War was coming to the Namzuuhuu Desert.
Around a millennium ago, this very place hosted a catastrophic battle between the Empress Amaterasu and Meynte. Truth and Taboo clashed on this land, and the result of that was this plain of sand that hated the living. Amaterasu’s Eternal Light, or as Olfric would put it, the All-Seeing-Eye was blind within the desert’s periphery, making it a perfect host for anything that went against the Empire and the Asukan Pantheon. A land of dreary sand and mist and nameless things that roamed in its darkness. A ground that served as a haven for the yokai-kind and a place where those wraiths could survive without having to succumb to the Eternal Light.
It was the perfect place where a Warlord could use his entire might, and yet not be blamed for the mass devastation he could wreck with it.
It was also the perfect place to set a trap against the aforementioned Warlord. Yokai could physically move around in this place without fear of being burnt to ash. An arena where both Ezzeron and Everfrost’s powers could meet the Warlord’s kami at full strength, without need for restraint.
“This… I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” said Zuken. “The Shimizu Warlord alone is dangerous beyond imagination. But with my fath… with the Earth King supporting him…” He turned towards Lukas. “Do we even have a chance?”
“Why?” asked Lukas, gently teasing him. “Are you having second thoughts about being on this side? I’m sure we can arrange a safe transport for you to Haviskali before it begins.”
The terramancer scowled. “I’m no betrayer.”
No. He wasn’t. He was too driven and too honorable for something like betrayal. But Lukas could understand what he was going through. Knowing what was about to happen, and weariness and despair hammering against the doors of your mind, as you waited for the inevitable as it charged straight ahead…
He didn’t like it, but he understood.
“The Earth King is only supporting him. He himself isn’t coming here.”
“I wasn’t born yesterday, Aguilar,” said Zuken, fisting his hands, his knuckles whitening. “I know none of you planned for this. You planned on the Warlord being too prideful to seek help. That’s why you attacked the Peak, to rescue me and weaken his overall strength.”
“And instead it’s gotten him a more powerful force,” Lukas quipped. “It’s like they say, Man proposes, God disposes.”
“Stop mocking me,” said Zuken. “And the gods are actually on their side. We’re depending on the demons to help us out.”
“The demons,” said Lukas. “Are the ones that are in true danger. I can take Tanya, and you lot and escape through the Haze. Solana and maybe some of the others will do as well. The rest will be fodder for the army, especially if they are armed with Eternal Light-imbued weapons.”
“Yes,” said Zuken. “Thank you for surmising that so well. Now I can comfortably say that everything has fallen apart.”
Lukas snorted, and looked ahead at the horizon. They were all standing on the massive embankment Solana had constructed for them, with barriers that kept them hidden from sight. Up in the sky, Tanya floated, a warring angel awaiting her nemesis’s arrival. Behind him, he could sense Solana, Ryu and Olfric standing together, while Maude and Elena were at the back, the former commanding a small taskforce of yurei, while Zuken was dumped with the latter’s protection when the war began. The rest of the yokai army were holding positions in different locations within the territory, ready for a sudden intrusion, whenever that happened. They were depending on Elena to relay a signal from Joey so that they might be able to prepare an ambush.
“Back in my world, we had a saying. No plan survives the enemy. We didn’t count on the Fire King humiliating Mujin like that before the Shogun Council. We didn’t count on his pride shattering like that. We didn’t consider him knowing about the yokai, nor expect the Earth King to offer his forces, nor Mujin accepting it. Could things have turned out differently? Sure they could. Can we do anything about it? No.”
“And that doesn’t scare you?”
Lukas gave him a lopsided grin. “Of course it does.”
“Then how are you so…”
He raised an eyebrow at the terramancer. “So?”
“... Confident. We’re facing the might of a Warlord and a King’s army.”
Lukas closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and walled away a small ocean of fear that was forming in his mind. As Zuken put it, a war was coming, and he’d have to face it when it did.
He opened his eyes.
“Let’s just say that I have seen how infinitely large this universe is. Beyond the Empire, beyond races, beyond gods and beyond worlds… there are powers so vexing that I cannot even try to comprehend them. And I know that for my dream to come true, I have to challenge some of those powers. Compared to that, Mujin Shimizu is a nobody. Inconsequential.”
“That inconsequential nobody can crush us all like a bug.”
He laughed. “The Warlord is strong, but he’s just one person. He can only be in one place at one time.”
“He can also destroy our entire army just standing right there.”
Lukas grinned. “There’s where you’re wrong, Banksi. Had this been his own army, that plan would hold merit. But with the Earth King’s army, he will exercise restraint. And that can be to our advantage.”
Zuken exhaled audibly. “I have considered that. But even if you and Tanya can somehow handle the Warlord, fighting my father’s forces will come with a steep cost. If I know him right, and I know I do, he will be sending Level-3 terramancers along with golems to fight. Even with the yokai, I doubt we’ll be able to overwhelm them.”
“Golems?”
“Golems, automatons, warships… take your pick. The Earth King is all about control. Mujin Shimizu might not have his aeromancer army with him, but one warship can be just as destructive.” He paused, his features darkening, “Trust me, I know.”
“It is a risk, yes,” Lukas admitted. “But a risk we have to take. We have the psychological advantage of being in the Desert. The familiarity with the terrain. The yokai’s ability to possess Soldiers. The lack of Eternal Light. Maybe between me and Tanya, we can perhaps wear the Warlord down. With all of these factors, we might have a chance.”
“Maybe, perhaps, might,” Zuken noted. “I’m hearing a lot of negative words.”
“Yes, and that’s because I’m being optimistic,” said Lukas, grinning. “Ideally, I’d like to win this battle before it even begins. The chances are fleeting, but we have like… five opportunities to get things working in our favor. I think. If even three of them work out, perhaps we’ll be able to overwhelm them without losing too many lives on our side.”
“You realize they’re yokai, right?” asked Zuken. “They cannot truly die.”
“No, but they can be trapped. I’m certain if shit hits the fan, Solana will escape first. She’s exactly that sort of creature. But even she knows that this is the best chance we have.”
Not to mention… Lukas thought inwardly, the desert was also a perfect place for a third thing. One that was more important than the first two.
But yes, things would definitely get messy. He wasn’t foolish enough to think that Tanya would be able to restrain herself the moment she spots her grandfather. And against this guy, even Frost held more than her fair share of resentment, especially with what happened to Tsurara, the previous avatar of Everfrost. She might be faster, stronger and far more ruthless than Tanya was, but it wouldn’t cancel the fact that she was a sledgehammer down to the core.
Which… wasn’t a bad thing. No matter how skilled or elegant a foe might be, a sledgehammer to the head was a sledgehammer to the head.
It was up to Lukas to act as the scalpel and get Mujin’s trapped, before Tanya could bash him to the ground. And he had….
He looked back at Zuken, his smile had a little poison in it. “They say civilization is a thin veneer over barbarism. Let’s hope the desert survives the first tearing sound.”
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Several hundred feet away, Olfric stared at the empty desert and sighed.
“We’re going to die.”
“Such pessimism is beyond you.”
Olfric turned around and found a kasha standing behind him. The whiskered man looked like he had seen many years and a lot more battles if the scars on his face and body were any clue.
“Ryu,” he acknowledged. The kasha was one of the few people he went along well with in the yokai camp, and the two had found an excellent sparring partner in each other. Olfric had been most surprised to find out that Ryu had been Lukas’s trainer back when they had first found him loitering around in the anomaly.
“Have you not heard the news?” demanded the aquamancer. “The Earth King has supplied troops and warships to the Shimizu Warlord. They know about the yokai territory. This isn’t just between Tanya and the Warlord. You have the freaking Empire coming down on us.”
“You look like you want to run.”
Olfric growled. He hated it when someone compared his realism to cowardice. “Accepting the circumstances is practicality, not cowardice. Mujin is stronger than ever, and he probably knows everything that happened.”
“Does he now?” asked Ryu, cocking his head.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Anything that can destroy his fortress—”
“Not anything, anyone. And in this case, our Queen.”
“Obviously he got to know more than that. I knew it was madness to go ahead with the attack.” Olfric said. “Mujin probably thinks Tanya to be a lot more powerful than she is. Had he not, he could’ve just come alone and we might have had a chance. But now?” He looked around. “All these people, you, me, the rest of them — all of us are probably gonna die because of that one stupid mistake.”
“You’re looking at this the wrong way, my friend,” said Ryu. “If anything, us yokai are actually looking forward to this war. We will see our Queen fight a Warlord and display her true strength.”
“She isn’t on his level,” said Olfric automatically, only to realize how hypocritical he was being. No matter what he had done or what avenues he had tried, Tanya had always come out as his superior. To belittle her was an act of hypocrisy beyond him.
“Oh I know that,” said the kasha, smiling. “Every yokai knows that.”
“Then?” asked Olfric, growing impatient. “Why are they all here? Do you people have a death-wish?”
He wasn’t being rhetorical by any means. The yokai — every yokai in the territory, was currently standing on the dreary desert sands, ready for battle. Aguilar was standing ahead, strategizing with Zuken, while Tanya was up in the air, looking out for warships.
It was madness.
He looked down at the sandy floor beneath and shifted slightly. Much to his consternation, the accursed shadow beneath his feet moved with him. Just a few months ago, he would have scared shit at the sight of it extending from beneath him. Even now, he maintained the belief that something might just pull him deep into that hole of blackness if he didn’t stay vigilant.
At least the light inside the subterranean territory was mostly dim, even with the burning blue flames on the walls. It was terrifying for the first few days, but he had gotten used to it. But as he stood in the morning light of the desert, the shadows were prominent, and darker than anything he could imagine. He knew he had committed sacrilege lately, and with his continuous association with the demon kind that were the yokai, he was probably damning himself to suffer in Yomi in his afterlife. Maybe he already had.
“Several reasons,” said Ryu. “Some of them are here to support the Outsider in his battle against the fearsome warlord. Those that believe in the legends believe that the Outsider will free us of Asukan tyranny and oppression. You might not know this, but the Outsider’s reputation within our colony has grown fearsome. Not even the Leader’s loyalists think much about her chances against him.”
Olfric grimaced. He might not have known that little titbit, but he knew enough to know what kind of monster Aguilar was. Still, Ryu should have known better than to say that out loud, especially when their skinwalker leader was standing barely steps away from them.
“And the rest?”
Ryu exhaled audibly. “For some, it is an opportunity to see the Queen’s worth.”
Olfric narrowed his eyes. “I thought they already worship the ground she walks on.”
Ryu chortled. “Some do, yes. But that is because she is descended from the Empress and Leader Tsurara. But not all of us agree with that sentiment. Some of us actually look down on her, and whisper behind her back. Some of us know what pervaded inside the Throne Room, and how she was possessed by the Empress’s spirit.”
“Some like you?”
“Yes.”
The kasha’s bluntness took him by surprise again. After the time they had spent together, he had gotten a measure of the creature’s personality. As much as he was reluctant to admit it, the kasha was someone he could relate to. His thoughts, his ideology, even his perspective of the world held similarity to Olfric’s own. Just like he believed strongly in the Asukan pantheon and looked upon shadows as evil incarnate, Ryu thought of the Great Goddess as an Usurper and the Eternal Light as a blight on the world.
“Maude mentioned that incident. She told me that Tanya was a perfect vessel, more than anyone else since the Great War. Not even her predecessors were more suited.”
“To become a vessel, yes,” said Ryu, with an annoyed undertone. “It is not synonymous to being a good ruler.”
He met Olfric’s eyes. “Being born with a useful quirk in your blood is not everything. I believe in power, in strength. Domination. Surely as an Asukan, those traits hold value in your eyes?”
Olfric felt like he had just been slapped. Of course he knew that. Domination was the lifeblood of the Asukan Empire. It was the wheels that drove the Empire’s chariot. His own father had ousted him from his clan, because Olfric had lost Shahxith, and proved himself weak.
Ryu looked ahead at the two participants as they stood facing each other. “I am not saying that the Queen is weak. Perhaps she was at a natural disadvantage against the Empress. After all, she wields Everfrost, and the Empress was Everfrost. The only thing you cannot protect yourself from is yourself.”
That made a surprising amount of sense.
“That way, this war will clear all doubts. The Outsider holds the Queen’s prowess in high regard, but so far, I, or any of the other yokai, have yet to see her prowess in person. Yes, she trains with the Leader. Yes, she punctured the wards of the castle with unexpected skill. But diligence and tricks are not a substitute for the real deal. Yes, she is a perfect vessel, but it speaks nothing about her capacity to lead us. After all, if not for the Outsider, she would have been lost forever, trapped in her own mind, and Empress Meynte would have walked among us again. Is it too much to want to see if the Queen is up for the job?”
Olfric winced. The yokai society was a lot more cutthroat than the Asukan. By the Empire’s policy, respect was given to those that held a superior position. You could argue against that until your voice went hoarse, but the fact was, your opinion didn’t matter. And if it did, you would probably have been sitting in that position yourself.
“I suppose a lot of yours despise Aguilar for that.”
“Some do,” Ryu agreed, “but not as many as you might think. Remember, those with the power make the rules. It is an open secret that the Outsider bested the Empress’s spirit, and subdued the Leader at the same time, with little aid from the Oni. He proved his superiority, and that is what matters.”
“That sounds wrong on so many levels,” defended Olfric. “You need a proper system of governance to prosper. If any random individual just walks in and attacks your Leader, your job is to protect your Leader and capture the attacker.”
“Ha! What a ridiculous logic you have trapped yourselves in, Asukan. Is your society not ruled by those with the greatest power? Is that not why the Warlords, the Kings, and the Emperor sit on their grand thrones, while the commoners graze the dirt? If your Leader needs to be protected, then they aren’t fit to lead in the first place.”
Olfric blinked. What Ryu had just told him was true on multiple levels and yet —
No. That was exactly it. Asukan society was built on the foundations of power. And yet those foundations served to strengthen the strong, but protect the weak. If he walked back to his clan, and defeated his father in combat, the rest of the clan would welcome him with open arms, and offer him the heirship again.
Only strength mattered. Your hardships, your experience, your journey — none of that meant anything.
So why exactly were the ones on top with the greatest protection? How… how disgustingly hypocritical.
The irony that a yokai — an uncouth demon that survived in the desert, was showing him the inadequacies of Asukan governance was not lost on him.
“You might wonder why us yokai respect the girl as our Queen. I do not. But I respect the Outsider. And even a weak vessel, working in tandem with the powerful Outsider is a better option than the fallen Empress. He freed her from the Empress’s clutches. He overthrew the Leader’s power and forced her to play to his machinations.” The kasha snorted. “And to think he was such a greenhorn when I first taught him the art of fighting with fire.”
“You actually sound proud of him.”
“I am,” Ryu admitted, and scowled. “It’s disgusting though. The other day we interacted, and he treated me as an equal.”
Olfric narrowed his eyes. “You’re disgusted that he’s humble?”
“Are you not?” demanded the kasha. “He was weaker at one time, yes, and I played the role of his teacher. But the student has far surpassed the student. To even be acknowledged like that by him now, paints me as someone greater than I am. It’s revolting!”
“You did not share that line of thinking when we trained.”
“I hadn’t seen him annihilate an entire army and demolish that fortress either. And the Leader claimed that he defeated the Empress by tricking her.”
Olfric opened his mouth, but then closed it.
“Do not overstress your head,” the kasha mocked. “Think of it this way. The Queen’s performance against the Warlord will cement her position in our hearts. If she can achieve victory, not even the Leader can say anything against her.”
“And if she doesn’t?”
“Then she will die.”
It wasn’t Ryu that had spoken those words. It was Solana, the skinwalker leader of the yokai. Her jet black eyes stared at Olfric, as if staring at his soul. And Olfric knew that it wasn’t a threat, but an eventuality. Regardless of how vast the power difference and how much time it took, Solana would bring that idea to reality, no matter what Aguilar did.
“But…” Olfric stammered. “If she dies, then Everfrost —”
Solana smiled. It was a deadly thing, and Olfric decided that he was better off not knowing the answer.
He looked away from her dark, pupil-less eyes to Tanya, who was up in the sky. Even from that far, he could see that Tanya’s hair had changed to a cadaverous white. The air around her shimmered, as if her power were molding it, twisting it, making it more. Aguilar on the other hand, stood on the ground, chatting with Zuken, his hands inside his pockets, looking utterly lackadaisical.
“But do not fret,” said Solana, looking at Aguilar who stood barely twenty feet away. “I am certain that the Outsider has his own share of surprises up his sleeve. That man was caught unaware against the Empress and myself and he managed to get the better of us. I am looking forward to what he can accomplish against someone he’s so exclusively planned for.”
“I doubt he prepared for the Earth-King.”
The skinwalker smirked. “Knowing him, he will probably have something up his ace or two. Which reminds me…” she dug out a set of vials containing a pale bluish liquid in them, and handed them to him. “Rumor has it that you use poison in your aquamancy techniques. The Outsider asked me to give these to you. Backup, I believe, he called it.”
Olfric narrowed his eyes. “He—”
Solana stiffened for a moment. “They’re here. Yokai, to your positions. The enemy has come to our doors. Let’s not make them wait.”
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A figure landed on the sandy terrain. Like a falling meteor he streaked down from the sky. His impact cratered the floor, yet his feet did not touch the sand, merrily floating merely an inch away from it. Everything around him was blown away in wide arcs, as he regarded the flying woman ahead. Meticulously, he stood to his full height, every slight motion heavy with veiled threat. Half of his torso was bare. Pale, sickly skin stretched across a muscular chest, the color so white it was almost transparent. Blood-red eyes stared out from a fiendish face, burning with the light of insanity. Four pairs of ethereal, feathery wings rose and extended from his back. They were red as blood, and as cold and sharp as Death.
The smile that stretched across his face was too wide, too long to resemble anything bremetan. Fanglike, monstrous, it was the leer of a bloodthirsty vampire.
Around him, a hundred aeromancers descended, landing around him like a flock of ravenous vultures. A hundred more remained floating in the air, the swirling wind around them threatening to eclipse the crimson sky. A double of that rose up from the floor, and genuflected behind him, awaiting his command.
Hiding with your kin in the desert. I should not be surprised you returned to your wretched roots. I should have known… you were never fit for my bloodline. An usurper that stole my father’s legacy, and is blind enough to challenge me.
His lips twisted further, as a massive warship appeared above him in the sky.
He raised his arms wide.
“Soldiers,” he said, his voice loud and clear. “That is the enemy. The betrayer has joined hands with the profane. She thinks that the Desert and its curse will stop us from exterminating them like the pests they are. I… We will teach them better. Except for a changeling, kill every last one of them. Burn them with our Sacred Eternal Light.”
His voice went louder. Deeper. “Like the Eternal Flame of the Great Goddess, we shall scour this desert of those parasites. We will destroy their territory, kill and bind every single one of them and take them as our slaves. I shall kill that wretched creature that carries my blood, regain my father’s legacy, and reignite the glory of the Shimizu clan. I am Mujin, son of the Wind King, and today, that creature and those fiends shall taste my wrath.”
And with that declaration, the army attacked.