Lord of the Damned - A Viktor Bartholy Story

Chapter 1: Rubobostes

"I beg of you, Zalmoxis! Deliver her of a healthy boy!"

King Rubobostes was on his knees, like a lowly servant. He had taken off his crown and humbled himself before his god. Outside of the sacred temple, the wind continued to howl, as the autumn storm pelted the entire stone fortress of the Apuli with cold, heavy rain.

The sun had risen twice already since Queen Aleena had been gripped by the first pains of labor. Everyone assured the king it would be a quick, albeit painful, process. After all, Aleena was barely seventeen years old, and in excellent health. True, this was her first child, but her mother had given birth to five healthy boys and four girls, most of whom survived past their first year. In fact, two of Aleena's sisters were assisting the queen with the birth.

However, as time went by and her labor pains got worse without any fruitful results, even the high priests were beginning to lose hope. Rubobostes was strictly forbidden from entering the birthing chamber. But that didn't prevent him from standing right outside the door, listening to his wife's moans that eventually turned into screams of agony. Each one struck the king's heart like a sharp dagger, filling him with an increasing sense of dread.

After much deliberation, Rubobostes finally decided to pray to the god himself, instead of relying on others to do it for him. He worked his way from the royal household all the way up to the temple of Zalmoxis that was perched at the very top of the tall, steep mountain. The landscape was harsh and unforgiving, and his climb took a lot of effort. The blinding storm fought him every step of the way, and he almost gave up several times. But the love he had for his wife helped him push through, and he was finally there.

The chief priest, Darox, met him at the front door. At first, Darox was confused by the sudden appearance of his lord. He questioned Rubobostes as to his intentions, and was outraged by the king's answer. The priest immediately tried to stop Rubobostes from entering the inner, most sacred chamber of the temple.

"My Lord, you cannot set foot in there," Darox placed a hand firmly against the king's chest. "It is sacred ground and can only be accessed by the high priests."

"Fuck the high priests," Rubobostes roughly pushed Darox out of the way. "None of your sorry lot have been of any use to me thus far... nor to Aleena!"

The chief priest's eyes widened in horror at the king's sacrilegious words and actions. No one was ever allowed to lay a hand on a representative of the god — to do so would cause direct offense to Zalmoxis himself. But the look on Rubobostes's face froze Darox in his tracks. He decided it would be unwise to contradict the king of the Apuli... especially in his current state of mind.

Thus, Darox bowed down and stepped aside. But, while he held his tongue, the priest watched the tall, imposing Dacian through narrow eyes filled with malice.

"You think you are better than me... but you are a mere mortal... not an agent of the god," Darox thought as Rubobostes strode past him and straight into the sacred chamber.

Once inside the earthly dwelling of Zalmoxis, Rubobostes immediately fell upon his hands and knees. The fury he had experienced only minutes before suddenly evaporated. The king was overwhelmed by a sense of anguish and desperation. While the thought of a son had obsessed him since the day Aleena announced her pregnancy, he couldn't bear the thought of losing his beloved wife.

Rubobostes remembered the day he first laid eyes on the beautiful Celt. He had just defeated her people in battle, and was examining his hard-earned spoils of war when she burst into his tent, blue eyes filled with fire and hatred.

"Let my father go free," she proudly demanded, without any polite words of introduction.

Rubobostes scoffed at her. His armed guards quickly surrounded the insolent girl and were about to grab her and throw her out, when the king of the Apuli stopped them with one curt hand gesture.