Monster Legends: Inevitable Betrayals

Corruptible Rule

Sherezar and Remntar were huddled together in Taiga's workplace, papers desperately scattered in the barricaded room. 

"What could Taiga have possibly done?" questioned Remntar. "The rule was going so well until just today." 

"Something bad, that's for sure," said Sherezar, peeking out the window again to see the lines of protestors outside. They glared up to where the two co-leads were and chanted. 

"Down with Taiga, up with Scryb," 

"You can't run, you can't hide,"

"The end is near, and with delight," 

"We say to you all, KINGDOMS UNITE!" 

Sherezar and Remntar were clueless as to what they meant. 

"What did Taiga ever do to you?" shouted Remntar. Xiron emerged from the crowd, pointing to her mutilated face and wounds. 

"Your leader caused this. When I merely touched him, he lashed out. He disfigured my face with such might, that no one wants to bask in the beauty of Xiron the Ruby. They want to hide. Hide away from the dangerous creature that haunts them at night." 

Remntar stared at her with disbelief. 

"Does that sound like a qualified leader to you? Scryb may have committed many errors, but he was dedicated, loyal, and much less prone to anger outbursts. Taiga cannot be trusted to lead without lashing out during unforeseen events and taking his rage out on innocent bystanders." 

"You describe Scryb as a saint, but he was the one that convinced the Warmasters to let him rule, only to terrorize the monster community even more for a brief period. Taiga cares about Monster Legends and all of its inhabitants," countered Remntar. "Back me up here, Sherezar!" 

Sherezar sat in the back of the room, both of his hands positioned over his face. "I don't feel so good, Remntar. That feeling I had at Necromancer's funeral...it hasn't gone away." 

"What do you mean? Sherezar, we have to help the citizens realize their idiotic claims hold no truth!" 

"When I looked directly at Necromancer's grave...I...I felt like something entered my brain, but now...I feel like it's gaining control over my senses," said Sherezar. 

"That's not possible," whispered Remntar. Sherezar suddenly slumped to the ground, unconscious. The protestors began to bang at the building gate, desperately trying to break the secure hinges.

"Do you really think you all can get in here?" mocked Remntar. "I have a weapon and you all don't." He pulled out a silver bow and pointed it down at the mob. "Don't make me shoot every one of you dead." 

"We may not have weapons, but Kimber's royal guard does. Taiga's elite squadron," retorted Xiron, holding her arms upward to signal something. Behind the rioters, a large group of soldiers marched forward, all holding a bow and a sword. They all looked very different, as each soldier had different colored armor and a unique blade in hand. 

One monster trailed behind, wearing shiny platinum armor while grasping a glimmering silver blade and shield. He also wore a spiky helmet with three horns and yellow spikes protruding throughout his armor. A red cape billowed in the light wind, matching his dry red eyes glaring up at the tower. 

Remntar snatched his binoculars and put them to his eyes in a flash. The monster looked very young, twenty or twenty-one. His face was incredibly pale and was full of purple bruises and scars.  He began to speak loudly enough that Remntar could slightly hear the words. 

"Where is Taiga?" 

"I don't know," claimed Remntar. This was partly true, as he did not know where his leader was. He did know how to find out though, as there was a clear ball on top of the tall bookshelf near the corner that could reveal Taiga's location at any given time. 

The monster then moved his arm into a saluting position, signaling his fleet to grab their bows and aim them at the tower. 

Remntar responded by retrieving his own bow and positioned it to hit the leader of Kimber's fleet. He reeled back and released his single arrow, launching it at the monster. The leader moved his shield toward his face, the metal tip of the arrow not even breaking the blockade surface. 

The squadron released their arrows in unison, mostly hitting the tower and not inside or Remntar himself. One arrow soared inside and hit the floorboard, another grazed Remntar's cheek, and the leader's arrow chipped through Remntar's armor and into the left side of his chest. 

Remntar stumbled and collapsed next to Sherezar's unconscious body. He shook Sherezar awake, barely clinging awake himself. 

"Sherezar! Where's the medical kit! I need it urgently!" he yelled. 

His colleague rose from the floor, staring up at the ceiling. His eyes had turned entirely purple and full with newfound knowledge. 

"What's wrong with you, Sherezar? Didn't you hear me?" Sherezar jerked around to face Remntar. His mouth was curved unnaturally wide to form a smile, and his entire face sported a new purplish tint. 

"Oh, I heard you Remntar." Sherezar waltzed around the small room, unlike his previous formidable stride. He grabbed a pen from Taiga's desk and began to write furiously on a delicate sheet of paper. The writing came out in a mysterious font, and faster than Remntar had ever seen. 

Remntar came to a sudden realization. He felt light headed, and trapped to his seated position. 

"What's the matter, Remntar? Didn't you want something?" Perhaps it was an illusion, but Remntar could have sworn that Sherezar looked more slim and lacked his previous muscle. 

"Taiga will kill you," mumbled Remntar. 

"Oh, will he? I doubt it considering I am his most trusted ally. Taiga always liked me best, didn't you know that?" Remntar sighed, as blood piled up from his wound and onto the floor. "No need to get jealous now, my friend." 

Sherezar finished writing on the paper, folding it into an envelope and slipping it in his pocket. 

"I can't seem to find my pen holder Remntar, can you help me find it? Oh, there it is!" he announced gleefully, scampering over to his friend. Still grinning wildly, he swiftly inserted the pen tip into Remntar's neck and shot it back out. 

Sherezar began to cackle uncontrollably as Remntar gurgled on fresh blood in the corner. Sherezar raised his arms in the air, summoning a purple portal beneath him. He peeked at Remntar one last time, smiling, but his former friend was already dead. 

Sherezar teleported from the tower to the protestors beneath. He walked up to the white armored leader in the center, handing him the paper. Sherezar also whispered something in the monster's ear, which was inaudible to everyone else. He then said: 

"Read this over the shrine in the Nature kingdom. Wipe out the entire populace. They ally themselves with Taiga and must be eradicated." 

Afterward, Sherezar went back into the tower and out of sight. 

The leader let out a high pitched yell, making the whole army and protestors turn to face him. 

"What is it, Wyrmlad?" asked Xiron. 

Then he shouted to everyone what Sherezar had told him, along with what he whispered. 

"Let us invade the nature kingdom," said Wyrmlad. "Leave none alive, except Taiga. I want him all to myself." 

Wyrmlad then spoke what Sherezar had whispered.