***

Chapter 19:

To The Death

***

Led by one of the emperor's generals, a small group of Midaharian soldiers crossed a shallow river. Wearing simple chainmail and bearing longswords, they were light on their feet. For them, the mission required a faster pace. With Idris and hundreds of their soldiers distracting the enemy, the small group of soldiers had a small window of opportunity.

An enemy watchtower could be seen in the distance. The top half of the stone structure lay crumpled on the ground below, exposing much of its interior from top to middle.

The damage wasn’t caused by the Midaharians. The tower suffered from a lack of upkeep by its owners. As the Midaharians pass it by one man’s neglect works in another man’s favor.

The group kept low to the ground as they approached a water tunnel. It was one of the dozens located around the territory. Cold, wet, and dark, they were barely tall enough for a full-grown man to enter.

The tunnel opened up to enemy territory. They would be within miles of the nearest Ahrmanian city, Thesda. Thesda was surrounded by lofty, well-guarded walls. Securing it would not be an easy task. But if the Midaharian forces managed to occupy it, that would put them one step closer to defeating the Ahrman Empire.

The general moved ahead of the group. A steady stream of water flowed from the mouth of the tunnel. It was ankle deep and easy enough to walk or crawl through. He turned to the group of soldiers and motioned for them to advance.

They started for the tunnel but almost immediately the men stopped to take note of something in the sky. A large ball of fire descended on the group of men, incinerating most where they stood. A few others were chased down by seemingly living waves of fire until they too were roasted.

With their remains smoldering before his very eyes, the general unsheathed his sword. “Sisten!”

The general caught a flash of light in the corner of his eyes. He jumped out of the path of another tightly wound ball of flames. If the coils of his dark black hair been any longer the general would have another problem on his hands.

Each of the emperor’s five generals controlled their own magical runes. This one summoned the power of the Rebirth of Light, instantly surrounding his sword with a bright orange glow.

The Midaharian general recovered his footing in time to deflect several smaller orbs of fire as they streaked towards him. The flames extinguished upon contact with his long sword.

“Nice try, Tears,” Sisten said, charging the general with his sword. Tears caught Sisten’s attack with the edge of his long sword. “Our empire may be ruled by a ninny,” Sisten continued with the weapons deadlocked. “But you’re going to have to do better to get by me so easily.”

“It was careless of me to believe otherwise,” Tears said, kicking Sisten back.

He twirled his sword around twice, its bright aura changing from green to yellow with each spin. Sisten rolled backward to his feet and switched weapon hands. His blade was covered with fire. Tears sprung back, avoiding a low swipe from Sisten’s blade.

The Ahrman quickly followed up with a thrust, shooting a narrow band of flames from his weapon. As Tears sidestepped the attack, Sisten closed the gap between them. His flaming sword ripped through Tears’ armor, drawing blood above his waist.

Tears caught Sisten’s blade with his. An intense amount of white light emitted from Tears' blade, blinding his opponent momentarily. Tears struck Sisten in the head with his own thick cranium. A quick snap kick sent him falling to the ground.

With both hands on its hilt, Tears drove his long sword through Sisten’s chest. Half of it was wet with blood as he yanked it back out. “I’ll be taking that fire from you,” Tears said, standing over Sisten.

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“..not..yet..” Sisten gargled. Fire from his right hand crawled over him like tiny soldiers. In an instant his body was engulfed, hungry flames consumed his armor and hair.

“This is madness..!” Tears exclaimed, watching his mortally wounded foe rise to his feet. The fire covered the Ahrman from the burnt ground up, but it didn’t slow him. Overcoming his initial shock, Tears drew his light enhanced sword on his fiery opponent.

Sisten caught the blade with one hand and grabbed Tears by the collar. “I’ll have your light instead,” Sisten said. Sisten’s fire spread to Tears’ armor, burning his dark skin.

Tears’ eyes widened, the smell of burnt flesh filled his nostrils. I’m not dying here! Under the growing flame, Tears’ body exploded in a brilliant red light. The light streaked upward, disappearing over the horizon.

The flames encompassing Sisten diminished his body as scarless as a newborn. And just as naked. “I didn’t expect that to work,” he said, feeling his woundless chest.

“Sisten!” called Tasha. “What was that light?” Her white mare galloped to a sudden stop. “Goodness gracious!” she said, covering her eyes with her hand. “Where are your clothes?! Have you been out here sunbathing while I defend the empire all by myself?!”

“Nevermind. Tell me you finished Idris off.”

Tasha turned her horse around. “He retreated a little while ago. The watchtower said you came this way, but they didn’t tell me you were butt nude!”

“I’ll grab something on the way to the capital. I need to have a word with his majesty.”

“He’s not there. Have you forgotten what today is? Shame on you, you nudist.”

“ Where has he gone now?”

“It’s game daaaay!” Tasha replied, adding a musical tone to her voice.

***

Sometime later in the Midaharian capital Ras Almal...

Eclipsing most buildings in the residential district, the healing ward was big enough to house three hundred patients. With its circular windows and curved corners, the building stood out from the surrounding architecture.

Despite its size, the healing ward has yet to reach full capacity. Major cuts and fractures among civilians are few and far between. Soldiers returning from a bloody skirmish with enemy combatants occupied less than half of all available rooms.

Today they were joined by an important member of their army.

Less than half of General Tears’ upper body escaped Sisten’s fury. Healers moved diligently to cover the rest with a thick salve. Isa stood over the general, holding his hand as the healers worked. With his other hand on Tears’ head, Isa used the Rebirth of Manipulation to keep the general sedated.

Generals Lahan and Badr waited outside of their comrade’s room.

“How is he?” Idris asked, rushing up to the others.

Lahan raised shoulders. “Isa’s with him.”

Idris walked to the door. There was no window to see inside and as he turned the handle he realized it was locked. He turned his back to the door.

“I fell back when I saw his signal. If I had known he needed help I would have been there.”

“It’s not your fault, Idris,” said Badr, leaning up against a wall. “It was a foolish plan to begin with.”

“Don’t start, Badr,” Lahan said. “Not here.”

“You’re right.” Badr pushed away from the wall. “I will air my grievances in the proper ears.”

“Badr, wait,” Idris insisted as the general walked away.

“Let him go,” said Lahan. “He’ll cool off before he reaches the emperor's compound.”

“They didn’t get his Rebirth, did they?” Idris asked, pulling up a chair next to Lahan.

“They didn’t.”

“That’s good. I hate to admit it, but I do agree with Badr. We did throw away a lot of good men today and could have lost a general with nothing to show for it.”

“I’ve thought the same.” Lahan folded his arms. “We’re at a stalemate with the Ahrman. We need to change that.”

“How can we?”

“By fighting smarter.”

“What about that Rebirth Destroyer in your report? If we can get him on our side..”

“The emperor wants him dead.” Lahan interrupted.

“But what if we can convince him to work with us?”

“No.”

“It’s worth a shot, don’t you think?”

“No!” Lahan said, with extra bass in his voice. “He is far too dangerous to let live. You should know that.”

Idris leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees. He covered his face with his hands and exhaled deeply. Lahan patted him on his back. “Don’t think too hard on it.”

Lahan picked up his loaded sword belt and left his chair. “Where are you going?” asked Idris.

“To tell his family what happened. They need to be with him now."

Just in case.