Deathless

Deathless Chapter Forty: Silence

Chapter Forty: Silence

Emperor Iepenel looked into his brother's eyes, and his brother Ashmur stared back at him. There was a coldness behind those eyes, and in them Iepenel saw none of the kindness and warmth that he had known in his childhood years. The Ashmur that stared back at him was not the man that he once knew.

His hands trembled as he looked into Ashmur, both of them intense and beckoning, neither willing to make the first move. It seemed as if Ashmur was daring him to be the first to speak. Iepenel maintained his stature. He did not wish to give in to the rebels' demands so easily. Brother or not, this man was his enemy.

After what seemed like an eternity, Ashmur broke the silence.

"Emperor Iepenel," Ashmur said in a voice that was low and grating. "I am glad that you are able to grace us with your presence."

Iepenel could see the sarcasm in his voice. Iepenel smiled ever so slightly in response. "And I you."

A tall, thin man with a crossbow peaking just over his right shoulder cleared his throat. He stood on Ashmur's right side. Iepenel's knowledge told him that this was General Rictom. He was a cold, ruthless man, the one who had led Ashmur's deadly campaign to take the mountains of Southreach. When he raided Austerus City, he had damn near burned it to the ground, leaving only a few encampments and keeps for his men stationed there. He would have done the same to Vallis Town, but Ashmur's juggernauts needed the radon they mined there.

"Jokes aside, it is time we begun," Rictom interjected.

"Of course," Iepenel said in nearly a whisper.

Iepenel opened his mouth to speak, but Ashmur cut him off.

"I don't have time for the useless blabber that usually encompasses diplomatic terms, Iepenel," he said. "I am not a patient man, and it is easy to tell that both of us have prepared for an inevitable battle."

Iepenel gave him no more than a nod.

"So here are my terms," Ashmur said. "I want your complete and total surrender. I want you to command your armies to stand down and submit yourself to my rule. Once your sword at my feet, your crown on my head and you and your remaining vassals on their knees before me, then I might consider offering you mercy."

Iepenel didn't flinch, but instead stared straight at Ashmur, stoic, unwavering. He had expected this.

"Is that all?" he asked.

Ashmur ignored him. "Should you choose to defy me, I will have no choice but to command my armies to wipe you off the map. No mercy shall be shown to you, and none shall be spared from the sword. I shall crush the North like a sword between hammer and anvil. I shall burn your villages, slay every last man, woman and child that stands between me and Ninquelen. But surrender now, Iepenel, and perhaps you will spare the lives of the denizens of Northern Arlenia."

"These terms are not acceptable," Iepenel said simply.

Ashmur gave him an icy smile. "I would ask you to reconsider, but I know that you will refuse."

"You know me too well, brother." Iepenel poured as much sarcasm into that last word as he could.

"Then we have nothing left to say to each other." Ashmur began to turn away, but Iepenel stopped him.

"Would you like to know what I think, Emperor Ashmur?" Iepenel growled. "You're a goddamn coward. You pride yourself on justice, and yet thousands have fallen to your blade. You say that you want peace and prosperity, yet the South is ruled by crime under your regime. Face it, Ashmur. You started this war because you couldn't bear the thought of submitting yourself under the rightful emperor. You wanted more."