Realm of Monsters

6 years ago...

Loh was meditating in her tent when she heard a call from outside.

“General Noir, Marshal Noir has arrived at the encampment,” a messenger announced from right outside.

“My grandfather?” Loh whispered to herself. She stood up, “How far is the marshal?”

“I’m already here,” Elzri opened the tent flap and walked in.

The regalia of war suited the mage lord. Elzri’s lean figure was adorned in white armor with silver accents. His grey hair was tied in a simple topknot. His black orichalcum mage necklace sat proud on his chest, a testament to his power as a mage and city lord. The ensemble was completed by a black fur cape that reached to his knees.

“Marshal Noir,” Loh saluted.

“I would have prepared a far more suitable reception had I known you would be joining us. Regrettably, my messenger seems to be inadequate.” 

She stared daggers at the petrified messenger standing outside the tent. The messenger managed a shaky bow before scurrying away.

“My reports tell me you have been succeeding in your extermination of our raider pests,” Elzri said as he walked around the tent. His grey eyes surveyed her living quarters calmly.

“Indeed. Soon, we’ll finally be able to establish a more stabilized trade route between Hollow Shade and Undergrowth.”

Elzri paused in front of Loh’s armor stand. Her black leather armor hung from the wooden poles, a black flame emblazoned on the breastplate, the crest of House Noir.

“As expected of my heir, you have not failed me,” Elzri traced his finger over the symbol.

“You honor me,” Loh could not help but smile. Despite the losses in her personal life, she was excelling as one of the youngest generals of Hollow Shade.

“Tell me, how has Vayu Glaz been serving?” Elzri asked.

“Vayu’s reconnaissance capabilities have proved invaluable. His battle prowess and bravery has also inspired many of the soldiers. You should have seen Vayu charge in against the last raiders we encountered. They all ran away from the drow and his fire drake,” Loh chuckled. She cleared her throat, “What I mean to say is, he has been the greatest captain a general could ask for… and a good friend.”

Elzri spun around and placed his hands on her shoulders, “Wonderful. Then it’s settled, I’ll have the engagement papers written up.”

“...What?” Her throat tightened. The world seemed to sway.

“Well, it is quite simple. Vayu is already a high master and yet he is only two years older than you, which speaks to his incredible talent and training. And of course, he is a drow and a scion of House Glaz, the most powerful of the Seven Ruling Families.”

“But, grandfather, I don-”

“Your grandmother was originally from House Glaz. After her death, our marriage alliance with their House faded away. We need to rectify that problem. Vayu is House Glaz’s second son, which means there will be no issue with him marrying into our family. It’s perfect really, the marriage will recreate a powerful alliance and ideally give you a gifted heir.”

“But, grandfather, I don’t love him!” She heaved, her face flushed.

Elzri lifted her chin, “Since, when did love dictate our duty? We aristocrats are not born free. We are born with privilege that comes with an enormous obligation to our family and the Realm. Our House needs powerful allies in order to maintain our position and presence within the city. The marriages of Aizel and you will create alliances with both House Katag and House Glaz. Don’t you understand? It will be an alliance consisting of three Ruling Families, what more could we want?”

“Let me marry Tauri, please,” her eyes watered.

Elzri turned away and sighed, “You are not listening. We’ve been over this. But, fine, I will humor you one last time. Tauri Katag may be your best friend and the love of your life, yet she is a woman. Even if she wasn’t an orc, you would still be unable to produce a child with her. As my heir and future leader of our House, you will need to sire children, that is an irrefutable fact.”

“Why don’t we just let Aizel have children with some random broad and have one of them be my heir,” Loh frowned.

“Silence!” Elzri snapped. “Are you even listening to yourself? The leaders of our family have always been and must always be powerful magi. The only reason our House has survived this long is because of our magic. Aizel does not have a talented bone in his body, his only purpose in this life is to create a new alliance through marriage.”

Elzri caressed her cheek, “But, you, my granddaughter, you are truly gifted. You are my heir. If Tauri was anyone else I would not care what others thought and I would simply let you marry her as a secondary wife. However, she is the prized daughter of Lord Krall Katag, he will not allow her to be married off as a lesser spouse.”

Loh swallowed, “Well, what if I marry Vayu Glaz as my secondary husband and marry Tauri as my principal wife?”

“I commend your willingness to compromise,” Elzri flicked her forehead. “Still, none of the Ruling Families would allow their children to become lesser spouses, the dishonour would be too great. Why do you think alliances between the Ruling Families are so difficult to begin with?”

Loh winced, “There has to be a way to change their mind.”

“There is none. Now stop with these idiodicies, you will marry Vayu and that will be the end of this. Do I make myself clear?” Elzri narrowed his eyes.

Loh stared at her feet, “...Yes, Marshal Noir.”

“Very good. Now, tell me, where is Vayu now?”

“He’s currently scouting, I’ll escort you to him,” Loh donned her black cloak.

“Lead the way.”

Loh opened the tent flap, but paused. “Vayu is from an incredibly powerful family, which controls their own armies, larger than our own. So, how did he end up as my right-hand soldier and not the general of his own army? Did you arrange all of this from the beginning?”

“Do you really need to ask such a foolish question?” Elzri walked past her.

“I guess not,” Loh smiled ruefully.

Elzri followed her through the throng of tents that was the encampment. The soldiers saluted and bowed as the Noirs walked past. 

Eventually, they came upon an open clearing. An enormous orange lizard larger than a centaur, rested on the grass. The fire drake’s horned head turned, her amber eyes observed the guests. The drake’s long serpentine tail curled loosely around a lone drow between her legs.

The drow sat cross-legged. He was shirtless, revealing the gleaming purple runes on his grey skin. The arcane symbols started at the base of his spine and reached all the way to his neck and temple.

His eyes were closed. “Marshal Noir, general Noir, it is good to see you both.”

“Where are you seeing us from exactly?” Elzri glanced at the fire drake.

“Not from her,” Vayu patted the drake’s large leg. He pointed up, “From him.”

A hawk swooped down from the sky and landed on one of the fire drake’s horns. Purple runes flared about the hawk’s wings. The bird’s eyes glowed a soft purple. It watched Loh and Elzri with an odd gleam of intelligence.

“Show off,” Loh rolled her eyes.

“So, what does our captain have to report?” Elzri asked.

The purple runes faded away from the hawk and drow. Vayu opened his teal eyes and pushed himself to his feet.

“There are no enemies hiding near our current position, but I found some centaur tracks a dozen miles up north. Most likely a scouting group from one of the Valley tribes,” Vayu saluted.

“Good work, captain,” Loh nodded.

“Thank you, general. Oh, and marshal, a carriage bearing your personal insignia just arrived a few minutes ago,” Vayu added.

“Just in time,” Elzri clapped.

“Other carriage?” Loh asked.

“Grandfather!” A voice echoed through the camp.

Loh grit her teeth at the annoying sound.

“Here he comes now,” Elzri said.

Aizel waved excitedly as he ran towards them. He bumped into a soldier, stumbled and almost fell. Loh groaned at the sight. Aizel quickly apologized and jogged the last few steps towards them.

He cleared his throat, straightened his back, and saluted, “Aizel of House Noir, reporting for duty!”

“I’m glad you made it,” Elzri nodded.

“Hello, I am Vayu of House Glaz, it’s nice to meet you,” he extended his hand.

“Oh, I heard of you! You’re that true purple mage who can use binding magic, right? That’s so cool!” Aizel shook his hand eagerly.

“What is he doing here?” Loh rubbed her temple.

“Aizel has come for battle, of course. Captain Glaz, if you would excuse us, I need to speak with my family in private,” Elzri said.

“As you command,” Vayu bowed. He winked at Loh and mouthed “good luck” before he left the clearing. The fire drake lumbered to her feet and followed him, the hawk sitting content on its horn.

Elzri looked his grandson over, “Aizel’s wedding will be in a few weeks. I thought it prudent if he attained some battle experience before he marries a daughter of the greatest military family in all of Hollow Shade.”

“Pfft. As if Aizel knows the first thing of battle,” Loh shook her head.

Aizel’s smile fell, “I’ve been training how to use the sword. I’ve also been reading a lot about military tactics, every single day.”

“No, your sister is right, Aizel. You know nothing of battle. Which is why Loh will guide you,” Elzri said.

“What!?” Loh yelled in anger.

“Do not worry, you do not have to give Aizel any special command. Just keep an eye on him and let him fight a battle or two. Who knows, maybe he will actually kill a raider,” Elzri patted her shoulder.

“I can do more than that,” Aizel grabbed her hand. “I can help you, Loh. I want to help you. I’ve been working hard this past year to do just that. I may not be a powerful mage, I won’t try to compare myself to you, but I can still be a capable soldier, Tauri’s been teaching me. I’m not the same useless big bro you’ve always known.” He smiled, “I won’t let you down.”

Loh slapped his hand away, “You worked hard? For once in your life? Congratulations. You think that’ll make you worthy of Tauri?” She laughed bitterly. “It doesn’t matter how many times you swing a wooden sword or how many books you read. You’ll never be worthy of her, you imbecile.”

Aizel frowned, “I did not choose this marriage, I never asked for it, nor can I cancel it. But, that won’t stop me from trying my hardest to be worthy of Tauri and make her happy. I won’t hurt her, I promise you.”

Elzri raised his hand in front of Loh’s face before she could retort. 

He stared down at his grandson, “No, Aizel, you're confused. Tauri is more than just a great beauty, she is a trained warrior, a talented mage, and she has a willingness and sense of duty second to none. While, you are a talentless, spoiled lecher, who my equally talentless daughter dotes over. You will never be worthy of someone like Tauri. The only reason you are marrying her is because you were lucky enough to bear my name. Which is the same reason why I’m wasting my time talking to you. Do you understand?”

Aizel opened his mouth, but said nothing. He swallowed, “Yes, grandfather.”

“Loh is your commanding officer and you will heed her command. No matter what that may be, even if that means digging latrines all day long. Do you understand?”

“Yes, grandfather,” he bowed his head.

Elzri grabbed Aizel by his collar and pulled him close, “Do not mock the sacrifice of others by rubbing your happiness in their face. Try to imagine, if you can, the future, where I am long-dead and Loh is now the family leader. Do you really want to live in a future where the person who has control over your life, despises you? If not, then I suggest you shut your damn mouth and gratefully take what is given to you. Do you understand?”

Aizel glanced at his younger sister, her face expressionless, “...Yes, grandfather.”

~~~

“Master?” Stryg poked her leg with a stick.

“Hm?” Loh glanced up at him.

“You sort of drifted away, are you alright?” Stryg asked.

“I’m fine, where was I?” She took another swig of the wine.

“You said Lord Elzri paid you an unexpected visit at the encampment,” Rhian recited.

“Ah, right. Well, he visited my encampment to place my brother in my care. We both hated it, but we listened to our grandfather. At least, I did. Aizel was in it for the glory, he wanted to impress his fiancé, show that he was worthy of her. One day, Aizel disobeyed my command and broke off from the army to protect a stray caravan. He got caught in an ambush by enemy raiders...” Loh drifted off.

“What happened next?” Rhian whispered with wide eyes.

Loh finished drinking the rest of the wine. “The raiders burned the whole caravan, wagons, merchandise, people... everyone and everything.”

“And your brother?” Stryg asked.

“They all died, Marek and The Cairn tribe burned them all,” she muttered in a hollow voice.

Maximus sent a silent prayer to Bellum, goddess of war.

“The end,” Loh cleared her throat. 

“No, that’s horrible,” Rhian’s eyes welled with tears.

“We should get some sleep, we head out early. Mellow Bloom, here we come!” Loh shimmied into her bed roll and turned her back to the others. 

Rhian wiped her eyes and laid down to rest. Maximus grabbed his axe and prepared to stand watch.

“I’ll take the first shift,” Stryg said.

Maximus nodded.

Stryg sat still as he watched the others fall asleep to the sound of the crackling fire. He wondered what it must have been like to have lost family, Loh’s brother, Plum’s mother. What sort of pain would it cause? What sort of anger would it create deep within. 

Stryg remembered how he felt when the raiders just threatened Rhian earlier that day. How much worse would he feel if someone hurt Rhian or Feli? 

He was not supposed to feel such things, the Blood Fang tribe trained him not to. And yet, all he could think of was the endless pain that such a loss would spark. He remembered Sigte, his eccentric goblin teacher. That pain still echoed in his heart. Stryg did not want to lose anyone else.

“Not again. Not ever again,” he whispered.

He stood up and began silently practicing his battle stances and forms.

House Glaz:

A drow Great House and one of 7 ruling families of Hollow Shade. They possess powerful armies and magi. Their family is known for producing talented purple magi, including several true purple magi. Their founder, Glaz, was also a true purple mage.

In terms of overall wealth, influence, military and magical power, House Glaz is considered the most powerful of the Seven Ruling Families. Their insignia is a purple eagle on a blue sky.

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