The Stratigos of Dark Magic

Tabahn Khan sat in his comfortable prison. There was a wide smirk on his face as he drank a goblet of wine. His personal guard sat alongside him, disarmed by enjoying their drinks. The Khan moved one of his hands around.

"I'm recovering well. Fighting won't be easy, but I'll be able to ride a horse," Tabahn said.

"And when you're free, we'll get revenge on the Remens for daring to injure you," one of his men replied.

"Yes," the Khan nodded. "But first, we'll need to get a second bout of revenge on Ganzaya. We already dealt with his wife, but he still has a daughter."

Another of his men scratched his beard.

"But Great Khan, his daughter's far away. We'd need to travel a long distance to find her," he stated.

Tabahn shrugged.

"I'll think of something," the Khan said.

The door swung open. Several theme warriors rushed in with swords in their hands. They pushed Tabhan Khan's warriors to the walls, keeping their weapons close to the Baikals. Another theme warrior put a bowl of vinegar on the fireplace. Then, Demetrius and Theotokos stepped inside. Ganzaya followed them. Fear pulsed through Tabahn Khan.

"Have you brought him here to kill me?" he asked.

"No. We won't let him kill you," Theotokos answered. "But he will interrogate you if you don't tell him where his wife is."

Tabahn Khan burst out in laughter. Rage pulsed through Ganzaya. He reached for his sword, but Theotokos grabbed his arm. The Ulv calmed. Theotokos released him. A sadistic grin crossed Tabahn Khan's face.

"If you want to know what happened to your wife, Ganzaya, I will tell you. I was planning on telling you anyway," he said.

A sense of trepidation flowed through the Ulv.

"How do I know you won't lie to me?" Ganzaya asked.

Tabahn Khan turned to Demetrius.

"Magician, I heard your kind can cast spells that make people tell the truth. Do you have any spells like that?" the Khan questioned.

Demetrius scoffed.

"Of course, I have one of those spells, you fool," he lied before thinking. "It looks like Tabahn Khan doesn't have any experience with spellcasters. He'll probably believe anything I tell him about magic."

The dark magician waved a hand through the air. He spoke in Remen, not the Uureg language the people in this room were speaking.

"Hoc non est verum magicae," Demetrius stated.

He then gave Tabahn Khan a glare that could cut ice.

"If you tell a lie before Sunset today, you will die," the dark magician said.

Named Entities that Fear You: 180.

Shock covered Theotokos.

"We can't kill a prisoner!" he shouted.

"Silence!" Demetrius ordered. "As long as Tabahn Khan tells the truth, he is safe. If he dies, it's his fault, not ours."

The boy held in a sigh.

"I forgot that Theotokos doesn't have much experience with spellcasters. I'm probably the only magician that he spent more than a few moments around," Demetrius thought.

Tabahn Khan was trembling with fear. But calm slowly overtook his body once more. The Khan gave Ganzaya a smug smirk.

"This is nothing. I wasn't planning on lying in the first place," Tabahn said.

"Then talk, fast. The Remens won't let me kill you, but I can do anything else I want. Tell me which man you forced my wife to marry," Ganzaya demanded.

Tabahn Khan laughed.

"None of them. And before you ask, no, I didn't make her my wife either. I had a different fate in store for her," the Khan's expression turned cruel. "You see, Ganzaya, we made sure to attack the Ulvs on a day when you were absent. That way, we'd be certain that you would never be able to save your wife."

The Ulv glared.

"So, attacking my tribe was all to get at Khaliun?" Ganzaya asked.

Tabahn Khan scoffed.

"Don't be egotistic, Ganzaya. The Ulvs are my enemies. I would have slaughtered you all sooner or later. I merely decided that I'd get my perfect revenge on you at the same time," the Khan answered.

With a hateful gaze, Tabahn leaned forward, his head pointed at Ganzaya.

"Your father killed my son, but he died before I could get my hands on him. So, I'm taking my revenge on you. Your wife has paid the price for your father's actions," Tabahn Khan said.

Demetrius had to suppress the feelings of anger welling up within him.

"That's completely insane, even for a barbarian!" he thought.

A look of disgust crossed Ganzaya's face.

"You insane bastard! My father killed your son, so you kidnap Khaliun? She had nothing to do with this!" the Ulv shouted.

A sadistic grin crossed Tabahn Khan's face.

"Someone had to suffer for my son's death. And by making your wife suffer, I'd make you suffer too," he said.

Ganzaya drew his sword, quick as a flash, and pointed it at Tabahn Khan.

"Tell me what you did to Khaliun!" the Ulv shouted.

Tabahn Khan's grin widened.

"We took her back to our camp. There, I tossed her into my tent. I had a go at her. I made sure it was as long and painful as possible. Then, I let my personal guard take her. All of them at once. Then, one at a time. I took her once more after that," he said.

A look of sheer horror crossed Ganzaya's face. The Ulv's breathing became frantic. Nausea welled up in Demetrius.

"You bastards. You...you...you..." Ganzaya couldn't bring himself to finish that sentence.

"We gang-raped her," Tabahn stated. "I made sure to use a sw...well, let's just say that she has scars down there now."

Ganzaya rushed forward, sword swinging through the air. The theme warriors grabbed his body. They held Ganzaya back as the Ulv frothed with rage. Demetrius and Theotokos' expressions were cold. Tabahn Khan burst out laughing.

"The funny thing is, she thought you were going to save her! She kept screaming your name, begging for you to rescue her! She prayed to the gods that they'd deliver you to her! And you didn't even know which of our camps she was in!" Tabahn mocked.

With a roar, Ganzaya broke free from one of the theme warriors, but Theotokos grabbed the Ulv and helped the others hold him back.

"Where is my wife! Tell me where she is, you bastard!" Ganzaya hollered.

"I don't know where she is," Tabahn Khan said. "Probably somewhere in the Southeast. We sold her into slavery."

Ganzaya's eyes turned bloodshot, pulsing with horrible rage.

"You monster! You reduced Khaliun, the wife of the greatest warrior of the Ulvs, to a mere slave?"

His teeth gnashed together. Foam frothed from Ganzaya's mouth. Tabahn Khan laughed louder.

"A woman of her status can handle rape, but being made a slave? Even a man couldn't handle that! I'd sooner kill myself than be a slave! And the funniest thing is that your wife was calling for you to save her, even as we loaded her onto the Alfara slave ship! She still thought you were going to save her!" Tabahn Khan said.

Ganzaya struggled harder than ever, but the theme warriors held him in place.

"You bastard! I'll kill you!" he shouted.

Tabahn Khan grinned.

"No, you won't. The Remens won't let you kill me. And by the time I'm out of their custody, it'll be far too late."

Demetrius stepped out of the room while Tabahn Khan laughed and Ganzaya shouted. Two theme warriors were on watch outside the door.

"You two," the dark magician said. "We need more men, and you can't be entirely useless. Come with me."

He stepped back inside, approaching Tabahn Khan. The two theme warriors followed Demetrius.

"Tabahn Khan, are you well enough to ride a horse?" Demetrius asked.

"I am," the Khan answered.

"Then it's time for you to leave."

Shock crossed Tabahn's face.

"You're just letting me go? Not waiting for a ransom?" he questioned.

Demetrius shrugged.

"We're not waiting for a ransom, but it's not as simple as letting you go. Restrain him."

The two theme warriors grabbed Tabahn Khan and pushed him down on the bed. While the Khan's men tried to move to help their leader, the theme warriors restraining them pressed their swords closer. Blood leaked from a few of the elite guards, and they all stopped in their tracks. Demetrius walked over to the fireplace. He pulled out a red-hot iron poker.

"What are you doing? You said you wouldn't kill me!" Tabahn Khan shouted.

"We're not going to kill you," Demetrius assured him. "Unlike you barbarians, we don't kill captured enemies. You might be a monster even by barbarian standards, but we won't stoop to your level."

Tabahn Khan gazed at the item in Demetrius' hand.

"Then why are you holding that?" he asked.

"I'm going to blind you," Demetrius answered.

The Khan turned pale with fear.

"You'll blind me?"

"Yes. We're not going to kill you," Demetrius said. "But I can't let you lead any armies against us."

Tabahn Khan struggled, trying to break free of the theme warriors. But their hold was too tight.

"Please! Don't do this! Don't let me live a life blind on the steppe! Just kill me!" the Khan begged.

Ganzaya stopped struggling.

"The magician's spell would have killed you if that was a lie," he said.

Tabahn Khan turned to the Ulv.

"Ganzaya wants revenge! Let him kill me! Don't blind me! You're doing this for him, right?" his voice was filled with desperation.

"That would be funny if it wasn't pathetic," Theotokos glared. "While I sympathize with what happened to Ganzaya's wife and I hope he's able to save her from slavery, what one barbarian does to another barbarian isn't any of our business. We're blinding you so you won't be a threat to the Remen Empire."

Demetrius nodded.

"And you have no one to blame for this but yourself, Tabahn Khan. I could hear the mockery in your voice and see your smug smirk. You intend to attack us again. We cannot allow that," he said.

"No, no, don't blind me! Just kill me!" Tabahn looked at the poker with sheer terror in his eyes.

Demetrius approached the Khan, leaning over him with iron poker in hand.

"If you want to die so badly, kill yourself. But only after we've set you free. We're not letting you die on our watch," he said.

"Please, have mercy! Kill me!" Tabahn begged.

Demetrius scoffed.

"This is mercy," he said. "And only a barbarian like you would think it isn't."

The poker thrust down. It jabbed into Tabahn's eye. There was a great sizzling as the iron struck, the Khan letting out a scream of agony from the burning pain. Demetrius withdrew the poker, Tabahn's eyes coming out with it. Then, he plunged the iron into Tabahn's other eye.

As the Khan writhed in agony, Demetrius walked over to the fireplace. He looked into the bowl of vinegar. Bubbles were forming in it as the liquid boiled. Demetrius picked up the bowl, walking back over to the Khan.

He poured the boiling vinegar into Tabahn's eyes. Another roar of agony echoed through the room. Ganzaya looked on with satisfaction.

For a while, Tabahn Khan screamed in agony. Eventually, these hollers died down. The theme warriors grabbed Tabahn Khan and forced him up the moment they did. Aside from the men restraining the Khan's guards, everyone moved down the stairs and out of the building.

A crowd of onlookers gathered as Tabahn Khan was brought to the village gates. A theme warrior walked over, holding the reigns of a horse that followed him.

"A Baikal horse. Some of our scouts captured it," he said.

"Are you well enough to ride, Tabahn Khan, or are you still too hurt from your blinding?" Demetrius asked.

The Khan was breathing heavily. He shook in pain and fear.

"I can get on a horse, but how can I ride? I can't see anything! Please, just kill me, damn you!" Tabahn shouted.

Demetrius turned to the theme warriors.

"Put him on the horse. Tie him there if you have to," he ordered.

They did as commanded, and Tabahn was put on horseback. The Khan took a deep breath, trying to alleviate some of his pain.

"Let me take some of my men with me so they can guide me to my camp," Tabahn requested.

Demetrius shook his head.

"No. They will be released when their ransoms arrive," he said.

"How will I get back to my people when I'm blind?" Tabahn Khan shouted, panic flowing through his voice.

"That's your problem, not ours," Demetrius replied. "If you're lucky, your people will find you before the wolves do. Now, go."

The gate was closed behind Tabahn Khan. With no other option, he rode into the steppe.

Tabahn's people would find him three days later. They only recognized his wolf-eaten carcass because of the clothes he was wearing. The rest was nothing but bone and scraps that even the wolves and vultures wouldn't eat.