Fealty

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A single knock on the door was enough to wake Indra from dark thoughts, her emotionless persona quickly falling back on her face. She mustn’t think about her family or the Mountain, not now when so much is at stake. She closed her eyes in an attempt to regain her composure, but the faces of the loved ones she lost so long ago, still persisted in her mind.

The sound of the air escaping from her lungs was so desperate, so sad that she couldn’t help to form a grim smile. She is Heda’s General and she doesn’t have the luxury to fell desperate of alone or anything for that matter. The forgotten girl that dragged her skinny body throe the gates of Ton DC was no more. “Kill the girl and let the warrior be born” a sentence from an old man, who once told her that, will remain in her memory forever.

At first she pondered about the meaning of those words, but as the time passed and she rose throe the ranks, experiencing the everyday hardships of being responsible first for the safety of the Ton DC and then for the existence of the Coalition, Indra slowly realized what the man wanted to say.

Her thinking was again interrupted by a laud knock. Air again escaped her lungs in annoyance, but this time soundlessly. Her eyes were gazing at the door as she loudly commanded. “Enter!”

Dark figure slipped thru the now open door. Indra’s dark eyes traveled suspiciously from the hood which covered the strangers head down the short body looking for any visible weapons. Her scrutinizing gaze didn’t reveal anything but his clothes were wide, perfect place for the concealed blade so her hands remained close to the strapped dagger on her belt and her posture still tense and ready for anything.

“Who are you and what business do you have being in the war room?” she demanded.

“Well, someone is a little grumpy today….” Hooded figure responded with a smirk in his voice and Indra finally recognized the man behind the disguise. “Master of spies, you have decided to honor me with your elusive attendance.” 

“You know that I would do anything for my General.” The man pulled down the black hood with his claws line hands, revealing once pretty but now scarred face.

“You say the same thing every time we meet, but sometimes you are quite reluctant to execute my orders…how is that possible?”

“Only because I care for you and the Coalition, and I think you should reconsider the matter in question.” The man’s smirk was still sticking to his lips and Indra was again reminded of his sometimes cocky but always joking nature.

In response to his words she just rolled her eyes and turn from him. He cared only for himself and she was aware of this.

“What do you want Victor, I don’t have the time to listen to your pleasantries all day.” 

“Hmm I see that, you must be when you are standing alone in the dark room, looking at the walls and…..” he stopped talking quickly, when Indra’s dark eyes focused at him with a death glare in them.

He lowered his head in fake remorse. “I am sorry General; I didn’t mean to offend you….”

“You are not, but continue anyway.”   

“My little birds informed me about several interesting news today. Two days ago a village near Ton DC was attacked, and the scouts I have sent to investigate, report that the buildings are burnt to the ground but more worryingly, no bodies could be found. They had also searched the woods around the village for survivors but…..”

“Mt. Weather” her voice was filled with rage as she connected all the facts.

“Yes, sadly it seems that our friends from the mountain had already started there hunting season.”

“How many were taken?” she asked, already afraid of the answer. “About 150, I am afraid”

The woman slowly closed her eyes. 150 people, her people, the people she should have protected. The weight that pressed on her soul was unbearable. And she can’t do anything about it. The war is brewing among the clans, the Coalition is weak and they need every last warrior against the Blood clan.

She cleared the throat and looked at Victor.  “Do you have any better news for me?”

“I am sorry but I must disappoint you Indra.” His face was grim, when he looked at her with unexpected sadness radiating from his eyes. “The birds also informed me, that king Alt has send ambassadors to the Plain Riders and more worryingly to the Ice Nation in hopes they would join an alliance with him. An alliance, which will certainly annihilate the Coalition, if we allow it to form.”

Alt really means to destroy the Coalition. Indra realized. Before, she was under the impression that he just wants to provoke Heda into a rush action against his clan and thus gaining the moral high ground among the people, which would legitimize his claim to grab absolute power.

But now he is trying to mobilize all the fighting potential, hidden in those three clans. That can mean only one thing. He is done waiting and toying around, something had force him to change the game entirely. Now Alt’s armies will strike hard and fast, destroying the clans individually before Heda could summon the Coalition army together.

But, if she is able to stop the alliance from forming altogether, Alt will be forced back to his waiting game from before, buying the Coalition precious time to win over more clans.

She understood his way of thinking; alone Blood clan is very strong, more than able to take on the entire Coalition but the problems could arise when the fighting begins; he don’t know which side would the two remaining  clans chose. The horse warriors and the numerous discipline killers with scars as evidence of their bravery and battle efficiency are both more than capable of changing the fortune of war in either side.

A silent cough disturbed her thoughts and she met the eyes of the man in front of her.

“Yes Victor?”

“General, I took the liberty of dispatching several of our assassins in the area surrounding the two clans in question, to hopefully intercept and kill the Blood clan ambassadors before they could speak with the clan leaders and with luck we won’t have to worry about any alliance forming.”

Indra allowed a barely visible smile to appear on her lips. “Master of spies, I guess the some rumors are true than, you can read people’s minds.”

“You are too nice, general.”

“I am reminded of that every day… But i wonder, what would happen if your assassins fail to eliminate their targets?”

“General, it is highly unlikely they would miss, but I always consider all the options. Even if the ambassador reaches the plains alive, the clan living there is unlikely to enter the alliance, because the old Horse king died a month ago due to sudden and mysteries sickness; a gift from my healer. And a boy of 7 years had replaced him; his biggest wishes are toys not swords… Alt didn’t know that when he send ambassadors on the road.”

“Good, this time you didn’t disappoint me Victor, but what about the Azgeda? They pose the biggest threat to us if they side with Blood clan and the ice queen knows that.”

The small man in front of her starts to move around nervously and Indra follows his every move.

“What is wrong Victor, more bad news?” her voice was steel as he met her black eyes filled with anger.  “Speak quickly if you want to live.”     

“Indra please, there is no need for anger, our little plan is…slowly coming together and…”

“Why are you so quiet than if the plan is working, I expected a lot of bragging from you.” Her voice was dangerously quiet and silky when she cut him off.

“The news that I received today aren’t good, Indra… Marcus didn’t heard nothing from the warriors, who want inside the ice palace a week ago. The streets of Alba are quiet, the opposite what is expected if the assassination succeeded.” Victor finally started talking, the smirk from before gone completely. “He also tried to enter the palace himself, but the guards were searching everyone, asking about the business they have inside and checking the every little detail. He didn’t have a chance.”

“So it’s safe to assume that Nia is still alive?”

“Yes but I don’t see how is that possible, I chose the best people I could find and as a percussion I also included a woman to be present and armed in the queen’s room. So if you counted, I send four warriors and an assassin to finish the job.” His arms high in the air, expressing  complete confusion he felt. ”You said Nia is deadly with her blades, but there is no chance in hell she would survive that, no way.”

“It doesn’t matter now; they failed and while Nia lives, Gallan won’t dare to seize power and an alliance between the Blood clan and Azgeda is only a matter of time.

The finality of those words had cut deeply into the minds of both of them. The dark room became even darker as they sink into grave silence, wondering what to do next.

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