to be a god, part 5

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Most of King Regglind’s faithfuls had proved anything but, pledging allegiance to her before his funeral had even occurred.  All who showed up were slaughtered anyway.  The trap had been set.  She was going to spring it regardless of who had sworn loyalty to who.  Her advisors had disagreed but she had forged ahead anyway.  In her mind, their loyalty wasn’t worth much if they would switch to her side so easily. 

After the funeral she had marched with her troops and, shining as bright as the noon day star in their sky, had led them to victory after victory until the whole of the continent succumbed to her rule.  Then, and only then, did she finally heed her advisors and take a break from war.  She spent five years ruling the continent.  She was fair and protective of all of her new subjects.  She ruled so well that she won all their hearts and minds, she was their brilliant shining queen.  They would fight for her on any front.  They would carry her purpose to the next phase.

Ships, yellow as their star, yellow as her sigil, were built on the western shores.  The fastest of them were sent on with her blessings and protections to spread the word: she was coming and all would bow to her before she was done.  That was her purpose.  That was her ultimate goal.

When her ship was ready, she set sail immediately.  It was a beautiful day.  Their star was shining and she cast the spell that made her shine brightly too.  The sea reflected and amplified the competing lights until it looked her ship was a star too, crossing the sea as a ball of radiating fire.  She loved every minute of it. 

The five years of patience had been hard on her.  She didn’t mind ruling.  She wanted to be a god and that meant she had to be there for her people.  She enjoyed that part of it.  Being patient to continue on her quest had been difficult.  She could feel how close she was to her goal and it called to her constantly.  Why pause?  Why wait?  Your glory is just beyond the horizon.  Your immortality is there waiting for you to seize it. 

The seas were calm.  Her spirit sored.  Her troops adored her.

As she looked to the horizon she knew it was only a matter of time before she had everything.

to be a god, part 4

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Rising from her throne she walked towards the inert body of King Regglind.  He wasn’t dead, yet.  She knew that.  She hadn’t hit him with the full force of her might.  As she drew closer she said, “I have a rule in battle.  No mercy.  No survivors.  It has served me while on the path to my glory, to my ultimate purpose.  I’m tempted to send you home beaten and battered though, to dishearten your troops.  I think they might be easier to beat that way.  If I martyr you, they will likely fight against me with more energy, tooth and nail, to the very last man.”

Smoke drifted up from the burn marks on his body.  Slowly, he rolled over onto his back so he could look at her.  He said nothing but his eyes spoke volumes.  His piercing gaze was unafraid for himself, but furious for his people, furious for what was about to befall his kingdom.  His breathing was ragged and shallow.  His face white.

“A rule is a rule though, especially when it was made to myself.  Besides, there’s no telling what your people will decide to do when you do not return.”

She held his gaze as she spoke the single word of magic that would end his life.  The spark and fury went from his eyes in an instant. 

Turning to her advisor she said, “Kill his retinue waiting outside.  No mercy.  No survivors.”  Then she turned first to her throne, shook her head, and strode across the hall to the table where her maps were.  One of her generals was already there studying King Regglind’s kingdom anew.  The fool of a king had made a mistake in thinking she would hold to some code of honor.  Now they could capitalize on that and advance her plans that much quicker.

Soon the whole continent would be in her grasp.  Then she would build glorious yellow ships, the color of their star, and sail the seas to conquer the other continents.  Then she would rule the whole of the world.  Then she would be a god.

Smiling already, her smile broadened as her advisor returned to say the task had been completed.  “Summon a messenger.”

She would cast a spell of protection over the messenger and speed him along to King Regglind’s court, inviting all to attend the king’s funeral services in four days time.  They would be fools to come.  But their king had proved to be a fool so maybe she could catch some more of his warriors in a trap. 

Still smiling, she returned to studying the map.

to be a god, part 3

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

King Regglind, resplendent in purple and silver silks, but with a simple gold crown on his head and well-worn scabbard at his side, strode into her thrown room.  His steps were confident.  His head was high.  His eyes were a piercing blue.

The herald had to nearly shout to be heard over the King’s ringing bootfalls, “King Regglind, your majesty.”

She studied his approach, still trying to decode what his plan was, why he had decided to come in person and request this audience with her.  As he came to a halt a few paces away she said, “Welcome, King Regglind.  What can I do for you on this fine day?”

Before answering he studied his surroundings, taking in the various courtesans and advisors, generals and other members of court scattered about the large throne room.  Then he let his left hand rest on the hilt of his sword while sweeping the room with his right.  “I was surprised they let me in to see you with my sword.  I see you are well protected, now, though.”

The sarcasm in his voice was not lost on her but she chose to ignore it.  Let him think she wasn’t well protected.  Let him think she needed the people around her.

“I will admit,” she said a moment later, “ that I was surprised by your visit.”

“Yes, well,” he half grunted, half growled, “I never send someone to do a job like this.  It’s unpleasant.  It could be messy.  And it’s got to be done right.”

“And what job is that?” She arched her eyebrows as she asked, glad they weren’t wasiting time on pleasantries and getting straight to the reason for his visit.

“If you attempt to invade my kingdom again, you will lose everything.”

She nearly laughed.  This threat couldn’t possibly be all he had come for.  He had to have more.

“King Regglind, I do believe you are mistaken.  When I next breach your borders I will conquer your kingdom and it will be you who loses everything.”

He attempted to draw his sword but scowled and swore as he found his hand unable to left the blade form the scabbard.  It was a simple enough charm she had placed upon the throne room years before.  No weapons could be unsheathed in the room. 

“In fact, she continued, I’m fairly certain you are about to lose everything right now.  You were a fool to come here.”

“You wouldn’t dare attack me like this,” he spat.  “It breaks all the rules of honor.”

“There are not rules between mortals and immortals,” she replied calmly.  “For what I’m after, there is no room for honor.”  Then turning to her advisor she said, “And yet another advantage of killing all our advisories, there is no one left alive to take back the information that I’m a magic user.”

“Very wise, “Ma’am,” her advisor returned.

Pointing her right hand at King she spoke the words to her second favorite spell.  Lightning raced from her finger tips and slashed into the King.  His body went flying backwards in a tumbling heap of limbs and clothes. His crown skittered across the floor to come to a stop near the entrance.

to be a god

This month I’ll be doing a series of posts based on song lyrics. This post is based on the following lyrics from Captive Honour by Megadeth:

“When you kill a man, you’re a murderer.  Kill a million and you’re a conquerer.  Kill them all and you’re a god.”

……

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

She stood on the battlements and surveyed the carnage below her.  Her forces, clothed in the bright yellow she had adopted as her color, to be as bright as the star in their day time sky, to be as important as it was, were holding their own against the much larger army amassed against them.  She was a beacon for her troops, standing there, shining down upon them.  They couldn’t lose. 

Raising her arms over her head she spoke the words that would cause her to radiate and she smiled as the magic took hold.  With a series of pulses, each growing in brightness and intensity, she cast her light upon the battlefield.  Her army, facing away from her, felt the warmth on their backs and knew she was with them.  Her enemies were blinded and frightened and began to break their lines and scatter under the onslaught.

She dropped her arms as the spell ended.  Her advisor was at her elbow immediately.  “Should we signal for our troops to return, Ma’am?”

“No,” she responded firmly.  “Signal to hunt them down and kill them all.”

“No prisoners?  They could be useful in bartering.”

She scoffed.  “We will have no need to barter.  This was the entirety of their force and once we have wiped them out, they will bow to us as have all the others.”

“As you wish, Ma’am.” 

The counselor moved away to relay her orders and she leaned forward against the castle wall to soak in her victory.  She didn’t care about the carnage.  That wasn’t her goal.  It was simply a means to an end. 

Her smile broadened as her troops carried out their directive.  Only after the last of their foes had been slaughtered did they turn to face their Queen.  She lifted her arms in salute to them and they cheered in response.  Six more times she saluted them and six more times they cheered back in response.  Then, with a final wave, she turned away from the wall and made her way towards her audience hall.  There she would shower her generals in praise and gifts and trinkets for them to pass along to their warriors, to be added to water spoils they took from the field as they stripped and cleaned the dead for their funeral rights.

They would honor their foes as they honored their own, as a show of respect, yes, but mostly because it was her wish.  It was part of her plan, part of her becoming.  She was a great queen and her kingdom was growing.  She wanted so much more.

Her chief advisor was at her elbow again as she took her throne in the audience hall.  “Ma’am, why do you never show mercy?”

She knew some rulers would bristle at being asked such questions but she didn’t mind.  It was asking questions like that which had shown her what she wanted and how to get there.  “It isn’t about mercy.  It’s about what I’m trying to achieve.”

The advisor nodded once in understanding and then stepped away.  As the first of her generals entered the hall, she continued her own line of thought, “When you kill a man, you’re a murderer.  Kill a million and you’re a conquerer.  Kill them all and you’re a god.”

naturally

Forgotten words were sprawled in looping letters across the crumbling walls of society’s last bastion of civilization.  The language they were written in had died along with the last of those who had dwelled within the guarded community and, so, their attempts to preserve a miniscule piece of their culture had been in vain.  Though, that mattered little to them anymore.  Their dust mixed with the soil and provided the fuel for nature’s slow reclamation of the shambled city.

Relics of rusted metal and spidering glass sank into the ground, their purpose just as forgotten and unknown as the scribbled lettering.  Sun and rain began their slow decay, beating into them, wearing them down, turning their strengths into weaknesses, and time, the ravager of all things, and the earth did the rest.  Vines wound around, underneath, through and over the artifacts of the ancient civilization, pulling them so far apart from where they started their original form was indiscernible.

Fields of flowers rose from the splintered asphalt.  Forests ranged unchecked where homes once stood, their tall canopies towering over the few remaining roofs that still draped over broken foundations.  Animals of all types claimed what remained.  The larger beasts found their way into the concrete lined basements.  The smaller beasts burrowed dens in leftover upholstered chairs and couches.  Birds nestled into the eaves.

None remained who understood any of the loss or rebirth that had transpired.  The greatest ideas and triumphs of the last civilization meant less to the world than the bones and flesh that had been returned to the ground.  Their greatest crimes and disasters were equally meaningless.  History meant nothing.  The future meant nothing.  And life went on, naturally.

…..

God opened his eyes, the marble he’d been playing with before dozing off, still at his feet.  His shook his head to dislodge the cobwebs of the nightmare he’d just had as he stooped low to peer into the swirling vibrancy of the marble’s core.  So beautiful.  So pristine.  So perfect, just as it had always been.  Scooping up the orb, he deposited it with the rest of his collection and then strode forward to find other mischief.