Anthem's Fall

Chapter Sixty Six

Hi Everyone,

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Gravitas

For a long moment it seemed as though time stood still as the intense standoff persisted. From the bewildered bystanders to Gravitas to the two giants, all characters seemed unwilling to break the profuse silence. In their immoral clamor, the depraved hyenas had awoken the sleeping lion, and now he stood before them. At the head of countless scared faces, Gravitas Nerol waited for the two Imperial First Class soldiers to break the hush.

The two giants looked back at him, standing shoulder to shoulder, each with an equally mystified expression. The mangled Jeep that had been thrown was crackling and sizzling on the sidewalk, emitting an acrid stench of melting plastic and upholstery. In the corner of his vision Gravitas was aware of a helicopter thumping over the trees of the park and recording every second of the standoff, the sound of its presence barely perceptible over the roar of the panicking masses in the streets and avenues.

At last the slightly larger of the two behemoths stepped forward, his leg the girth of a tree trunk. Gravitas could see from the insignias on his armor that he was high ranking, not an average grunt of the Imperial First Class ranks.

"Do you remember me?" the giant soldier asked, his voice baritone and harsh.

Gravitas looked at him with repulsion. Over the years he had almost willed himself to believe the soldiers of the Imperial Army were not as monstrous as his memory would have him believe. He let out a frustrated and pained sigh, and for the first time in many years he spoke his native tongue.

"Yes. I recognize you, General Hoff." Gravitas spoke slowly, and drew his gaze to the other, younger, giant. "I don't know you."

The closer soldier nodded his grotesquely thick neck and placed a hand against his broad chest. "It's Lord General Hoff, now. This is Royal Guard Krell Darien. I must say I was not expecting to see you again . . . Nerol."

To this, the other warrior, Darien, looked from Gravitas back to Hoff with an incredulous expression. "This is the Nerol warrior? How?"

"Quiet. Stay on your guard, he is no ally," the Lord General growled, not taking his eyes off Gravitas. "What are you doing here, Nerol?"

Gravitas raised his arms to his sides, and his crimson cloak shifted in the cool air. "This is my home, and you have come unwelcomed."

"Anthem is your home," Hoff called back. "Your people need the help of a soldier such as yourself in this dark hour, assuming you are even half as powerful as you were on Orion. Come, we must speak with you."

"No," Gravitas shook his head definitively. "This is my home, and these are my people. And you are correct, they do need the help of a soldier such as myself. The troubles of my vile native race are not my concern. I am ashamed of my connection to you. Nothing more."

The Lord General was obviously holding back anger as he reached his hands out imploringly. "Emperor Faris has been murdered. His son Vengelis Epsilon wears the Blood Ring now. I suspect he will pardon you of the charges made against you by his father if you come with us willingly."

"Faris is dead?" Gravitas repeated. "Good. My only wish is that it could have been by my hand. I don't know his son, but I would imagine he is hiding in true Epsilon form on the throne in Sejeroreich and letting others bloody their hands in his name."

"My, don't we have nerve." Hoff shook his head, his expression unreadable. "No, Nerol, the high Epsilon is not in Sejeroreich. It might interest you to know that he is here on Filgaia. As such, I entreat you to not act imprudently here."