21 years ago…

King Karukth backhanded Narazoth across the face, dropping him to the ground. Narazoth let out a yelp of pain. This isn’t what I wanted!

“You dare disobey me?” King Karukth yelled, “I, who took you in. Made you my greatest servant. A servant of a king! And you dare disobey ?”

“How could I destroy a village of women and children!” Narazoth said, “How could you ask me to perform such evil?”

“It is not evil if your king and master commands!” He kicked Narazoth in the side.

Pain spiked through Narazoth’s ribs and gut. He curled on the floor, cowering, covering his head. He trembled and wept.

“You were supposed to be a good man!” he said through quiet sobs. Looking up again.

“You’re a fool!” King Karukth shouted. He backhanded Narazoth so hard he tumbled across the room, Narazoth felt fresh blood on his lips.

“I am the greatest man you’ll ever meet; my power knows no bounds! And those who challenge me, face the consequences!”

“Please,” Narazoth said, “sever our bond!”

King Karukth shook his head and glared at Narazoth, “No, your power is too great to lose. Consider yourself lucky, I ought to kill you. I’ll beat you. Break you.”

He approached Narazoth, who flinched.

King Karukth laughed.

Narazoth did his best to glare up at King Karukth.

“No!” Narazoth shouted, “I’ll never obey again!”

King Karukth walked to the wall and grabbed a large club, “Very well, I’ll break an arm or a leg, then we’ll see what you think.”

Narazoth scooted back to the corner of the room. “You’re a liar and a coward! You’ll burn in the Lowest with the worst,” Narazoth shouted, wiping his tears. He flexed his fists to keep them from shaking.

King Karukth glared at him, unimpressed.

“I am Narazoth, monk of the Hiriv Order, beastspeaker, follower of Sephitaro,” he said. He stood up. “You’ll kill me before I obey you again!”

In one fluid motion, King Karukth stepped forward and swung the club. It hit Narazoth in the arm, and a cruel cracking pain started anew there. Narazoth fell again.

He cradled his arm and sobbed, was it broken? He didn’t know. But it hurt, it hurt more than anything he’d ever felt. Anger welled up inside. Betrayal of the worst kind. The trust between master and monk shattered.

The anger grew into a boiling, furious rage. Trembling, he yelled, spittle rattling out with each consonant, “You’re a monster! A leader should help his people, not murder them!”

King Karukth’s face twisted in rage and he swung the club down. Narazoth tried to move his leg out of the way. The club clipped the ground, slowing it slightly, but it still thunked into the meat of this thigh, causing a fierce throbbing pain to echo within him again.

“You will burn for your sins!” Narazoth’s tears fell freely. Then, he screamed, spittle flying with his intensity. “I don’t care what you do!”

King Karukth looked at Narazoth, his face pensive. The man pursed his lip and nodded. “I see, you won’t be budged.” He turned around and started walking.

“No, I won’t!”

“I’ll just have to hunt, find another monk.” King Karukth returned to the weapons rack and grabbed a sword. “Maybe head to that island of yours. Get a few.”

Narazoth gulped and prayed in his mind. Sephitaro, please! I only wanted to find the best master! To bring good to the world.

Narazoth lay to the ground, preparing for the attack to come. I’m sorry. I failed you. He closed his eyes.

And heard footsteps from the wall behind him.

King Karukth yelled and swung his sword. But nothing happened. Death did not come.

Narazoth opened his eyes. Another man stood there, he bore a harsh glare and firmly held Karukth’s wrist, stopping the sword mid-swing.

“Step away from Narazoth,” the newcomer said.

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King Karukth gave the newcomer a confused look, “What are you doing?”

The king tried to punch the newcomer with his free hand. But the man blocked it with his forearm and grabbed the King’s wrist.

King Karukth yelled and the newcomer blocked his kick then he lifted, flipping the king around to the ground, his sword clattering to the stone floor.

The newcomer let go of the king’s free arm and struck, snapping the king’s elbow with a loud crack. The king screamed; eyes wide in agony. He tried to hit the newcomer with his other fist. The man let go of the broken arm and grabbed the striking fist with one hand. Then he twisted, stepping around the king, pushing him facedown into the ground and pulling the king’s arm straight up behind his back. There was a moment of tension as he continued the twisting, the king yelling in pain, until suddenly the shoulder popped out of its socket with a crunch.

King Karukth was about to scream again when the newcomer stuffed a cloth into his mouth. The king stumbled to the ground; arms useless for supporting his weight.

“To strike a Hiriv monk is to strike the hand of God,” the newcomer said. He picked up the king’s sword.

“I don’t like to kill,” the newcomer said, inspecting the blade, “but will do it when I must for the good of the world. And you, my selfish king, are not good , nor great , nor anything close to it.”

He stood over the king. The king tried to scream, but the sound was muffled with the cloth. The newcomer plunged the sword into King Karukth’s chest, hitting the stone floor with a clank. The king was thrashing now, blood spreading across the cold stone. He kicked the king onto his back, and Karukth looked up at the man, surprise and horror in his eyes.

“Now accept the consequences of your sin.”

The newcomer swung the blade around, slashing the king’s throat.

The king gurgled, coughing, spitting out the stained cloth. The king twitched and spasmed for a short moment, then finally lay still. Narazoth felt the connection between their minds dissipate. A great calm filling him.

The newcomer turned to Narazoth.

“Who…” Narazoth said, still shaking, “Who are you?”

“I am Jebuthar,” he said, tossing the sword aside and extending a bloodied hand to Narazoth, “and I will be your Master now. We will bring order and righteousness to this world. It will be hard. But it will be right. It will be what the world needs.”

Narazoth looked at his outstretched hand. Scared. Scared to trust again.

But one look in Jebuthar’s eyes told Narazoth the truth. Jebuthar was a king worthy of leadership. Jebuthar would be a righteous master. Narazoth took hold of it and stood.

“Now,” Jebuthar said with a smile, “let’s leave this place.”

✦✦✦

Present day…

“Densal Valen!” Jebuthar’s voice pounded in her ears.

Densal Valen blinked her eyes open. Jebuthar stood in front of her, and she was chained to something vertical.

“You have proven unworthy of the station to which I have placed you. You have sought to use my warriors to kill the innocent. You have ruined my opportunity to defeat Omrai and Revin. You have sought to be a tyrant and an evil ruler, just like your ancestors.”

“I am not here to rule a wasteland, but an empire. I am not here to make the people’s lives worse, but better. I won’t kill those who do not fight against me. I kill combatants, not spectators.”

Densal tried to move. She couldn’t.

“You are the epitome of all that is wrong with your culture. You are wicked , selfish, greedy, and heartless. You know nothing of suffering, and you know nothing of holiness.”

Jebuthar picked up a metal spike and hurled it right into Densal’s arm with unnatural speed. Densal let out a shout of pain. Her body screamed at the pain shooting up her arm.

“You’ve made me ponder how I should work with the nations’ leaders. And thanks to you, I now know what to do.”

Jebuthar glared at Densal Valen.

“They will be stripped of all political power and imprisoned. Their nations will be run by leaders I place in charge.”

“You can’t do that!” Densal Valen shouted, “I have a divine right to rule! God has chosen me!”

“God has nothing to do with your right to rule!” Jebuthar yelled, his voice echoing. “ Absolutely nothing!”

“You have no claim to the leadership of Sendeval!” Densal Valen shouted, trembling with the pain.

Jebuthar breathed a long sigh. “I have seen the handiwork of kings who slaughter innocents, whether those innocents live in another country or their own. No, Densal, you have outlived your usefulness, you have proven the vile nature which has been ingrained into the rulers of this world.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Densal said.

“So, you will fear, so you will understand I am not to be trifled with. I am not here to kill nor to destroy. I am here to bring a better world.”

Jebuthar took a deep breath closing his eyes.

“I will unite the world and take it forward into a new dawn. And I will remove anyone who would destroy that peace. Including warmongering princesses.”

Then the pain began.

“Don’t do that again.”