the occasion. Barkley wore his newly commissioned armor, with a gleaming sword at his side. A captain of the army was on hand to bestow the honor, and they were nearly ready to begin.

“Barkley looks so great,” Valentine said. “He worked hard for this.”

“A fine accomplishment,” Raven said.

Valentine had the option of standing closer with her parents, but she chose to stay with her friends, who found a place near one of the tips of the wide half-circle surrounding Barkley and the captain. It provided a better vantage to watch from anyway, she argued. Raven smirked. She and Van conversed non-stop, eyes sparkling. It was Van’s birthday today. He had mentioned it only in passing, but Valentine doted on him, saying she felt guilty she hadn’t known. Otherwise, she would have gotten him a gift.

Raven shook his head, rolling his eyes and smiling wider. Van was getting the present he wanted. Valentine just didn’t know it. It had become clear to Raven very early on that she was just as enamored with him as Van was with her. Whatever plans Raven had devised to cause her to fall in love with him were no longer needed. Only time now remained.

Raven turned his attention back to Barkley, who started in his approach toward the captain. He took practiced steps in succession, a timely routine. One hand lay over the hilt of his sword, while the other played across his chest. When he had reached the officer, he stamped two boots into the ground, clicking them together.

The ceremony had officially begun, and a hush came over the onlookers. But as the captain began to orate, Raven became distracted. Something came over him. A feeling, subtle at first but growing with each passing second.

What was that?

He looked to and fro, searching for the source. It was a strange feeling, familiar in its depth. He had felt it before… once. But he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Was it a spirit? Perhaps a pandora was at work in this place.

No, that wasn’t it.

The captain spoke in verbose language, regaling those in attendance of Barkley’s mighty deeds, fabricated for effect. Raven wanted to focus, but something itched at the corner of his mind. It was like an invisible ocean was closing in all around him. Instinct brought Rue to his hand, ready to bring her forth.

“Raven? Are you okay?” Valentine asked, noticing his frown.

“Uh…” He barely recognized she had spoken to him. What was this feeling? It was almost like…

“RAVEN!” Rue suddenly screamed in his head.

“Oh God,” Raven whispered, eyes wide at the realization. “He’s here.”

“Who?” Van asked in alarm.

“THE TITAN!”

Before he could utter another word, a scream went out from the crowd. And then another. Soon, the whole gathering began collapsing in on themselves with fear, shouting and screaming in primitive cries as the anguish of the sight they beheld closed in all around them.

The shroud of the Titan’s power slowly dispersed, revealing his army of thousands of soldiers as if it had materialized from thin air. The Horde of Provote easily surrounded them all without a hint of warning. Not a footstep had met their ears. Nor a horse’s whinny.

“Raven!” Valentine shouted, grabbing his sleeve. “What do we do? Is he here for us? Who has he come for?”

Raven grit his teeth. He knew exactly who the Titan had come for. He couldn’t look her in the eyes. The answer would have been unbearable. His mind raced for solutions, but he knew… they were trapped.

The wave of soldiers parted, a glittering splash of silver steel helmets making way for their master. Upon a gold chariot, the Thief of Life came, encircling the paralyzed party once before his driver pulled up on his reins and stopped the vehicle before them. The Coprophim of his chariot settled into the sand. And there he stood, gazing out at the frightened mass with a devilish grin.

A vile, ugly grin.

The portly Titan stepped out from his opulent chariot, causing it to sway as he did so. Raven folded his arms and glowered at the man from beneath his hood. The sickening disgust he felt poured over him in a drippy sliminess running so deep, it felt disturbingly permanent. The audacity of the Titan rivaled no others.

For the Titan wore no armor, as he feared no harm.

And the Titan bore no weapons, for his hands needed them not.

The Titan possessed only the Crown and the Scepter. By the Crown, he was Lord of Reyk Provote. And by the Scepter, he was Lord of All Souls.

The silence in the desert was ghastly. The Titan surveyed his quarry, an impudent grin never relenting in its torment over them. The sun’s rays flashed against his crown. Neither gold nor silver adorned his headpiece. Rather, affixed pandora lined his head. And above his forehead rose two more prominent. These pandora were not gray. Rather, they shined in lustrous blue, shaming the finest sapphires.

Raven grimaced. The power… such power that emanated from his crown. He had not felt it since the day the Titan had murdered his mentor. His body betrayed him with a shiver.

The Titan slowly stepped forward. His scepter dragged behind him, scoring the ground. Every deep purposeful step was like a drum in the ear. Just when it felt unbearable, the Titan finally raised stout arms to the sky, as if he was being welcomed home.

“What a joyous gathering!” he finally said. His voice grated, laced with malice. A wide grin spread voluminous cracks across a grayish face. Deep, dark circles and wrinkles clung beneath wicked eyes, a strange mixture of exhaustion and delighted atrocity.

“Raven,” Valentine whispered ever so slightly, words shivering from her lips. “What do we do?” she asked again.

Raven glared deeper, hurling silent curses at the Titan, but he still did not respond to her. There was no answer to give.

“I was informed that today marked a special occasion,” the Titan shouted for all to hear. He lowered his arms. “And when I received word… well I summoned my welcoming party and came as soon I could.” He frowned in condescension. “I am very sad I did not receive an invitation. Now…where is the man of this fine hour?”

Valentine gasped, and a muffled cry went through her family. Tears began to pour from her eyes. “Oh God, no! Please no!” she cried. She took a step toward her cousin, but Van grabbed her arm tightly, pulling her back.

Barkley stood in place, wide-eyed upon the realization that the Titan had come for him. The fear seized him for but a moment before he bowed his head and calmed himself. He raised it again, and any sign of fear was gone.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

But those in attendance were slowly backing away in seized terror. As they did, the Titan’s right-hand man jumped down from the chariot to stand beside the Titan. Unlike his master, this man embodied power in bodily form, towering over all. His black hair was like a lion’s mane, with teeth to match. His belt was lined with glistening blue rods, and on his back, a sword pulsed with green light, at least eight spans long.

“BE STILL!” he shouted, taking his mighty sword and pointing it at them. “Your Lord speaks!”

“Calm, Roho Birim,” the Titan said, raising a hand and shaking his head. “This is a day of cheer, remember? For we are celebrating the achievement of young Barkley Chessex here. Ah yes, a worthy captain. Step forward, young man.”

Barkley hesitated. A droplet of sweat raced down his face.

“Your Titan gave you an order!” Roho roared. Murderous eyes demanded obedience or death with just a look.

Barkley slowly approached, hand steady on his sword. Women dropped to their knees, sobbing and reaching their hands out to him.

The Titan raised his hand again. Barkley stopped.

“You have shown much promise. I am… so terribly excited.” He grinned. “Today we are going to test that promise. Are you ready?”

Raven grimaced. “Here she comes,” he whispered.

“Who?” Van asked.

The twin pandora of the Titan’s crown began to glow, and a sinister clout of energy invaded the space. Electrical charges ran up and down the Titan before two figures materialized from the tremendous light. The first was a man. He wore slight, red armor and no helm. Ordinary in every way, seemingly as dull as the name of his pandora – Big Shield. He held a massive crimson shield, so large it covered more than half his body. A yellow insignia emblazoned the face of it.

The second figure was more imposing. A woman, tall and fair, shining in mighty silver and gold armor. Long blonde hair cascaded from her silver helm, and her eyes flashed like emeralds. Not in ten lifetimes could Raven imagine beauty that compared to hers. In one hand, she held up a mighty sword, longer than she was tall. She held it effortlessly, but its mere presence crushed the onlookers with the sheer gravity of its clout.

Remnant Aria. It had been so long since Raven last looked on her face.

The pandora entities stared straight ahead with soulless eyes. They neither moved nor responded to the cries or other noises coming from the crowd. The two weapons stood before their master, facing Barkley at the ready.

The Titan gazed upon Remnant Aria with sinister delight. “Ah, my darling. My love.” He took her free hand and pressed it against his face, and then kissed and licked her skin, causing him to shudder in delight. His repulsive actions drew out no reaction from her. She stared ahead, lustrous hair drifting in the hot breeze.

“Champion, you will fight to the death,” Roho commanded, pointing his own sword at Barkley.

More desperate cries went out from his family and friends, but none dared approach. Valentine’s hands were on her face, red and wet with tears.

Barkley swallowed hard. The Titan’s weapons waited. The silence of a moment seemed an eternity.

Raven bowed his head. I’m sorry, Barkley.

Barkley started to draw his sword. But before it was halfway free from its sheathe, he gasped and coughed. A scream went up from his family.

The sword of the Titan sliced him through.

In the blink of an eye, Remnant Aria crossed the space between them. In a flash, the almighty sword plunged through his body to the hilt. Without word or warning, she brought victory to her master. The Titan smiled devilishly as he watched from afar.

Barkley was dead. His body slumped over the sword. The volcano of Lamgard suddenly exploded with fury, hurling fire and smoke into the sky. A massive boom proceeded the blast in the distance.

Raven lifted his head. The Titan’s servant withdrew her sword from Barkley’s chest, and he collapsed to the ground in a heap. She stood to the side, splattered in his blood. But she remained lifeless, eyes staring straight ahead. Valentine cried in anguish, burying her head in Van’s chest.

The Titan completely disregarded the volcano’s explosion. With a look of demented glee, he approached Barkley’s body as the flecks of fire returned to rain all around them. He produced the scepter from his belt. A golden rod of sharp, jutting thistles.

The Titan extended it and rapidly extracted Barkley’s spirit, forming it into the black pandora of his soul. The Titan snatched it from the air and looked upon it greedily. Raven smiled in the consolation of knowing what was about to happen.

The Titan’s evil grin crashed into devastation.

“NO!” he shrieked, collapsing to his knees. “No, no, no!” He dropped Barkley’s pandora, as if it disgusted him, and fell to his hands and knees, defeated.

“A Class Three,” he rasped. “A rotten, useless Class Three. How can this be?”

He quickly got to his feet and rushed toward those in attendance, hands wide and pleading. “Why?” he shouted desperately.

Spittle spewed from his mouth as he stepped closer. The people backed away in horrible fear, but the Titan’s army closed in and pinned them.

“Wasn’t he a promising soldier?” the Titan asked in torment. “Wasn’t he your future? WHY? Don’t you people understand? I’m so tired! I’m so TIRED! Where are you? Where are you?”

He pointed at the nearest person, an older woman. Immediately, Remnant Aria struck her down with a lightning strike. The Titan raised his staff and extracted her pandora.

“Class One,” he laughed in a shaking, frantic voice. Panic consumed him. He pointed at the terrified man next to her. Aria killed him too. Over and over, the Titan killed those nearby and took their pandora. There was nowhere to run.

“Class One… Class One… Class Two… Class One.”

As he killed, his face grew red, boiling with worry and rage, until finally he collapsed again to his hands and knees. Aria stopped killing, drenched in the blood of the bodies surrounding her. At least twenty of the Chessex party, family or friends, had been slaughtered. Valentine shook in dread. Van could only hold her, looking on in horror.

“Why?” the Titan lamented quietly. “Where are you? I am so tired…”

Barkley’s captain was only a few spans away from him. His eyes flashed with rage at the opportunity suddenly presented. He drew his sword quickly and sliced it down to kill the Titan.

The sword never reached him. Quicker even than Remnant Aria, Big Shield appeared out of thin air. The captain’s sword clanged off the massive bulwark between them, knocking him back. The Titan barely acknowledged what occurred. He waved a pitiful hand, and Aria skewered Barkley’s beloved captain. The Titan slowly got up, defeat filling his face. He raised his scepter over the body and took the captain’s pandora. The soul card formed in his hand.

He laughed feebly. “Class Two… of course.”

He dropped it and slowly plodded back to his chariot, stepping on Barkley’s body as he did so. But then he stopped and turned, scanning the crowd before he spotted Valentine’s father. Hershel clutched tightly to his wife, trying his best to hide her.

“Ah, Hershel Chessex,” the Titan said, seeming to gain back some of his clarity. “I want to praise you for your show of support. It was not forgotten today. Your Titan is merciful after all.” He turned back again and returned to his chariot.

Valentine quickly lifted her head. “What?” she whispered, wiping her face. “What is he talking about?”

“Our discussion on your veranda,” Raven replied with loathing. “As your father said… the Titan has eyes and ears everywhere. He heard the whole conversation we had. A terrible attempt to turn your family against your father.”

The Titan trudged past Roho, still slumped in sadness.

“Did you not hear your ruler?” Roho suddenly raged, frightening the crowd anew. “The Titan shows you mercy by not destroying you and your kin where you stand. And yet you disrespect his grace? Bow down before your god!”

Slowly some obeyed, kneeling.

“I SAID BOW!” he roared. His voice shook the valley.

Those before him collapsed to the ground in dread, prostrate before the Titan. All that were left alive sunk their faces to the ground.

All except Raven.

Raven calmly brought his robed hands together before him. He closed his eyes and breathed deep.

“Raven, what are you doing?” Van asked, not daring to lift his head. “Get down!”

Raven did not reply. He watched on steadily, standing tall.

Roho spotted him. Filled with wrath, the gargantuan servant made his way toward him, dragging his massive sword behind him. The man towered over Raven, fuming at his insolence. Raven smirked, gazing up at him.

“You would defy us, rat?” he asked.

There was a short silence as Raven returned his stare. “I have a friend who is looking for you,” he finally replied. “And trust me when I say… he will find you.”

The warrior lifted his sword to strike Raven down.

“Halt,” the Titan said.

Roho stopped and turned.

“Leave that one be,” he said, climbing into his chariot. He smiled. “He is not yet ready. Let him… develop.”

The warrior sniffed in quiet disdain, but left Raven be, and joined the Titan in the chariot. For the first time, Raven’s gaze met the Titan’s. The enemy peered at him chidingly, as if Raven were a small child.

Without another word, they were off. Parting the army once again, the chariot disappeared among them, as quickly as they had come. The Horde of Provote followed, melting into the air, like a mirage betrayed to clarity.

All was quiet. Those bowing were slow to lift their heads, as if they couldn’t believe it could be over. They looked this way and that in dread, waiting for the enemy to return.

Raven broke the silence. He began to hum in deep lulls, and he beat his chest. Heads lifted and all eyes turned to him. He marched toward Barkley and the rest of the Titan’s victims. Over and over, he strummed the Dirge of Lamgard, beating his chest in rhythm.

Those around the fallen slowly regained their courage, hearing the familiar ballad of their people. The men joined him in getting up and humming, beating their chests in sync. They formed a circle around the fallen, raising their voices to the sky. The women carefully and tearfully gathered up their fallen loved ones, closing their eyes and covering their wounds. Then they fell in behind the men.

Raven picked up Barkley’s pandora as the dirge rang higher still. The picture of his card portrayed a mighty warrior drenched in flame.

“We must avenge him,” Rue said.

“We will avenge him,” Raven replied. “The day is coming, Rue. The day will come when that man dies. He shall die by mind… and sword… and shield.”