Sword and Crown I - Beginning

Chapter 14 - Punishment

The cave near the river was quiet when a swirl of dark energy appeared inside. The riders were panting, exhausted and defeated. The only rider able to stand gestured to his brethren. “Should I summon Lord Sardun?”

The others replied, “Even if we do not wish it, we are bound by the Crown. Summon him.”

Once again the wall of water appeared and Sardun’s back could be seen on the surface. “Congratulations, riders. Leave Galoren’s body and the boy in front of the mirror.”

The riders were silent, afraid even. They knew what Sardun was capable of doing. If they were still fully human, they would have fainted in fear.

“Riders, I said put the boy there. Why are you not following my orders?” and Sardun faced the mirror. This time they could see his face, pale as it was with his hazy, grey eyes and brown hair. “Riders”, he asked, “where are the captives?”

“There… are… no…”, stuttered a rider.

“There are no? There are no what? Complete the sentence rider.”

“There… are… no… cap—“

“By the Crown of Morgodor, complete the sentence!”

The rider froze and had a short seizure, not being able to control his movements yet alone his tongue. “There are no captives, Lord!” he said quickly and he lay still.

“No captives? You killed him? Well, that would be fine too. You did kill him, did you?”

“No my lord, he is alive.”

“Do you remember your last report, rider? Or am I going deaf? Can you repeat what you said?”

“He is alive. He still breathes”

“HOW DARE YOU NOT FOLLOW MY ORDERS! You know what will be the cost of your failure... Prepare!”

“Master, we were ambushed by the sage and—“

“I DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOUR EXCUSES! You are too weak, too… human. Now I know what punishment fits you. I will… remove your bodies but I will not make you fully ethereal; I will still leave enough solidity in you to wield both magic and a blade. It will be painful yet useful to Morgodor. Yes.. that's it!”

“Master, have mercy!”

“My mercy and my heart have been torn out long ago! You are disgrace itself, rider! Asking for mercy is a sign of weakness, of humanity. I will change that now. I will teach you to learn and follow my orders! IRILEA BOUNDEN!”

Out of the mirror blew black smoke. They took the form of hooded skeletons who pinned each rider to the wall. Sardun said, “Now, all of your humanity, flesh, and heart will be stripped from you. Your souls shall be filled with the power of the Crown itself and be trapped forever in service of Morgodor. This I sentence in the name of the Crown!”

Grey clouds issued form the hands of the hooded spirits. The grey clouds solidified and took the shape of short swords. The metal had rusted and the edge was dull, all the more to inflict pain to the helpless riders. Sardun watched as the dark souls did their gruesome work on the riders, tearing away flesh with the rusty blades. Bloodcurdling screams of agony and pain, and later, tortured souls were heard in the glade. The spirits stripped everything: flesh, muscle, organ, bone and with the riders feeling every mind-numbing pain. Hours passed and finally, the grizzly deed was done. Sardun raised his hand the spirits once again became dark fumes which returned and went into Sardun’s palm.

“Arise, riders. I have given you a small fraction of the Crown’s power in me. Together, you will be about… hmm, seventh-eights as strong as I. Now… I bind you to the service of the Crown. Fuiean Crownas Morgodor, so thaet cserbe ite etirnilae. Never will you express a single form of dissent and you will answer only to Morgodor and his general. Do I make myself clear?”

The riders stood. They were now dressed in new cloaks which once again covered their face, a simple plain of black with no mouth nor nose nor ears.  Nothing could be seen under the hood except the glare of their only facial feature, their pure red eyes. They, although bodiless, maintained the same shape and density of a human which allowed armor and their cloaks to rest on their dark figure. They answered in their same respective voices, “Yes, Lord.”

“Now go”, ordered Sardun, “I will not order you for now. But from this day forth, you will hear the whispering of my master’s conscience like I. Go and do what he orders.” And with that the riders left.

Sardun sat on his throne. He looked at the landscape of Balterror as seen from his terrace in front of him. The dark clouds obscured the sunlight, allowing only small rays to penetrate. Sardun sighed and thought of the glorious days laying siege on Arogath five hundred years ago. Suddenly, a whisper roused him.

‘SSSardun, tell me about the boy.’

“He is still alive, along with the last sage Galoren. Both will be troublesome to your plans, master. We should eliminate them now.”

‘No, we will defeat them sssoon but leave them be for now. Now we must focusss on finding the firssst piece of the Crown.’

“Yes, we—“

Sardun’s speech ended abruptly. He was so surprised by the sudden fluctuation of energy. The huge shockwave of dark energy rippled miles across the land, felt by all magic users. Sardun’s face hardened and said, “Master, the first piece is calling out.”

‘Yes, I sssenssse its presssence. It is wessst of where we are. I myself shall order the riders to search for it soon. In due time, the first piece ssshall be mine and I will be able to manifessst in Aerugaia. I ssshall walk the world again!’

“Master, we know that the first piece of the Crown will allow your spirit to go into this world. But we must remember that you will only be here ethereally. You will not have a tangible body. Therefore, you will not be able to use a sword and will only be able to use magic at short intervals which are few and far in-between.”

‘I do not care. What isss important isss that I be able to be there in Aerugaia and not in thisss dark hole! After five hundred yearsss, I long to get out of thisss black prissson. Hurry SSSardun, find the first piece quickly.’

“It will be done, Master Morgodor.”