Elemental Thief Part I : Child of Calamity

The Beginning of Darkness

Eskandar let go of control of his contact, stepping back and shaking his head as he sorted out the last couple of hours. He could spend days dissecting everything he had seen while walking with someone else's body in Clairval. He had learned a great deal about their enemy and there were dynamics, players, and powers there that he had not been expecting.

But he only had a moment.

He didn't have the luxury of time, so he allowed himself three steadying breaths before turning and walking from his office towards where the Emperor would be waiting for some form of report.

Eskandar didn't have to knock the soldiers at the doors, swinging them open and allowing him an audience with the Emperor, who was idly looking down at a table covered in a map of their known world.

The emperor was expecting the news of a death of someone important. Not some lesser known noble that could only possibly distract the Clairvalan general for a brief period of time. Even if it was something that Eskandar had himself warned against, he was the messenger of failure and, as such, he approached the topic cautiously.

People had been executed for less.

"Excellency." Eskandar bowed deeply, remaining there until he was commanded to rise. "The efforts to assassinate the Queen of Clairval have failed. From what I observed, an attempt to poison most of the court also failed. The only people who died were the assassin and the woman who stopped his attack, who was no one notable. There are several individuals of note who have access to enough power to be useful, if we can capture them, but they form a larger portion of the people who will actively fight us."

The Emperor watched him for a long moment, before finally looking down at the maps on the table, the anger rolling off of him. "So what do we have to show for all this effort?"

Eskandar shook his head slowly. "Possibly a more prepared enemy. I think we need to re-plan our attacks." He motioned to the vast stretches of water in between them. "Their main line of defence will be their navies. I don't think we should attack them in the open, but slowly whittle those away." He pointed to a stretch of islands that were barely visible. "With a proper chain of supply, we can rotate our assets out of here and eliminate them piece by piece as they wander too close towards us. They know our intent, but if we extend the war, I think we'll wear down their wariness and resources. People are easy to muster for a quick war on their soil, but if we kill off their fighters in the shadows, with no gain to be seen for them, I think people will lose their appetite for resistance. We have time to burn. In Clairval, their memories are short."

The Emperor watched him for a long moment before he inclined his head. "I like that plan, but I also want to send something forward, to instil fear and dissension in this truce they have formed. We will send them an emissary, and we will approach Clairval with an offer, after making sure they are afraid of us. After they have lost more than they thought, with no news, we will offer them a chance to capitulate. They will abandon their allies out of fear, but then we can start the real war."

It was several hours later by the time he made his way out of the Emperor's war room and back towards his own offices, stripping off his armour and moving into the back room, where he spent most of his nights, anyway. His villa was across the city and though he didn't need it, it was a gift to show his rank to the rest of the Empire. Eskandar usually spent his nights in a small room with a bed and a desk. It made no difference if it was in his office or the mansion that was filled with useless signs of wealth and station.

All gifts from people who wanted to have him in their pockets as he rose in power and became one of the most powerful generals in the empire.

Only after he had locked his doors and gone through his meditative, soothing ritual of winding down, did he sit down on the edge of his cot and confront the burning anxiety and anger that was threatening to overwhelm him.

He had never kept anything from the Emperor before, had never purposely refused to tell him a vital piece of information, and he couldn't find a reason he had started at this moment, when everything was falling into place.

He was anxious because of that traitorous heart that reared its ugly head in his chest, eating through the years of discipline and strength that had kept him a well edged weapon. He was angry because he had just about seen his daughter murdered, that the assassin would have injured his own blood while he watched unaware.

He hadn't even known she existed before she had spun around and ran towards the dying woman, but he recognised her mother the moment he saw her.

And when the girl began to use her power, he had recognised his own.

He had a child, had had one for years now, and she was only alive tonight because someone else had died trying to save her.

Eskandar assumed the woman had died.

He had seen the blood and the wound, knowing exactly what the damage would be. But he had never seen his power, the power of the empire, of every weapon that killed for the glory of the empire. He had never seen it used to power a healer in the way that it had that night. She had used both sides of herself, and he had almost sacrificed his contact to continue watching what happened.

He had left before he could see the end of it and had lost his contact, anyway. But he had seen the strange Rulin royal bloodline up close, had felt the power coursing through the man's body that would make wondrous weapons for the empire once they were collared.

But he had a daughter.

One that was more powerful than he could have imagined.

Eskandar told himself that he would find her, and bring her back to the Emperor himself, train her to be the most powerful weapon Xercosia had ever seen. He would teach her to enjoy killing as much as he did, and then she would be the one who brought Clairval, Vayana, and Rulin to their knees.