Knightegel: Born of Conflict

Chapter 5: The Face of the Master

In the grand fortress, at the edge of the capital, three men dressed in royal attire stood waiting in a dark room, flanked by two and three messengers each, with candelabras lighting a straight path to a door behind them, while more surrounded them in the midst of a wide circle. They looked nervous, though feigning confidence as they tried to make out their environment. They could see the shades of black guards lining the walls of the room, sternly clinging to long, black kite shields, and there was not much in the way of furnishings from what they could tell.

Before too long, a strong commanding tenor voice echoed from the shadows, saying, "Thank you, king of Archengruer, lord of Vernwol, and Vizar of Gandrich, for coming." Then out of the dark, came the figure of the High Master.

"You forced us here," said the king of Archengruer in retort.

He was about to say something more when the High Master spoke over him, and in a manner most bland, sarcastic and utterly condescending, said, "It was either you come to me or I come to you, which would have been much worse for you and much more straightforward for me. But I wanted to give you an opportunity to submit to me willingly." His speech was fluid and quick, but not so quick that one couldn't keep up.

"What!" said the lord of Vernwol.

"Oh yes," said the High Master, "Was there no indication in the way I summoned you all here? You are here to surrender your lands to me by your own will or die. Oh, my apologies, I forfeited a proper introduction, well let's cut to it now; my name is Theiander, you may address me as Lord Thein...and right now, I am prepared to cause the collapse of the entirety of all your kingdoms and the deaths of your people with but a few words from my mouth. I am soon to lay claim to this half of the continent, from the shores to the edge of the Bold Mountains, and before I give the final word, I want to offer you the chance to spare your own lives and act on my behalf, or I kill you where you stand and simply replace you with my own men. Keeping you alive and in my service is much more convenient for me because your people know you, they trust you, and I very much prefer to go about this with as little distress and dissent amongst your people as possible. But do understand that if I must, I will remove you and effectively manage the outcome of your disappearance in any way I need to. As it stands, I have already taken the possibility of your refusal into account. In the case that you decline, I have your families in custody as we speak, and they will die just moments after you make your decision, should that decision be found in poor taste."

"Moments!" said the king, "but it would take at least an hour's journey!"

Cutting the man off as he did the other, Thein said, "I brought your families here so you can look at them as they die, before you do."

All the leaders and their company, with the exception of the Vizar, were speechless, gasping while tossed between thinking this whole thing to be utterly ridiculous and absolutely frightening.

"Don't believe me?" said Thein. He looked to his men by the door and said, "Bring them in."

Their families were brought in immediately, escorted by as many guards as there were family members – one for each – and were positioned across from the man to whom each family belonged. Every person had a guard standing behind them. Reactions from the lords to their families and families to lords were equally outrageous in their fright and disbelief at how shocking this all was. Only the Vizar of Gandrich remained composed.

Said Thein, "So if I haven't made myself clear enough: either you become part of the storm or the storm sweeps you away. Please choose quickly; I have many other things to do, all of which are time-sensitive. And please do not mistake this for cruelty; this is generosity, my lords. Your lives are only as valuable as you are useful. But know that I will be fair to you and treat you well if you comply. King of Archengruer, let's start with you. Remember to answer quickly, please."