Welcome To My Dark Side

Chapter 23 Friend Or Foe

Fractureverse Lyria had managed to reach the Nether with General Hogsworth's help in enough time to be treated. The original agreement had been followed through. The end crystals were given to the Nether King and in exchange Fractureverse Lyria received a huge payment of netherite bars along with being promoted to a major in the Nether army. After she recovered from her injury then she would be stationed with the wither angels. Lady Kaia saw this as a great opportunity and apprenticed the girl because she believed that she could train her up to be an excellent areomancer and a good challenger against the Blue Angel. Hogsworth too had not gone unrewarded and he was reissued with a full set of netherite armour as well as receiving a knighthood from the King Naeus for his struggles. It seemed like a great outcome for the Nether but not everyone was happy with these decisions.

Lord Zarkos was particularly troubled by these arrangements, which was why he had come to the throne room to privately discuss his concerns with King Naeus. He felt that the king ought to be informed of potential future problems if left unresolved. As the archnecromancer of the Nether Horde, Zarkos was highly regarded and respected by the top figures in the Nether, which often included the king and thus people often would listen to his advice. Sometimes people would even seek out his advice as more often than not his advice would be accurate.

The throne room in the newly built palace was rather duly decorated. There were no glamorous paintings or tapestries. No titled mosaics or hand woven carpets laid the floor. Statues of deceased rulers; golden treasures and spoilers of previous wars were absent. The room might have been bare but that wasn't to say that it was empty for there were two guards for each exit, there were two guards on either side of throne and there were two guards for the only objects of interest in the room, which were the end crystals and even then they were only a recent addition. The reason for this lack of fine furnishings was not because of the palace's recent construction but because it had intentionally been designed that way so that the Nether King would be the only thing there to look at and admire.

Lord Zarkos entered the throne room "Your majesty." He said, taking a bow in front of the Nether King. "I wish to express my thoughts on letting that human join the wither angels." He explained with him almost hissing as he said the word human. Humans were not exactly liked in the Nether. To the Nether they seemed inferior, weak and overall the complete opposite to everything everyone in the Nether stood for. "Do care to explain to me why this is an issue for I do not see any reasons for concern." Replied King Naeus as he waved his skeletal hand in dismissal.

"Your majesty, the wither angels are rebellious enough by themselves. Throwing an already turned traitor into the mix does not seem like a good idea." Lord Zarkos exclaimed. "Go on." King Naeus hissed, a little annoyed his time was likely being wasted. "Well your majesty, the girl looks like a recipe for disaster and clearly has the intention of causing mischief." Zarkos went on. "And what am I to do about it?" Naeus yelled, raising his voice. He was losing patience as he saw this as a pointless discussion as he believed he had chosen the right decision in the first place.

"I think it ought to be wise if Lady Kaia and Major Lyria were split up which would help to settle them both down. Perhaps one of them could be sent to the End to be put under Sir Karlos's supervision and the other to remain here in the Nether under..." suggested Zarkos as King Naeus cut him off. "By splitting off an apprentice from her mentor?" Naeus questioned him accusingly. "Yes, as they're only learning bad habits from each other. The wither angels are difficult enough to keep some kind of control over. We do not need to create a bigger problem for ourselves. That girl has already caused so many problems in such a short amount of time. She has..." argued Lord Zarkos. "I do not see any problems on the contrary Major Lyria has already outperformed any of you on her first day of joining the Horde." King Naeus said as he became more and more irritated.

He tapped his hand on the side of his throne as he calmed himself down. "Even should the wither angels cause us any trouble, we don't have to rely on them. With two end crystals taken from the Frostbourne they'll have lost this advantage. Soon our colours will be flying high above Dreadfort's highest towers." He assured Lord Zarkos. Getting up from his throne, he walked over to the side of the room where the crystals were placed on a stand with two guards standing on either side. "But you are not just a one man army, your majesty." Zarkos sighed. The king was not listening to his advice and it was becoming obvious that King Naeus was fed up with him.

Naeus turned around and started to reapproach Zarkos. His netherite feet made a loud echoing sound as he walked slowly but confidently towards the mage. "You are a very valuable person to the Horde." Naeus said as he circled around Lord Zarkos. "Your knowledge, expertise and experience are irreplaceable. It would be such a terrible shame if we had to lose you as it would be hard to find another archnecromancer that's good enough at such short notice." He whispered in a sinister and threatening manner. The meaning of his words was subtle but clear and Lord Zarkos was now feeling uncomfortable. "Yes it would be your majesty." Zarkos replied. He bowed respectfully at King Naeus and saw this as his cue to leave. The message was clear; know your place or pay the price.