The Stratigos of Dark Magic

Night fell upon the desert. While some areas of it could get quite cold at night, the area the Remen camp was in remained warm even when it was dark out. Still, it was cooler than in the day.

Demetrius was sitting in his tent, sound asleep. Guards were stationed outside but the Stratgios was alone. He had made sure that his sister had her own tent. While it was common for families to sleep in the same room, Demetrius doubted she wanted to be near him.

As the night went on, Demetrius dreamed. He saw images of pain, fear, and death. Men burned, women cried, children screamed. The Stratigos jolted around in his sleep, unconsciously struggling to avoid screaming from his night terrors.

The scenes of carnage were replaced with a vast spread of nothingness. At the center of the nothing was a grave with a tree above it. There was a bandit's corpse hanging from the tree.

Demetrius did not know how he knew that the corpse was of a criminal, but he somehow knew.

"Is this the logic of dreams, or is it something else?" he wondered.

Then, a cruel face three times the size of his body emerged from the nothingness. It had a wide smile on it with sharp teeth. The eyes were a mixture of grey and crimson, and tears of blood streaked from them. Its hair was messy, like a mop of bloody puss. Malice radiated from the face.

"Soon, Demetrius, your doom will come! You will suffer like you have never suffered before!" the face declared.

"What are you?" Demetrius asked.

"I am your doom! Your punishment is at hand for your father's deeds!"

What did my father do...is what Demetrius wanted to ask, but he couldn't get the words out. He felt like his throat was being squeezed, crushed from the inside.

"There is no point in telling you," the face said, despite Demetrius never vocalizing his thoughts. "This is but a dream and you will remember nothing when you wake up."

There was another squeeze, and Demetrius jolted awake. He took heavy breaths. Sweat covered his body. The boy assumed he had a nightmare, but when he tried to remember what it was, nothing came to mind. Shaking his head, Demetrius laid back down to try to get more sleep.

Then, he saw something out of the corner of his eye.

Demetrius rolled to the side just in time to avoid getting his head chopped off by a sword. Still, it left a gash in his neck. Pain flashed through the boy as a hint of blood leaked out. Quickly placing a hand over his wound, relief flowed through Demetrius when he felt that it wasn't too deep.

A man stood before Demetrius, holding a Remen straight sword. His body was covered in sand-colored clothes. However, the stance the man took was more like the stances the samurai used than anything found in the Remen or Alfara Empires.

However, what sent a pulse of fear through Demetrius' body was that he noticed something dripping off the blade. It wasn't red like blood, instead being a bit more shiny and translucent.

"It's poison," Demetrius thought.

He aimed his finger at the assassin, intending to blast him with his magic. But...nothing came out.

As fear pulsed through Demetrius, his opponent didn't hesitate. The assassin jumped forward with incredible speed. His blade swung at Demetrius, who was in such shock that he barely registered the weapon coming at him. He moved back, but it wouldn't be in time to avoid getting his chest sliced open.

A naginata slashed through the tent wall, catching the assassin off guard. It thrust forward, ramming into the assassin's shoulder. Blood sprayed out as he held in a gasp of pain.

Tomoe rushed inside through the hole she made. The girl charged the assassin, using the reach of her blade to push him back. Demetrius snapped back to reality in full. He drew his blade and joined in Tomoe's assault.

"Guards!" he shouted as he attacked.

The men standing outside the tent rushed in, skewering the assassin with spears. He let out a dying scream as he dropped dead. Demetrius barked more orders to the Theme warriors.

"Make sure my sister is safe! Awaken and secure the camp! Don't let anyone enter or leave! Awaken the other commanders! We might need an emergency meeting."

Rushing off to follow Demetrius' orders, while also staying in the general area in case other assassins came after the Stratigos, they left him in the tent with Tomoe.

The onna bugeisha had a blank expression on her face, but there was a sense of finality about her. It was mixed in with a faint relief and a hint of fear.

"This is it. I, a woman, just saved Demetrius' life with my martial arts. I doubt a barbarian man like him could ever tolerate that. He will be furious at me and take my life. I am certain that this is the end I seek, even if it's in a different way than I wanted. Hopefully, saving him will convince Demetrius to at lest spare the people who joined the Remen Empire," Tomoe thought.

She gazed at Demetrius' face. It was bright red.

"He's angry too. This is it."

Demetrius stayed silent for a moment before speaking.

"Tomoe...would you mind...being my bride?" he asked, his heart beating so loud that he felt like there was a drum in his chest.

Confusion flowed through the warrior woman.

"Bride?" she tilted her head.

"Be my wife," Demetrius said, rubbing the back of his head. "My woman, my girl. Marry me. I will make you a Remen noblewoman, not just a citizen. You will have everything you could ever want and more."

Tomoe did not understand most of what he said. But she realized that her attempt to get him to want to kill her backfired horribly.

Meanwhile, Demetrius breathed an internal sigh of relief.

"Thank the gods. It looks like Tomoe didn't understand most of what I said. I'm such an idiot. Why did I ask her to marry me when there's a corpse right there on the floor? More than that, why would I ever want to marry someone I...someone that I've fallen for," Demetrius thought. "Yes, that's what I've been feeling for Tomoe: love and attraction. I want her to be mine, to caress me gently as I walk with her. I want to keep her safe, and I want to see how strong she can be."

A pain flashed through Demetrius. It was so great that he felt like someone stabbed him in the heart with a burning spear.

"Yes, I think I love Tomoe. And that's why I can never marry her. The wife of a Kallergis suffers immensely because of the hatred we bring upon ourselves. My mother couldn't handle it, and my father drinks himself to death because she couldn't. I would not force any woman to go through what my mother did, especially if it led to the same result."

Demetrius clenched his fists so hard they turned white. For a moment, Tomoe thought he might try to kill her after all. Instead, the stratigos unclenched his hands.

"I will have to marry someday to produce an heir, but it will not be to a woman I love. I will pick a woman I hate so I can spare a good woman from suffering," he thought before speaking. "Forget what I said, Tomoe. Don't ever bring it up again."

Tomoe tilted her head.

"Forget?" she asked.

"Never mind. Just tell me how you found out the assassin was coming," Demetrius said.

"Assassin?"

The stratigos pointed at the corpse on the ground. Tomoe nodded in understanding.

"Ah, the shinobi," she said.

"Yes. Tell me where you found out he was coming and why I can't use my magic," Demetrius replied.

"Poison," Tomoe explained. "Cuts of onmyoji. Magic fine before dawn."

A sigh of relief escaped Demetrius' mouth.

"Thank the gods, it isn't permanent. If it was..." the stratigos started, but he didn't finish.

What would happen if it was permanent? Would he retire from being a stratigos, or at least a magical stratigos? Would he live a normal life? Would he be able to live without forcing everyone to hate him?

Demetrius forced those thoughts out of his head.

"I don't deserve that kind of life," he thought before speaking. "Just tell me how you found out that this assassin...shinobi was coming here."

Tomoe nodded.

"Saw him. Messenger came," she said.

"So, someone in the samurai camp sent a messenger to warn you of this?" Demetrius asked.

Tomoe did not understand everything he said, but she understood enough.

"Yes. From Jirou-sama," Tomoe spoke.

A dark expression came over Demetrius' face. He nodded with grimnness.

"Is Tomoe telling the truth? Why would this Jirou person send a messenger to her of all people? If I remember right, he was one of the highest-ranking samurai. Perhaps he has some connection to Tomoe? Maybe he knows that she's stayed close to me at the Remen camp? But then, why tell her and not me? And how did he know about it?" Demetrius thought.

At that point, a pair of camp servants entered the tent to clean up the body. The stratigos turned to one of them.

"When you're done here, ensure that Tomoe's quarters in camp are up to an officer's standard. She saved my life and is to be given proper treatment," Demetrius said.

"Yes, despotēs," he addressed the stratigos before getting back to his work.

Demetrius motioned for Tomoe to follow him. She did, and the two stepped outside the tent. The stratigos' heart fluttered when he looked at Tomoe's face, but Demetrius kept his expression serious. He really did not want to have to tell her this. In fact, Demetrius knew telling her was a bad idea, but he felt that he had to.

"Tomoe, I..." Demetrius started.

He stopped, unable to continue. Frustration started to well up inside of him.

"Give them honorable kill," Tomoe said.

Demetrius nodded, guilt and relief mixing in him.

"It was foolish of me to think that she wouldn't understand. Only an idiot wouldn't figure out what would happen to the samurai who hadn't joined us after they tried to kill me," he thought before speaking. "I will give the remaining samurai one last chance for mercy because your saved me due to that man's warning. I will send a messenger to them. Any who join the Remen Empire by dawn will be spared. Any who surrender after that point will be blinded and sent to live in a city in the Remen Empire."

A different sort of guilt flowed through Demetrius when he gave those words.

"I shouldn't show them that much mercy. They should be turned away into the desert after being blinded. They deserve no less after trying to kill me, a stratigos of the Remen Empire and member of one of the four spellcaster families. By the gods, love makes you stupid," he thought.

Demetrius held his expression, making it as stern as possible, before continuing.

"Everyone who refuses to join the Remen Empire by dawn or surrender after that will be killed. I am being as merciful as I can be, but the Remen Empire cannot tolerate assassination attempts on its stratigoi," Demetrius said.

Tomoe nodded.

"I think I get most of what Demetrius is saying. He's going give those still in the camp one last chance to join him. Anyone who doesn't will die. Demetrius, you are truly a soft man. Or perhaps it is kindness or your culture's idea of honor? Most daimyo would have killed everyone in the camp after something like this. And yet, you would spare some of the people. Though, I hope that you don't dishonor the samurai by sparing their lives if they are injured. Still, I'm glad that you are at least giving the rest of us one last chance to join you. There are people among us who shouldn't die so fast," she thought before speaking. "Domo arigato, Stratigos Demetrius."

A great feminine voice echoed out, flowing through the air. Demetrius' eyes widened when he heard it.

"You have found a new fated bond, Capricorn. May it bring you aid in hardship and joy in sorrow. Your fate is now intertwined with Inu, the dog."