Terramat's Deal (Terramat Series, Part One)

[Makira]

A large fortress of black diamond rose upon a desolate plateau. This abomination on the face of the once peaceful country of Keraiis was seen as a travesty by all. By the light of a full moon, the fortress would throw down an eerie violet light upon the people of the cities surrounding the plateau. Only twenty years earlier, Kerraiis had been a prosperous, peaceful country, ravaged by no one. That was before a power took hold. The power was a Triumvirate of unmatched power: Reiana, Sorceress of Crystal Darkness; Seraius, Diamondbreaker of the Great Sword; Terramat, Deceptive Assassin of Chaos...

The three of them, Sorceress, Diamondbreaker, and Assassin, destroyed the entire standing army of Keraiis. It was a sight to behold, and for one man, it was the end of the world. The king of Keraiis, known as Ferius, stood against Terramat, Reiana, and Seraius, fearing for the mistreatment of his people at the hands of the three obviously evil beings before him.

It was to his amazement that, while facing Terramat, he was stabbed in the back of the neck. It was then that he realized why they destroyed his standing army without losing so much as an ounce of blood. Terramat had avoided all attacks because his speed was so great that no attack could touch him, Reiana had magical protection that none could pierce, and Seraius had the great power of physical strength, knocking back anyone that even so much as looked at him wrong.

Twenty years of rule by the Triumvirate, and nothing has really changed with the country. Keraiis is a perfectly functioning country, and only the black diamond fortress in which the Triumvirate is housed shows that something sinister is in that country.

This is the world into which Makira has descended.




As the ship pulled into port, Makira wondered back into thinking about why she had been called to this out-of-the-way country... It made little sense to her that the ruling party of an entire country would want to meet with the head of a thieving organization.

However, the more she thought about it, the more sense it began making to her. If there was organized crime in the country so strong that the entirety of the competitors was either absorbed or killed off, then the strongest organized crime would be chosen by the government for destruction, or to be controlled by the government, while making it look like the government was trying to destroy the organized crime.

Makira had to admire the pure genius that went into thie thinking of the people in charge of this country, and began to wonder what she could squeeze out of this by way of a deal.

The ship stopped, and Makira disembarked, still thinking as to what she could gain from such a deal with the Triumvirate of this country. She had instructions on the best way to the fortress, but preferred her own direct approach. With very little ado, she rose into the air, her wings supporting her weight feeling much safer than the ship she had ridden in moments earlier.

After about twenty minutes of flying, she was knocking on the front door of the Triumvirate's fortress. After a few minutes of waiting, the door opened, and a servant offered to guide her to the hall of his masters. The servant was an elf, which was surprising in a country where the elven were not commonly seen. As a matter of fact, Makira had not seen any other race but human since disembarking from the boat. She didn't know whether this was a coincidence or because there was nothing but humans in this country.

The servant stopped her at a large door, fashioned from the same black diamond that made the rest of the fortress. "You have leave to enter, milady." The servant said before disappearing down the corridor and out of sight. Makira merely shrugged and opened the door, walking into a spcaious audience chamber.

"Stop walking, Makira Sheara, Mistress of the Silent Hand." A regal, somewhat discomfitting voice said through the darkness of the room. Makira stopped, wondering what was going to happen now that she stood before the three most powerful people in this country. "You know why you have been asked here, I presume?"

Makira took a stance of relative uncaring and said, "Yes, I suppose I do know... You want control of the crime in this country, so that no one, not even the criminals, will be out of your power, am I correct in this assumption?"

A female voice on the right hand side of the first to speak said, "You have amazing perception... Then you know that we want your Silent Hand to set up Headquarters in our country, the leader of this part of the Silent Hand answering to us and yourself?"

Makira nodded, her mind beginning to wander, before a booming voice of pure strength and anger, asked, "Why do we need her approval to do this?!"

"Silence, Seraius. We need her approval because she is one of the most influential people in the criminal world. Also, we want her to help us conquer the rest of this world of Althanas, which we so conveniently tumbled into again, after our ten thousand years of imprisonment." The first voice, presumably the most powerful of the three, Terramat, said. "We can give you anything you require, Makira, just name it, and we'll have an agreement for your help."

Makira thought long and hard, and said, "I want the Silent Hand to become a government-backed organization capable of doing anything it wants at any time, without lawfulretribution in any lands that you control." her afterthought, If they get caught and killed while stealing, that's their own damned fault, however...

"Hmm... We have a deal, I suppose... We have declared war against all other countries, so I suppose they may be sending heroes in to dispatch us before the wars even begin. I propose you stay, and see the strength of the side you have decided to join." Terramat said, revealing his face, black skin with green eyes, framed by white hair. A Dark Elf if Makira had ever seen one. Makira hung back in the shadows and said, "Why not? I have nothing to do for now..."

[Zerith]

Originally, Zerith wasn’t one to believe in gods. There was a difference in acknowledging the possibility of their existence and actually believing it. In the past, the halberdier thought that just in case they did exist, he’d offer a prayer and hope that the powerful beings would help him. If his survival was due to the powers of a god or due to his own ability was anyone’s guess. But if it was because of a god, then Zerith was thankfully he did take that time to pray, regardless of which one answered it.

The way he saw it, if there really were gods, why did they allow so much suffering? If they created Althanas, they wouldn’t they want to care for it? Then if that was true, then why did they allow so much suffering? Didn’t they care about all the people that were being killed by others? What about the sick and dying? If gods really did exist, then wouldn’t they use their powers to put an end to all of that suffering? Although Zerith acknowledged the possibility that there really were gods and goddesses, reality showed that the deities were just fictional characters used to explain certain phenomenon.

But that all changed suddenly, when one god spoke to the halberdier.

The first encounter happened in a dream. In it, Zerith found himself with his halberd in his hands and standing in the black and white world of the Antifirmament. No color existed, everything was comprised of the two shades. The hills, the sky, the grass and even Zerith himself all lacked the bright colors they held back in the firmament. Not a single soul was around, this time there was no brigade on the side of the road, no vicous attack by the ghost of Marcus and no rescue by Ganitorax. This time the halberdier was truly alone underneath the black sky. Then he suddenly fell forward as the ground shook and a loud crash was heard behind him. Immediately the halberdier turned around to see what the cause was. However once he did, his eyes widened with surprise as they witnessed something they had never seen before.

Standing before him and staring in his blue eyes, was a fully grown dragon. It was enormous, large enough that it could easily break the human in half with a single claw. Surprisingly it still held color, the healthy green scales looked tough enough to repel any weapon. Behind it’s head was a large ruff of skin and as it’s emerald eyes started intently at the human, it flapped it’s massive wings twice before folding them. As the halberdier stood in both fear and in awe, the creature spoke. His voice seemed to echo throughout the entire antifirmament, “Zerith Dracosius. You’re just as small as I thought you would be. But then again you are human.”

The halberdier had to take a moment and make sure he could still talk before answering. “What? How do you know my name?”

“It is easier to just accept the fact that I do know it. I needed to know it in order to bring you here,” the dragon answered.

Puzzled, Zerith responded, “Here? This is just a dream I’m having.”

“You are wrong again,” the creature replied. “I brought you here, for I am in need of one like you. Though you are right to say you’re dreaming. The truth is I took that opportunity to bring your subconscious here before me. Think of it more of a vision, one granted to you by a higher authority.”

“Really? Just what kind of ‘higher authority’ would be in need of my help?”

Suddenly the dragon began to decay rapidly, his scales peeled off and crumble as the skin of his wings began to rot. “Although you will have a hard time accepting this, you're just going to have to. I am Draconus the Ancient, the Wyrm-God and a elder god of the Thayne. We do exist Zerith, and I am one of the few that have heard your few prayers. Although you lack faith, I decided to make my presence known to you to give you a reason to believe in me. I am in need of you, and if you were to doubt my existence then that would have posed a problem to me.”

Zerith was shocked, for good reason too. A god was speaking to him and needed his help. Though he was a little bit unsure on how to accept all this, the halberdier decided it was best to pursue this further. If he really was being spoken to by Draconus, then he’d join the few and serve the god. But if this really wasn’t one of the Thayne, he’d only know for sure by doing what he asked. Besides, how often does one get to vision from a god? Although he wasn’t sure of what to believe now, if this was the real deal then Zerith would begin to believe that gods did exist, starting with Draconus.

“Very well,” the halberdier replied. “Just what is it that you need me to do?”

“Although I have a lot of patience, it has run out for a certain individual. He is now known as Seraius, Diamondbreaker of the Great Sword and is one of my Dragonians. However, he turned away from me and instead pursues his own selfish ambitions. I need you to go to Keraiis, there you will find a large fortress made from black diamond. You are to enter it and defeat Seraius and his comrades, the so-called ‘Triumvirate”.

Looking up at the decaying dragon, Zerith answered, “Let me see if this is correct. You want me to travel to Keraiis and kill three people all because one of them doesn’t believe in you anymore?”

“Unfortunately, this goes beyond the history between Seraius and I,” the Wyrm-God answered. As he finished that statement, the decaying stopped. Leaving a enormous undead dragon in it’s place. It’s bones were covered in dried blood along with a few pieces of muscle and flesh. The emerald eyes were no more, instead only two empty eye socket remained with the large dragon skull that somehow managed to speak even without a tongue. “The Triumvirate threaten Althanas, Zerith. They have even declared war on the world. So I am sending you to get rid of them now on order to avoid seeing war destroy the world I helped create. If I remember correctly I believe you have a certain reason to fight as well. A certain loved one you hold close to your heart.”

Zerith’s eyes widened, “What? How do you know that?”

“I am a god. You can be surprised at some of the things I know when it comes to those I choose to fight on my behalf. Although if ensuring a loved one’s survival isn’t enough. I will also reward you upon completion of this task. So do we have an agreement?”

What else could Zerith say. If not fighting meant even more war, then that would mean only more battles. “Yes. I will go to Keraiis and deal with Seraius and his friends. If it means stopping a war before it engulfs others, I’ll do it.”

***

Sapphire eyes stared out across the water at the foreign land of Keraiis. From where he stood, it looked no different from Corone, Moriah or Fallien. Yet apparently this one was a threat to all the other countries and their inhabitants. Yet only the rulers knew of the problem and they were probably busy counting their soldiers and seeing how much military power they had while the rest of Althanas had no clue. Yet none of those governments were aware of the single boat was about to dock a Keraiis, instead they were concerned with the ships they probably sent. While each one of them probably sent their own heroes to deal with the Triumvirate, not a single soul knew of the halberdier that was arriving first.

As the shipped docked, Zerith took one last look at the black fortress in the distance before getting off the ship. Holding onto his pole-arm tightly, the young halberdier began the walk to the fortress and to clash with Triumvirate…

…All because Draconus the Ancient willed it.

[MetalDrago]

MetalDrago had just been sleeping in the Concordia forest when he received word from Phoenix that there was news that a foreign country had declared war on the whole of Althanas. Who would be sop stupid as to attempt to do so was beyond MetalDrago, but… The more he thought about it, the more certain he became that only three people he knew of would ever be stupid or proud enough to do that: Terramat, Seraius, and Reiana. How he could have missed it, he had absolutely no idea, but he did. Now, it was his duty to hunt them down. He knew that Terramat outmatched him, but perhaps some of the people sent to help dispatch the Triumvirate, as they called themselves, would be able to help him.

The only person that MetalDrago actually feared was Seraius himself. Of course, MetalDrago could easily best him, but sibling ties were another matter. MetalDrago remained uncertain whether or not he would be able to overcome it in order to destroy Seraius, as he knew he must do in order to defeat Terramat at the end. Seraius was a powerhouse of muscle, but lacked the brains to use it effectively. Reiana and Terramat were the heavy hitters of the intellectual fighting styles of magic and speed. Seraius relied on strength alone to get him through his fights, and his large and muscular body, and his body’s natural resistance to being damaged, made him almost as hard as Terramat and Reiana to be harmed, much less killed.

MetalDrago was forced into a decision he didn’t want to make. Should he go to Keraiis, he would likely be defeated, and possibly killed if Terramat, Reiana, or Seraius caught wind of him. However, it was unlike him to ever leave something this terrible unattended to, even if his chances of succeeding her near zero. He was like a leech to those Triumvirate fools. He refused to give them the pleasure of having him dead, because he would continue to drain the life out of them as he continued to build power in his own respects. He was faster now, but not as fast as Terramat’s nearly invisible speeds. He could be behind a person before they go through looking at him being in front of them.

MetalDrago looked at Phoenix and said, “I suppose it is indeed time… Terramat’s poked his head out of the hole. This means that we can finally cut him down like the weed to the world as he is.” The one thing that worried MetalDrago was that Terramat seemed even stronger than he had during the tournament they had both taken part in all those years ago. In fact, Terramat had stated that he had been training in the other Realm for almost ten thousand years. That made MD more than a little nervous about facing him again.

Even so, MetalDrago had decided many years ago that when push came to shove, he would be the one shoving. He nodded to Phoenix and dropped from his tree in Concordia. He called it his tree because he slept in it whenever he was in Corone. The branch seemed to have been made for the sheer purpose of helping him sleep better in the clear skies of Corone.

He walked out of Concordia, saving his energy of flight for when he would really have to use it. It took him a number of hours to reach the breakers of the sea which led to a small island, nearly invisible from the shore. MetalDrago would take twenty minutes to get there by his own wings at the worst of times, and as the sky was agreeable this day, he would be able to make it in a very short amount of time. He stepped forward and began flapping his wings, lifting him and allowing him to be carried across the sea to the island.

The island was inhabited by a single dragon. Many feared her, but not many understood her. She was a lazy dragon, but not unreliable. MetalDrago had long before made friends with her in the hopes of one day gaining a favor from her. They visited constantly, and MetalDrago was sure she would be able to assist him.

The dragon, Eira by name, opened one of her gigantic eyes in greeting to MetalDrago. When she saw how agitated he was, she stood to her full forty feet and asked, “My dear little cousin, what is wrong?” MetalDrago responded with the long and complicated story of Terramat’s arrival back in this realm, and then how he was located in Keraiis, and Eira said, “Okay… You need a lift, right? Get on. I can get us there in only a few hours.” MetalDrago thanked her and climbed on.



____Later____
Eira was descending into Keraiis, and MetalDrago was awoken by Phoenix, having taken the lull before the storm as proper opportunity to rest. It was time. Time to see if Terramat was worthy or not. Time to see if MetalDrago would be ready to stand against his most hated enemy and rival. Even if Terramat was not planning to conquer the world, MetalDrago would have searched him out for the sheer purpose of removing him from his high horse.

Keraiis was a beautiful city, seemingly bejeweled and radiant underneath the midday sun. However, during the morning, the Black Diamond Fortress would bathe the city in a deep purple light, casting into eerie relief the world that had once been so peaceful on this simple island nation. Terramat… You will pay… MetalDrago thought as he thanked his friend Eira and jumped off, gliding down on his wings to get to the dock of the city. He was certain that if he landed much closer to the Fortress, he would be killed by the palace guards and the standing army that Terramat had undoubtedly assembled.

[Blue_Angel_eyes]

The rocking of the waves had put Faith into an easy sleep, curled up in the back of a cargo ship. She had been in a hurry to leave Scaera after Makira had left her. She had come to think of Makira as a close companion, and more importantly, a friend. When she had woken one morning to find the avian gone it had felt like a knife in her heart. To cover up the pain she had taken the first ship out of Scaera, not caring where it went. All that mattered was that it went off the small island, and that it had.

The boat itself was a large cargo ship owned by a wealthy merchant. Apparently he was moving his goods from one storage facility, and the majority of it was textile. It had taken some persuasion for the merchant to even let her aboard. Finally Faith had just stared him in the eye and asked how he thought she was going to smuggle bolts of silk off the ship, tie it to the wolf’s stomach? Thinking this over, the man grudgingly agreed to let her come if she stayed out of the way. This was fine by Faith.

The wolf was curled up beside her sleeping friend, looking at Faith, worry thick in her onyx eyes. She weakly lifted her head and licked Faith once on the cheek with her rough tongue. She knew Faith well enough, and was worried that this Makira thing was hurting her more than she let on. The she-wolf hadn’t minded Makira’s leaving all that much. She had never liked the avian, and liked the phoenix familiar even less. Ever since the fight in the citadel in Corone, Maya had had nothing but dislike for the overgrown fire-pigeon. She had tolerated it for Faith’s sake alone.

But Faith had grown to care about Makira. It was good for her to have another humanoid companion, someone to talk to normally. Someone who thought and felt like her. Maya and Faith were joined souls but they were from separate worlds, built differently. Makira had been someone who could talk to and strategize with. And now that Makira was gone, Faith was hurt and she was running away. Maya didn’t like it.

The boat drew to slow stop and Faith groggily raised her head, looking around in a dazed fashion. She stood and stretched, yawning gently.

“Come on, Maya.” She urged softly. Maya nodded her head, happy to get out of the wooden box. While the wolf would tolerate boats, she was no great fan. She got to her feet and nudged Faith, who smiled sleepily at her and rubbed the she-wolf’s head affectionately.

As they exited the ship, Faith underwent a thorough examination as the merchant made sure she wasn’t smuggling any of his precious silk or satin off the ship. When the short pot-bellied man was content, she walked off the ship and onto the dock. She still felt a little dazed, the after-effects of being woken suddenly from a deep sleep.

Maya stopped suddenly, claws digging into the wood of the dock. She growled low in her throat the sound coming out soft but angry. The fur on the back of her neck rose and soon she was a fearsome thing to look upon, teeth barred, silver hair raised.

“…Maya?” Faith asked suddenly, looking down at her long-time friend. She felt herself wake up instantly, sense straining to catch what the wolf had caught.

The wolf sprinted forward, snapping viciously as she ran.

“MAYA!” Faith exclaimed, breaking into a run after her, using one hand to hold down the hat her hair and ears were tucked into.

Then Faith smelled it. The smell of ash and brimstone, yet cleaner somehow. It was the smell of fire without the smell of smoke. Faith had only encountered that once and it had been…

Faith caught up with Maya, who was standing her ground and growling dangerously, and stopped short. She saw it, the phoenix flapping it’s wings lazily to stay in the air. The beautiful fiery bird that could be reborn from it’s own ashes. She had only seen a phoenix one other time and that had been with…

She walked forward toward the bird, looking around for her friend. She pushed past some large dragon-looking person who was standing near the phoenix. She walked right up to it, reaching out blindly with one hand, barely thinking.

“Makira?” She asked, her voice confused.

[MetalDrago]

MetalDrago watched as more and more ships landed on the island. “How could such a majestic region be controlled by the evil Triumvirate. Terramat has done nothing to change the economy or hinder the freedoms of the people here. It is confusing…” MetalDrago said as he looked to Phoenix. She sent him the feeling that she did not know, either. They both sighed before a girl rushed by him, looking at Phoenix and saying, “Makira?”

MetalDrago turned at that name. “Makira? That thieving witch is here?!” he asked, his voice one of shock. It was bad enough that Maera had a deal going with Terramat and his Triumvirate, but if Makira was on this island, it would cause some interesting things to happen. “That means that the Silent Hand has a stake in this…” Of course, MetalDrago knew Makira from a meeting with Maera Makia sometime ago. Makira was Maera’s right hand woman. Maera had trusted Makira to protect her from MetalDrago’s anger as he learned what Maera had planned with the Triumvirate. Maera wanted power for her guild, nothing more, nothing less.

Makira must have been here to keep up the part of the bargain that the Silent Hand promised. It was impossible to imagine, but since Maera was the leader of the Silent Hand, who better to send out on a mission to help the Triumvirate than Makira, the Avian of Black Fire? MetalDrago felt a bitter burning sensation inside of his heart as he turned to look at the girl who was talking about Makira. She was looking at Phoenix. Of course! Makira had that Shadow Phoenix, Lira! No wonder the girl mistook Phoenix as Makira’s… But, MetalDrago still felt uneasy. Something was going to happen soon, he had no doubt, and then Terramat, Reiana, and Seraius would know he was here, and they would stop at nothing to kill him.

“Young woman, that is my Phoenix, and Makira… She’s not someone who is worth trusting. She is a thief, and evil as they come. She’s working with the Triumvirate, of that I am certain. Terramat, Reiana, and Seraius are controlling her right at this very moment.” MetalDrago didn’t know that Makira, as the new head of the Silent Hand, was working with the Triumvirate toward the same goals Maera had in mind the entire time.

MetalDrago turned around to see someone else , walking with a halberd toward the fortress of the Triumvirate. “Friend, stop!” MetalDrago yelled, his green eyes open with worry. “They expect people to come right at them! If you wait, there is a better way to take them on! Physical force against these people is nothing. They throw soldier away like garbage!” MetalDrago did not know he was speaking to someone as strong as this man was, but he knew that even some of the most powerful beings in the world would not stand a chance if the Triumvirate decided to work together.

MetalDrago walked up to the man, to make sure that he would stop. “I’m no fool. I know those three. Reiana, Seraius, and Terramat are not dumb enough to be unprepared for a warrior, no matter how strong, to step forward to face them. Heed my warning. Do not enter their fortress unprepared.” MetalDrago’s dragonian eyes alighted with green fury as he looked from the man to the Black Diamond fortress at the top of the plateau. Seraius, the most vile of all dragonian kind, was up there, and he was going to pay for betraying the other dragonians… Of that, MetalDrago would make sure.

[Zerith]

Why couldn’t this task be a simple one? All the halberdier had to do was deal with a single individual and his friends, then his job would be over. But things just had to get complicated as suddenly Zerith found himself in a place to witness the beginning of an attempt at war. The voice in Zerith’s head told him he had the chance to stop the war from even starting. All he had to do was kill the three people that wanted to start the conflict. How hard could that be?

Apparently, someone believed that it was a lot harder then the halberdier originally thought. At first, Zerith simply decided to ignore the both the stranger and advice. “Hmpf, I’d like to know how you know all of that,” the halberdier thought. But before Zerith could continue on his long walk to the black fortress that stood in the distance, the stranger seemed to step out of his comfort zone and stepped in front of the halberdier.

“Let’s say you’re right about what you said,” Zerith replied. “That they throw away soldiers like garbage. If that’s true then they would treat their own men the same way. If you or I stay here, then it’d be only a matter of time until we find ourselves having to cut through them just to even see that black fortress. I don’t know about you, but I want to get as close to that building as I possibly can before they start throwing obstacles at me.”

“But if you’re so all knowing then tell me, what won’t the three of them expect?” the halberdier asked. “Because by the way you talk about them, you make it seem like they know every move I can make before even I realize it. And since you claim to know them so well, then why didn’t you stop things from getting his far?”

Zerith didn’t have the patience for this, he just wanted finish this task as soon as possible. Since he didn’t have an army behind him, the halberdier believed he wouldn’t stand a chance if Triumvirate sent an army of their own to overwhelm him. As far as he knew he was still under the radar, and as long as he was under the radar he was safe.

If only he had known how wrong he was.

[Makira]

Makira watched in appreciation as Terramat set forth with the organization of his troops. Disposable troops would be sent first to deal with the small problem that had washed up on his shore. “Gauge the enemy first, to see just how strong they really are. In this case, I know the strength of one, but not the other. Dear Makira, you’re about to see the downfall of the only man to have ever defeated me in battle, MetalDrago Scorpio…”

Makira nodded her head slightly, not really listening, until she heard the name MetalDrago. “I’ve heard of him before, Terramat. Actually, I’ve met him. He probably remembers me for who I am, though. He’d not hesitate to kill me out of the protection of the Silent Hand.” Makira said, her eyes flashing dangerously in Terramat’s direction. If this was a set up, she was going to leave immediately and make sure never to return to give her help to the Triumvirate. Of course, she didn’t think that Terramat’s worst enemy would be one to obtain help from him in killing Makira, she wasn’t one to take chances.

“Of course not, my dear… I would never betray a potential ally. That’s something that… unlike Seraius, I would never even think of doing. I give you my word.” Makira somehow knew that Terramat meant exactly what he said. When he made deals, he kept them, but his iron will would never bend to that of someone else unless he saw the gain in it for himself. Makira could respect this man, and his intentions for the world, as his were similar in fashion to Maera, except he wanted to rule from where everyone could see him, and Maera wanted to rule from the shadows, where she could manipulate things like a puppeteer, never being seen or heard, but always a presence, whether you knew it or not.

“Reiana… Come here, please.” At his words, a Shadow Seraph, presumably Reiana, since Makira had never gotten a clear look at her, appeared before them. “You wanted me, Terramat?” Her voice, thin and icy, complemented her look of complete indifference. Something told Makira that even the woman’s anger was as frozen as the Salvic tundra.

“Yes, I did… You’re to lead the troops, make an appearance, perhaps fight whoever is coming in, and make a nuisance of yourself, just to make them annoyed enough to attempt a charge straight up the front. You know how MetalDrago has become over the last few months since we killed that worthless apprentice of his.” Terramat’s regal voice detracted nothing from the cruelty just waiting to break through his façade of an honorable ruler.

Reiana nodded, bowed, and left, leaving Makira and Terramat alone with some fifty soldiers filing out behind Reiana.

____Reiana____
Reiana stepped forward, ready to kill anyone who would try and remove the Triumvirate. Her face was a mask of indifference, effectively holding in check every emotion she had. She felt a cold pleasure in killing people for no reason, but Terramat had forbidden it. She was happy to at last have this chance to make some pain and death appear on this desolate, prospering landscape. In her opinion it was only desolate in the fact that few deaths ever littered the ground there.

The men stood forward, heading directly toward the pier, and Reiana smiled. As the cobblestone streets clicked with the armor of some, with the padded soles of others adding to the chorus, it seemed to feel the expectancy that blood would be spilled this day. Whether those of the soldiers or the people who were their targets, it had not a clue.

The soldiers quickly surrounded the peer, seeming to appear by magic. Indeed, that was what happened, in truth. Reiana had teleported them the last little ways to the pier, so the attackers would give the defenders nowhere to run. Her magic transport completed, Reiana appears herself above a single lantern post above the entire group of soldiers, her eyes flashing dangerously as she said, “Enemies of the Triumvirate, prepare to face your doom.”

(OOC: Just for the record, each soldier is in actuality equivalent in strength to a scarecrow wearing armor. They’re not even to be considered level zero. Expendable, so go ahead and kill as many as you want. Reiana, however, equals a full level twenty character by herself, so even her playing with you after the soldiers are destroyed will feel like your in a really bad fight.)