The Father of Withering

Prologue: Among a Broken Realm

The Iron Kingdom lay in ashes. Overnight, the people had been driven into a blood-crazed fury. One that had seen them butcher each other. Their corpses lined the streets and buildings. Those scattered villages protected by the gods were besieged. Clans of satyrs and giants came out of the mountains to take what land remained.

But help was at hand. Colonization ships arrived under the golden cobra of House Gabriel. 

Black-armored men, with armies of mercenaries at their command, met the coming monstrosities. Three battles had already been fought, and the invaders had been checked. From there, the Harlenorians had shored up the defenders. Dead villages were being buried, and their houses were repurposed for the colonists ' use.

Many a funeral was held over mass graves. Duke Vanion, the colonists' leader, saw to it that the bodies were given rites and as much dignity as possible. He made contact with local leaders and coordinated with them for mutual gain. Old vendettas were amended in mutual grief, as holy rites not performed in centuries were initiated.

The Iron Kingdom would recover. But it would be a long wait. And the light of the gods was returning in tiny rays.

Lucius felt a twinge of pride for his students ' efforts. The spell had been a work of genius, set up over centuries. And Melchious had swelled the numbers of his raishan hordes for centuries. He looked to Karasush, the Sorcerer. "Melchous has done his work well."

"Yes," said Karasush, a note of distaste in his tone.

He'd hoped Fortenex's minions would have an easy slaughter in taking the land. Instead, they were going to have a serious fight on their hands. "As usual. He might have done it better if you hadn't allowed William to slip through your domain."

That too, had been a work of genius, albeit of a different kind. A plan had been thrown together hastily to interfere with Melchious' designs. And the survivors owed their lives to it. Still, Lucius took exception to one remark. "My domain? What do you mean? It belongs to the Withering King, and it was he who proclaimed that he be allowed a headstart.

"William merely made good use of the time given to him."

"And had you sicced your Einheroth on him right away, he wouldn't have had the chance," noted Karasush. Karasush had a history of William Gabriel interfering with his plans.

Lucius was not one to hold a grudge. He enjoyed the game and liked to see the newer players earn their spurs. He was certain William would make an excellent rival to Melchious. The dear boy always did his best when striving against some great hero. "Perhaps. But as your master favors blood and death, I favor humanity. William has the makings of a great champion of the human race. I thought it would be a shame for his story to end there. Besides, Melchious prefers to have someone to test himself against.

"He'll find much more entertainment matching wits against a worthy opponent. And I expect he'll enjoy a vendetta with Azgora."

"She slashed him to ribbons and blasted him with lightning," noted Karasush.