The Stratigos of Dark Magic

"There is a slight issue on the border. The akritai will lead you to it," Caesar Basil explained. "A group of people from the Far East have arrived. There's some sort of crisis over there that's pushed some of its people West."

"What sort of crisis?" Demetrius asked.

"Someone arrived who's claiming to be the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven. He's been conquering the East and subjugating the people there, but that's all I know about it," Basil answered.

The boy scoffed.

"That's ridiculous. Demons would never conquer humanity. It would be an extermination if they took any land. This "Demon King" is clearly a fraud," Demetrius said.

"Yes. He's probably just using the Demon King name to make his enemies fear him," Basil agreed. "Though, it's in terrible taste, even for a barbarian."

Demetrius nodded.

"And who are these refugees?" he asked.

"They come from a land called Yamato. They are a group of people known as the samurai," Basil answered.

"Is that an ethnicity or a social class?" Demetrius wondered.

"A social class. From what my agents could gather, the samurai are a social class of mercenary aristocrats who are paid in land rather than coin. They brought their servants and a contingent of foot soldiers with them. The samurai themselves fight on horseback with bows and arrows."

Demetrius pondered a moment.

"There are plenty of people who fight like that. There are the steppe nomads, various people in the desert, and our own akritai. But the samurai are aristocrats. That makes them especially dangerous."

"Yes. They'll have more time to train than most other people. Think of them the same way you'd think of certain desert aristocrats," Basil advised. "And add in that they are mercenaries. You know what most of them are like."

"Treacherous, working for the highest bidder," Demetrius said.

Basil leaned back against a wall. He folded his arms and nodded.

"I do not trust these samurai as far as I can throw them. And they wear heavy armor," the Caesar stated.

"What do they want?" Demetrius asked.

"Passage into the Remen Empire and lands to settle down on," Basil answered.

He then sighed.

"As much as I distrust them, it would be equally foolish to just give up on the chance to get promising warriors. Especially since we're surrounded by enemies. So, you are going to deliver an ultimatum to the samurai. Your sister will accompany you to handle any persuasion that may be needed."

Basil grabbed a piece of paper and handed it to Demetrius. It had been sealed with the Remen Empire's royal seal. The Stratigos took it.

"What does it say?" Demetrius asked.

"First, the samurai are going to give up their old titles and become theme warriors. This means they will be citizens of the Remen Empire. Second, they are going to be given lands on the border of the Remen Empire."

Demetrius nodded.

"That's so they can't do much damage if they turn on us, right?" he questioned.

"Yes," Basil said. "Thirdly, any samurai who are unmarried will marry women who are Remen citizens. Any samurai with children must marry at least one child to a Remen citizen."

"That should strengthen their connections to the Remen Empire," Demetrius stated.

"It will hopefully make them less treacherous, assuming these samurai are like normal mercenaries. Now, the threat: if the samurai who fled to the Remen Empire do not agree to these terms, they will be captured, blinded, and sent back to their homeland," Basil finished.

"By the time I get there, there should be enough theme warriors to crush them, no matter how skilled they are," the Stratigos said.

Basil nodded and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"And the samurai don't have any spellcasters with them. If it comes to violence, you shouldn't have any trouble. Still, do not underestimate them," he ordered.

"I'd never underestimate my enemy, even if they were the lowest sort of barbarians," Demetrius assured him. "That is an easy way to get yourself killed."

"Good. The local commander is delaying the samurai, so you don't want to waste too much time," Basil said.

"I will start making preparations to leave after I make a sacrifice to the gods," his friend stated.

Basil started walking out of the room.

"Follow me. I'll give you a high-quality animal to sacrifice," the Caesar smiled.

Soon, the two of them were in front of an altar. A finely bred goat was strapped to it. Demetrius held a dagger in his hand. He let out a prayer and plunged the blade into the goat. It stabbed the animal's heart, killing it almost instantly.

Demetrius then burnt the remains of the goat on the altar. The smoke from it wafted into the air.

"There. The gods should appreciate that offering," Basil smiled.

"Yes," Demetrius agreed before thinking. "I wish I could stay in Kostaspolis longer, but I have my duty as a Stratigos. And besides, I don't deserve a friend like Basil."

The Caesar looked at the Stratigos' face.

"Is your duty bothering you again?" he asked.

"Yes," Demetrius answered.

"Don't blame yourself for it," Basil said. "If anyone's to blame, it's my family. We ordered your family to practice dark magic."

"I would never blame you for that."

"Then, blame no one. Your dark magic is necessary. If it wasn't, I'd free your family from your burden," Basil stated.

Demetrius nodded.

"Thank you," he said before thinking. "That would be best if dark magic wasn't needed, but I don't think I deserve to be freed."

A comforting smile crossed Basil's face.

"Cheer up. I have one last thing to show you. It's something that will improve the lives of the citizens of the Remen Empire."

Basil escorted Demetrius into another room. A metal box was inside of it. The container was about the size of a large amphora. It was placed lengthwise on the ground. With a smile, Basil opened the long top.

"Place your hand in the box," the Caesar instructed.

Demetrius did as he was told. A chill flowed over his arm.

"It's cold," he said.

"Yes. This was created with the ice magic of the Tagaris family. Their head gave it to me as a personal gift. They call it a freezing box," Basil stated.

Utter fascination came over Demetrius.

"Can you control how cold it is?" the boy asked.

"Yes," the Caesar answered. "It can go anywhere from a little bit cool to freezing weather. I ordered a second one from them. It should be ready about a month from now."

"Do you know how they made the magical effect permanent?" Demetrius questioned.

"No. The Tagaris family didn't tell me, and I suspect they want to keep it a secret. I will not press the issue. The freezing boxes will be of great benefit to the Remen Empire. We'll be able to store food far longer and better with them than ever before," Basil said.

He then gave his friend a wide grin.

"Imagine, Demetrius, putting a piece of meat in this box. Then, a week later, opening it and the meat being just as good as when you put it in. No need to smoke it or put it in salt or anything."

Demetrius smiled too, possibilities flowing through his head.

"This really is incredible. You said the Targaris will have one ready in another month, right? Does that mean they can only make one a month?" he questioned.

"Yes. They can't make the freezing boxes any faster," Basil nodded. "But I'm already planning ahead. From what they told me, the size of the box only slightly affects the time it takes them to...enchant it, I think is the right word. That means that a really large box will only take a few days more than a small one."

Demetrius nodded in understanding.

"If you get enough metal, you could make giant boxes that could fit enough food to feed a city or an army," the Stratigos said.

"I doubt that we'll be able to make a box that big, but we could at least make them large enough to store extra food in case of a famine or supply issues. I've already ordered an inventory of how much metal we could get. I intend to have a large freezing box in every city in the Remen Empire and one in at least every major garrison," Basil stated.

He then sighed.

"Of course, that's if the freezing boxes work as the Tagaris family claims they do. I'll test the first and second boxes before doing anything more major than surveys," the Caesar said.

"But if it works, the citizens of the Remen Empire will be safer from starvation than they were before," Demetrius replied.

He then looked at the door.

"I think I've stayed all I can. I have two important places to go to," Demetrius stated.

"Yes. Safe travels, Demetrius. Hopefully, things will quiet down on our Western border soon," Basil said.

Demetrius moved to leave, but then he stopped.

"One more question. Is Stratigos Theodora still in Kostaspolis, or has she left already?" the boy asked.

"We're still trying to find a new assignment for her," Basil answered. "We'll probably have her go East to deter the Alfara Empire from attacking us. Most of our magicians might end up in the East with a few in the West."

"The Zvarnis are the lesser threat, and fighting a war on two fronts would be disastrous," Demetrius agreed.

"Yes. You might end up staying in the East for a while because of that. I apologize for keeping you away from Kostaspolis for this long," the Caesar said.

Demetrius waved it off.

"Don't worry about it. I am doing my duty as a Stratigos, just like you are doing yours as a Caesar. And I will not fail in my duty," he stated.

Caesar Basil smiled.

"I should hope not. And please, Demetrius, come back alive. More people care about you than you think," the Basileus' son said.

"If only I deserved their care," Demetrius thought. "But Basil, you're a truly admirable person. You don't have a beard yet. You're still a child, but you're already a genius leader. Someday, you will be our greatest Basileus."

That night, Demetrius was talking to Ganzaya and Adriadne in the dining room of his house. The Ulv was sipping from some alcohol, a depressed state over him.

"We will leave at first light tomorrow," Demetrius said. "I've already charted a dromon."

He then turned to Ganzaya.

"This boat trip won't be as long as the last one. Kostaspolis is very close to the Eastern deserts," the Stratigos stated.

"It's not that. I only had a day to look for my wife," Ganzaya said.

"If she is in Kostaspolis, my men will find her. You do not need to worry about that," Demetrius assured him.

Then, he continued explaining their trip.

"We'll travel South to Cea on horseback. We'll meet up with a group of akritai there and then travel West to Armana. We'll probably stay a few days in their capital before the akritai guide us to our next destination," the Stratigos said.

Ganzaya nodded.

"And who are the akritai?" he asked.

"They're warriors that guard our Eastern border. They have to cover a lot of ground, so they're mostly made up of light infantry and light cavalry," Demetrius answered.

"Ah, I see. Do they have a lot of horse archers?"

"Yes. The akritai cavalry often fight on horseback with a bow. Though, they use lances too. Just don't expect there to be much heavy cavalry among them. The Tagmata Cavalry stay close to Kostaspolis unless they are needed elsewhere."

Adriadne has an unreadable expression on her face.

"I see. And where will you be when we reach Armana, Demetrius?" she asked.

"I'm supposed to be your bodyguard, but you won't need me when we're in Armana's capital. You'll be with the princess for most of your time there. I will attend to my own affairs in the city," Demetrius answered before thinking. "I don't have any affairs there, aside from helping Ganzaya, but I'm sure Adriadne doesn't want to be around me more than she has to."

Shock pulsed through Demetrius when he saw a flicker of disappointment pass over Adriadne's eyes.

"I see. If there's nothing else, I'm going to bed now," she said.

Adriadne stood up and left the room.

"I'm not sure if you said the right thing. Your sister seemed disappointed," Ganzaya stated.

"I am sure," Demetrius replied. "She was probably just trying to make me feel bad. Adriadne hates me. Even if I care about her, there's no reconciling."

"She is your sister, your family. This is your perfect chance to reconcile. And you should do it before you come to regret it," the Ulv advised.

Demetrius sighed.

"Imagine me as an old man, a bitter person who has nothing left to do but stew in his own regrets. I will have no wife, my parents and uncle will be long dead, and my sister will hate me. That's exactly what I deserve," he thought.

The Stratigos' eyes hardened. Demetrius looked at Ganzaya with a strange determination on his face.

"Adriadne is better off hating me. I will not try to get on her good side or anything like that. We will not talk about this again."