The Stratigos of Dark Magic

Adriadne stepped into Demetrius' tent. Inside, she saw a barbarian sitting in front of her brother, who was talking.

"And then, after I defeated the desert bandits, I was hailed as..."

"Demetrius," Adriadne spoke up.

The air seemed to turn cold as her brother stopped talking and turned to her. A hint of shock pulsed through the Remen girl.

"Why is it like this?" she wondered.

"Am I needed for business, Adriadne?" Demetrius asked.

"Yes," she answered. "There is some work around the camp you're needed for."

Demetrius stood up and walked to the tent entrance.

"Very well. I shall attend to this business," he said.

The boy stopped. He turned to Tomoe.

"Do what you must now. And when the time comes for me to leave, feel free to follow me," Demetrius stated.

Then, he left the room. Adriadne was alone in there with Tomoe.

"Demetrius wasn't insulting her. He was just talking about himself. I think I know what that means," Adriadne thought before speaking. "What do you want to get out of my brother?"

"Get?" the foreigner questioned.

"What do you want from him?"

"Real fight. To death," Tomoe said.

Adriadne blinked in shock.

"What did she just say? A fight to the death? What kind of insane woman is she?"

A mixture of anger, fear, and revulsion filled Adriadne. She clenched her hands so hard they turned white.

"Can you use magic?" Adriadne asked.

"No," Tomoe answered.

"You want my brother to kill you?"

The way Adriadne put it was in a mocking tone.

"Who does this idiot think she is? There's no way she can kill Demetrius in a fight. Is she relying on the fact that Demetrius wants to fuck her to win?" the Remen woman thought.

Then, Tomoe's answer sent a wave of shock through her body.

"Yes."

That one word stunned Adriadne in her tracks. She blinked in surprise. A few moments of silence passed between them. While Adriadne did not care about this barbarian, a sense of guilt flowed through her.

"Demetrius wouldn't brag about himself just to have sex. There are more than enough prostitutes for that. He must genuinely like this barbarian. If she becomes a Remen citizen...them getting married would be impossible. She's still not a noble. And adultery is illegal. But perhaps Demetrius could come up with some sort of arrangement with his future wife? Or maybe no noble family will want to marry into the Kallergis this generation?" Adriadne thought. "In any case, I should try to help Demetrius out. She came in here hours ago. I haven't seen Demetrius ever talk to any woman like this before."

She took a deep breath before speaking.

"Why do you want to die?" the Remen girl asked.

There was another moment of silence before Tomoe answered.

"Don't know words."

"Of course, this barbarian can't speak much Grekken," Adriadne thought before speaking. "Well, if you want to die, go ahead and follow Demetrius around. I'm sure you'll get killed by some of his enemies sooner or later. And if you don't, you'll learn enough Grekken to explain why you want to die. Despite what it might seem, Demetrius is a reasonable man."

Tomoe just nodded in response. She stood up and walked out of the tent. After getting her weapons back from the guards, the girl returned to the samurai camp. There, she stood outside the leaders' tent. They called her in after a few moments. This time, Tomoe left her weapons right outside the tent.

When Tomoe stepped inside, all eyes were on her. Hiraji Jirou addressed her.

"Tomoe-dono, tell me, what did you find out from the Remen onmyoji?" he asked.

"If he is to be believed, he is the greatest general in the Remen Empire. He defeated a legendary ruler in the North before ridding the desert of bandits. He is a strategic genius the likes of which the world hasn't seen in generations. He is also from a top-ranking noble family. And he is a close friend of the Remen Empire's crown prince," Tomoe answered.

Jirou nodded.

"And how much of that do you believe?" he questioned.

"I believe that the onmyoji is a good general, and from a top-ranking noble family," she said.

Hiraji Jirou nodded.

"And did he say anything about the Remen Empire?"

"Nothing that wasn't connected to him in some way or other. I could understand very little of it, and it all boiled down to this onmyoji being a very important man."

"It appears our plan to have you seduce him backfired," Jirou stated. "The onmyoji is clearly making things up to get you to sleep with him."

"Those barbarians are crude," Rokkaku Tomonori scoffed.

Tomoe hesitated a moment before speaking up.

"Demetrius never even mentioned sex when we talked," she said.

"Then, he was going for a more subtle approach. At the very least, the Remens know how to show some restraint. Not as much as us, but you can only expect so much from a barbarian," Jirou smiled.

Tomonori grimaced.

"And what can we expect if we join them? Even if we keep our customs for a few generations, our descendants will eventually have the same culture as these barbarians," he said.

"If we do not join them, they may wipe us out entirely," Jirou replied. "Many of us lost their lives on the way here. Are we going to make their sacrifices in vain by throwing ours away?"

"Perhaps we should have died with them, rather than putting our fates in the hands of barbarians?"

Hirate Masahide spoke up before anyone else could say anything.

"We have done nothing but given the same arguments since the Remen onmyoji left," he said. "I will summarize our situation: if we join the Remens, we will give up our samurai status and serve a barbarian ruler. If we do not, either they or someone else will kill us. We have little information on their empire, but it is at least the largest in the region. Now, we must decide. Should we join them or not? If we hesitate any longer, the barbarians might get impatient and decide for us."

While Masahide held in his emotions, frustration leaked through his voice. His eyes were narrowed. Hints of anger crossed his face. The other samurai mumbled amongst themselves when they saw this.

"Perhaps we could have one more day to decide?" Tomonori suggested.

"Will our arguments change by then?" Masahide asked.

"They might. If they do not, then we can decide based on our old arguments."

Then, an idea formed in Jirou's head.

"Perhaps this could be a test for the Remens?" he said. "If they have the patience to let us wait another day, that should serve as proof that they are worthy masters."

Tomonori gave the other samurai a polite smile.

"While I agree with waiting another day, being the one to suggest it, I disagree with your logic, Hiraji-san. For all we know, the Remens could think that any delays are to their benefit," Tomonori stated.

Jirou pretended to think for a moment before speaking.

"I can understand the logic behind this. After all, we are in Remen territory. We are running out of supplies while they could have reinforcements on the way. For all we know, this could benefit them more than us," he said.

Tomonori was grinning internally.

"Then, are you trying to help the Remens? Perhaps you want to let them get the numbers they need to force us to join them?"

"The better question is, why would someone who doesn't want to join the Remens ask for more time?" Jirou smiled back. "Perhaps you are planning something? Perhaps involving a spy?"

Tomonori chuckled and waved it off.

"I merely think we should have more time to decide," he said. "And surely, another day won't hurt too much?"

Masahide rubbed his forehead.

"To think, that I was one of the people who asked for more time to decide at one point. Now, I'm getting a headache from this foolishness. We should just decide on survival or honor already. All we're doing now is wasting time. I wish we had a daimyo here. He could decide for us. But we're all of equal rank," he thought before speaking. "We do not need another day to decide. We have said everything that needs to be said. Let us decide now."

"But if we had one more day, we could think things through better," Tomonori argued.

Tomoe looked between the samurai. She felt out of place like she didn't belong. Not only was she a woman in this place, but she also had no family left while everyone else in the room was married and had children. A sudden sense of smallness flowed through the girl.

"There is no place for me, not here or anywhere else," Tomoe thought.

Then, one of the samurai in the room from a lesser family spoke up.

"The Remens said that we could join them individually. Do we all need to make a decision together?" he asked.

"Of course, we do," Masahide answered. "Right now, we need unity more than anything else."

Another samurai spoke up.

"We needed unity when we traveled here, but right now, I believe that the Remens would give us a better reward than any of you three could," he said.

"That is a very good point. The way of horse and bow is to do what is worthy of reward, after all," Jirou stated.

Masahide looked between the samurai. A tension that had been growing boiled up to the surface. He could practically feel the heat from the others in the room.

"We traveled a long way from home, losing many and going through hard difficulties. We endured so much for so long. It seems we're finally reaching our limit to frustration. There is only so much I can do," Masahide thought before speaking. "Anyone who wants to maintain our unity and make a decision together may stay. And anyone who wants to join the Remens without waiting for the others to decide may leave."

Several samurai in the room got up and left. Looking out, Tomoe knew that they'd get their families and be with the Remens by the end of the day. However, Hiraji Jirou was still present. Tomonori looked at him with confusion.

"I thought you were in favor of joining the barbarians," he said.

"You thought right, and I still am in favor of it," Jirou replied. "But I also believe this is something we should do together. Hirate-san is right that we need unity. Especially since we will no longer be samurai when we join the Remen Empire."

Tomoe stood there awkwardly. She didn't speak, but then Masahide turned to her.

"Ah, yes, Tomoe-sam. You are still here," he stated.

"I was not dismissed," she replied. "I will leave at once."

Before Tomoe could exit, Jirou spoke up.

"Leave this room or leave us to join the Remens?" he asked.

"You are my lord," Tomoe answered. "I cannot do that without your permission, and..."

Jirou interrupted her.

"You have my permission. In fact, I will inform all my vassals that they have my permission to join the Remen Empire any time they want," he said.

"The more samurai that join the Remens, the more likely the rest are to follow them," Tomoe thought before speaking. "Very well, Hiraji-sama."

She bowed before leaving the room. Tomoe then got her weapons back and started walking out of the tent. However, a different sort of determination flowed through her body as she left the samurai camp. Tomoe was reminded of the sight of falling cherry blossoms as she made her way to the Remens.

"I consider this a release from my service, but I will not join the Remen Empire. That would be pointless. I will get Demetrius to kill me. I will die honorably in a duel at his hands," there was a serenity about Tomoe's thoughts. "Onmyoji of the Remen Empire, please realize that I need to die and give me the death I seek."

Despite her seeming calmness, Tomoe struggled to fight down tears.