A Wolf's Kiss

Chapter IX - He Who Holds Control of Death

Abraxos hated the North. He hated the mountains, he hated the cold, and more than any of that he hated the Berserkers.

They were loud, they were crude, and it seemed they believed everything was best settled by a fight to the death.

The Crown was the last place Abraxos wanted to be, but Azazel had ordered he and Folios travel there, to oversee the invasion.

Folios seemed to feel right at home with the Berserkers, he was more interested in winning them over with tricks of his than actually planning their attack. And he seemed to be quite good at entertaining them, too. The Berserkers worshiped only the god of death, and he who holds control of death, becomes their god. Or so Folios seemed to think.

He was eager to show off his power to them, getting into many fights with them, a mistake of their own... only a fool chooses to fight a Malakite in hand to hand combat. They found themselves grow weak quickly, and Folios delighted so happily in their surprise the moment they realized they were not fighting a man. But it was when they fell to their knees begging for mercy that Folios really got his thrill, and the ones who didn't do as he liked met their end on their knees.

Azazel would not have approved of Folios' antics anymore than Abraxos did, but Folios was Azazel's own son, which meant he outranked Abraxos in authority.... and there was nothing that Abraxos could about that.

However, Folios' tricks had not been without benefit. Because of what he had done, the Berserkers truly believed they were gods, in some right, and that made them even more eager to participate in the invasion.

Already waiting for the two of them was Sammayra, a woman who had been serving Azazel and studied witchcraft in Narhiso. She was a clever woman, who had a reputation for being especially persuasive. Abraxos had heard of her, but hadn't personally met her until then. Her appearance left an instant impression on him. She had beautiful, long, silver and gold hair. Her eyes were black as night, and her lips were crimson red. She would have been so very beautiful, if she wasn't such a bitter person. She was a daughter of Aetheria, but there was no light in her.

It had been said that it was the curse of all Malakites to lust for the Aetherites... Abraxos had been surprised to find he did not feel that for Sammayra.

Sammayra had been gathering support from the Berserkers long before he and Folios had even set foot on Arcturia, and it seemed the entire tribe was ready to fight and die for the Iron Emperor.

The night they had arrived, all three of them sat around a single fire, planning their invasion.

"We will attack tomorrow morning, we'll march at dawn." Abraxos said, sharping his black steel sword against a whetstone.

"Morning? Shouldn't we wait for the night? So we may have the element of surprise?" Folios asked, impulsive as always.

"An Aetherite is at his most powerful at night, under the stars..." Sammayra said, holding her hands close to dying the flame. "It would not be wise to attack one then." She would know, she was after all an Aetherite herself.

Folios scoffed at the woman, probably for thinking her so audacious as to prove him wrong. "And what will we do once we have the Aetherite? Give him over to the Iron Emperor?"

Sammayra narrowed her eyes at Folios. "Once we have the Aetherite, there will be no need for the Iron Emperor."

Abraxos could tell that Folios was getting more annoyed with Sammayra with each passing second, because she obviously knew more of his father's plans than he did.