I stared on, feeling a little helpless. I couldn’t seem to remember their names. Plus, the way they addressed me made me feel weird. I’d say a part of me fervently enjoyed being referred to as empress, another felt off, like it was all a lie. I cleared my throat, as I kept a lid on my uncertainty. Now, how would I weasel my way out of this? “You may rise. Though you will have to forgive me, it would seem that many of my memories were locked away or lost in the time that I was gone. I may not exactly be the person you once knew.” I tried to appear light-hearted, and a little less stern. But I had to be honest. These guys radiated power beyond my wildest imagination. It felt like I was staring at a host of angels that had just descended. Truly they were worthy of their name as the golden host. It made me sweat just being in their presence, at the same time though, their presences were like flies compared to when I stood in front of my divine self.
“Of course, your majesty. That is to be expected after what happened. I am the acting captain-general of the Athanatoi. I go only by Syn. To my far left is Decarch Maximus.” He gestured towards the person wearing the ornate bird helm.
“To his right is Tetrarch Irenia.” Syn then gestured towards the warrior who wore the mask of the giant feline. Its golden canines stretched from beyond its lip like large daggers, and its black eyes glimmered like a beast during a hunt.
“Then we have Kentarche Theodora.” He gestured towards the warrior, who wore the helm of the basilisk.It’s hood flare reached up and around, much like a crown. Gold, mixed with faint traces of red, and it glimmered gently in the faint light of the cultivation chamber.
No matter how different they all were, I could detect a faint sense of emotion radiating from each of them. They were relieved to see me again. It was like my mere presence took an immense burden off of their shoulders. Yet under all that resplendent armor and radiant righteousness, there was a layer of palpable guilt that clung to them all like a toxic miasma. I wonder what caused them to feel that way. Was it my disappearance? Was it my death?
In a few quick seconds, I digested the information that they gave me. That would make sense that Kharon was the de facto leader. It would also explain how he had gathered the information I asked for so quickly and brought me food. “Thank you, Captain Syn. I’m sure you have also noticed that I’m not as strong as I once was.” It was a bit of a gamble on my end. Showing weakness was something that felt like a bad idea. But I also knew that around these people, I would be safe beyond any doubt.
“I have your Majesty. Otherwise, we would have been by your side the second we noticed you had returned. Please forgive us for not moving sooner.” Syn bowed his head lower than before, and I found myself a little off put. Was I a hard ass in my old life? Sometimes I ended up thinking I was with some actions that I took. But I also knew that I was liable to be a little sporadic, if what Kharon said could be trusted, of course.
“No need to apologize, Captain. Now that you are here, I have a few questions for you. Kharon mentioned that the Captain-General was in self imposed exile. What do you know of that?” For some reason, that was a question that burned within me the most, even if I didn’t dwell on it too much. Ever since that dream, I just wanted to know. Not to mention the emotions that simmered in my chest at the thought of it seemed to override anything else.
Syn pulled his head up and glanced at his fellow warriors. It was like they were having an unspoken conversation amongst themselves. “You see, your majesty. We know nothing. When Captain Alessia left, she vanished overnight. However, just before she left, she mentioned she had one last mission to carry out. But that was almost five thousand years ago. We haven’t heard from her in so long that we assumed she was lost.”
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Alessia. The name lit a fire in my heart, and a feeling of longing followed shortly after. But I wasn’t sure why. What did she mean to me? I sighed and forced that train of thought to the side.If they didn’t know, there was no point in beating a dead horse. “Thank you. Now, the next question for you all. What form of undead are you? How did you become undead?” Perhaps those were too harsh of a question. I was curious about many things now that my feet were underneath me. Not to mention that I needed to know who and what I was working with.
Syn glanced up at me, and what sounded like a sigh of contempt escaped from his lips. “I became a vampire, your majesty. As did many of the Athanatoi when the last blast of the cataclysm erupted. As we were the strongest. We resisted the best we could, but our defenses were overwhelmed. Even now in death, we stand at the pinnacle of our race.”
Vampires, huh? The word brought back memories I knew came from me. Followed by a wave of euphoria. It felt like another small piece of me had returned. The memory told me they couldn’t be in sunlight, and that they were allergic to garlic. Though I didn’t know how much of that was true here, nor did I want to look dumb. I’m sure I’d find out more in due time. That’s including even the more unsavory answers that made me squirm slightly. “I see thank you Syn. Have you monitored the surrounding areas? What other types of undead roam around?”
He said that the strongest became vampires, so did that mean I would have to contend with other forces of that nature? More and more questions mounted in my mind about it all. How did they function? Are they all loyal? I didn’t know, and I wanted to find out.
“There are a lot of skeletons, zombies, ghosts, wraiths, specters, shades, poltergeists, ghasts, ghouls, and wrights in the immediate area. There are more, but they exist a few miles away from the palace and villages. The true list is much larger, with any major threat having already been neutralized or assimilated.” He lowered his head once more as he finished, waiting for my approval.
“Tell me Syn, how are you still loyal after all this time?” I stood there uncomfortably as I tried to piece together even more of the picture. Not only were there imps, and other factions to worry about. But there were potentially powerful undead that I may have to fight in the future. Outside of what was taken care of. There was so much to keep track of it as it was.
“We swore unbreakable oaths to the crown, kingdom, and to you. In life and now in death. We will give our lives a second time if we must.” His words reached deep into me and tugged my heartstrings a little. They would be loyal no matter what, so would it be so bad to show them how uncertain I am?In the grand scheme of things, I think it would be detrimental. I needed to be strong for them. Even if I wasn’t now.
Were they putting me on a pedestal, or was I? Did the answer even matter? The thought brought more annoyance to me. This didn’t feel like my life, but something that was forced onto me, yet I knew deep down that this life was still my own.
“I see. Thank you then, Syn, for your continued loyalty. It will serve us well in the future. I will need your help more than anything in the coming weeks. Now that I’m back, I wish to reclaim what was lost. In the coming days, Kharon and I will plan out a course of action to start a war of reclamation.” I paused for a moment, and let my words hang in the air. “As it stands, you four, and Kharon are the only ones who know that I have returned. With that, I want to prepare for a grand war. With you four as my instruments once more.”
I felt a little bad lying to them. But I had to play a role for now. I had to balance the duality that I felt within me. No matter how much I wanted to be me, I had to be her. Was it a twist of fate? A cruel joke? I didn’t know. All that I knew is that someone had to pay for this.