Fate of a Dynasty

Hi everyone, this is the first story I have ever written, I hope you enjoy the first part.

Lucifer

The calm before the storm; that's how Lucifer would have described the deafening silence that preceded the wooden gates opening before him. In mere seconds the arena would erupt in an echoing roar as gladiators entered the spectators' view, desperate for bloodshed and death. Yet there he stood, immersed in a seemingly everlasting silence.

Years under the Emperor's rule had brought forth traditions of slavery and war, two things that landed Lucifer in the position in the first place. It seemed a lifetime ago since he last saw his sister and mother and wondered if he would ever be blessed enough to see them again. Alas, now was not the time for sentimental thoughts, his life was once again on the line.

With Lucifer and the other gladiators huddled together in the center of the rustic arena the show was set to commence. Each gladiator donned their own unique armor and weaponry that had kept their life and taken so many others. The sand crept over their sandals as they planted their feet, hoping to hold ground against what was to come.

The beating of war drums started, indicating the evening entertainment was about to begin.

"MAY I PRESENT TO YOU, THE FEARLESS, THE INSATIABLE, THE RUTHLESS ATHENIAN HORDE!" The arena master bellowed over the roaring crowd.

No matter how often Lucifer had been in that situation it never failed to cause an adrenaline rush, likely beneficial to him as it heightened his senses and improved his reaction time. Often, he would see men cower in fear, lose control of their bladders, or freeze on the spot, apparently helpless to the final swing of an incoming sword. That would not be his fate, of that, he was sure.

The heavy metal chains attached to the wooden doors opposite the gladiators clinked as they lifted from the ground and straightened, pulling open the door that would bring forth whatever enemies had been arranged for the entertainment.

Stepping out from within the arena infrastructure, a group of large, muscular men appeared. Each bigger than the last they towered over the gladiators, menacingly dragging their weapons through the sand behind them.

"Nundellans, surely they aren't serious?" Lucifer muttered, his concentrated eyes on the group of men he would have to kill that day.

Nundella was a remote island off the west coast of Athenia, famed mostly for its Blacksmithing. The Island itself wasn't large, but it was huge in stature. The mountain ranges on the island were infamous for being hard to navigate for all those not raised within them. There wasn't a single city on Nundella, there simply wasn't the space. Instead, the people of the island had settled for mountain towns, linked together with bridges from one mountain peak to the next. Due to the island's geology the nation had never been invaded; it simply wasn't worth the monumental effort it would take to have an army attempt to breach the mountains. Instead, the leaders of visiting nations simply used them for their blacksmithing, placing orders for armor and weaponry. It was unofficially a "violence free" zone. That didn't however stop the native warriors from leaving the island to find adventure. Nundellan warriors prided themselves in obscure weaponry, more of a show of their blacksmithing talents than the belief their weapons were structurally superior. This was something Lucifer intended to work to his advantage, there was no time for niceties as far as he was concerned. The quicker the kill, the less chance of death.

"Hold your positions!" Lucifer commanded the gladiators around him. "Tonight, we shall dine in victory, send their souls to the abyss!" He roared, earning a synchronized growl from those around him.

The Nundellan warriors advanced, stalking the gladiators while circling their flails overhead, each time omitting an ominous whooshing noise as the spiked ball completed a full rotation.

Lucifer was fully aware the flail was not the most efficient weapon, especially to such an experienced warrior like himself. All he needed to do was make sure the Nundellan warriors' focus was primarily on the men around him, allowing him to time his attack and discard them before they reached the point of being overwhelmed. Even if Lucifer did think their weapons were a hindrance, he wasn't sure how he would fare against multiple attackers. Dodging a single flail was one thing, but to avoid two or three was an entirely different matter. This was not a battle he could win on his own.

"Brothers, sisters! Now is the time to grasp your fate. Now is the time to stand up and be counted. Fight with me, and live. Or cower and die!" He roared.

The Nundellan warriors inched closer, stealing more ground with every step. Their flails still circling, inviting death to any unfortunate soul to find themself within its range.

While large in stature, the Nundellans wanted nothing more than personal glory, which suited Lucifer perfectly. Teamwork would win this fight, and perhaps also his freedom.

"TURTLE!" Lucifer bellowed, demanding an instant reaction.

Within seconds his fellow gladiators had circled him and lifted their shields forming a moving barrier. The gladiators soon found their defensive position had worked when the deep thuds of incoming flail attacks bounced against their shields.

"BREAK RANKS TOP SIDE!" Another command from Lucifer, who had noticed one of the Nundellans close enough to strike.

The leading gladiators of the shield barrier stepped out to open a section of the shield wall as they parried the enemies swinging flail. In an instant Lucifer leapt out, thrusting his spear into the throat of his enemy. The large warriors' arms dropped, and he sank to his knees, his neck destroyed by the razor-sharp edge of the spear.

And so, before me they drop like flies, this feeling, so serendipitous, Lucifer thought as he glanced through the hole left in the dead warrior's mangled neck.

"Lucifer, two of them to the right!" One of his closest allies, Isabella, yelled from over his right shoulder.

"Shield wall close, right rotation!" He roared in response.

The unit rotated as one to counter the oncoming attack, inciting a smile from Lucifer; nothing tasted as sweet as a slaughter under perilous odds.

Warlord Julius Azazel

The sun set over Dominica as Julius Azazel poured himself a glass of Dominican wine, produced only a few miles outside the city. It was the finest wine in the entire Western kingdoms, and perhaps even beyond that. The enormous country was a considerable distance from anywhere else, its closest country being that of Athenia, at least 8 weeks sailing, 6 with the wind at your back. The two countries had lived peacefully respectful of one another for over a thousand years. The great king's war had been so destructive and costly it had brought about an everlasting peace. That was until the recent emperor of the central kingdoms had risen to power, his ambition of ruling over the known world was no secret.

The palm trees against the orange sun-lit backdrop framed Dominica perfectly. Her people were passionate, fiery, smart, and proud. It was said throughout the land that a single Dominican warrior was worth that of fifty Western men, and a single Dominican woman was worth more than her weight in gold. There was much in Dominica to be admired and Julius knew he could not let the traditions and history of his proud nation disappear into ashes at the hands of the lunatic across the ocean. A man with so little honor he acquired power by simply walking into the previous emperor's city with an army at his back, and taking the palace by force, later emerging before the people holding the previous emperor's head. Ever since then the central kingdoms had built their army and expanded. The reign of chaos led to full control over all four of the central kingdoms; Athenia, Nundella, Armatra and Malbore.

Athenia had always been the larger of the central kingdoms, with hundreds of shipping docks on its coasts. It boasted the best trading potential due to its population and used its significantly larger army under the new emperor to forcefully take the remaining three kingdoms.

Nundella had not been so much invaded as held ransom for its armor and weaponry, leaving the country at the beckoning of the mad emperor.

Armatra was more famed for its crops and farming, sporting an army with less than 50 thousand men. It put up no resistance to the invading Athenian empire.

Malbore had struggled with Athenia's land invasions being an island boasting an impressive naval force but a less than impressive army. With such close distance between the two countries the Athenian empire had little trouble invading.

As each of the central countries fell, the empire of Augustus Redmaine grew larger. With his endless ambition it was only a matter of time before he expanded outwards.

To the north was unexplored territory, sailors who left to explore returned having sailed for months to no avail or never returned at all. To the east a desert wasteland, a vast, open sand ocean with the occasional floating villages dotted around, named as they never stayed in one place for long. Not much was known about the lands east; Athenia used the eastern desert land to send those banished from civilization. They would either starve, become a slave to the indigenous people, or live an unfortunate life surviving as best they could.

To the far west was Dominica, a country larger on its own than the four central kingdoms combined. Steeped in history the continent had been the primary source of reason throughout the known world for the best part of a thousand years. The Virdansc bloodline went back as far as records began, their family had sat proudly on the capitol throne throughout all Dominican history.

Warlord Julius Azazel had worked his way up the Dominican army, starting in the city of Hital, where he began his career in the Virdansc private army, later moving on to become a task force commander of the royal guard. Years of fighting back the southern invasions had earned him promotions while success on the battlefield had won him the public attention he needed to push on to higher things. The Dominicans worshipped Julius as a war hero. Aside from the Queen there was nobody more prestigious on the whole continent.

His father was the retired advisor to the Royal Crown, prior to that holding the same title Julius had recently acquired. It had taken Julius a long time to earn the status of Warlord, even if others whispered it was due to his father. Armed combat was all he had known, he would happily face any of his doubters in combat, but they would not face him, that he knew for sure. While not the most intimidating man you might come across, subtle markings on Julius' face gave him away, a canvas upon which his past had been painted.

"The reports today, Warlord Azazel," A young man announced from the chamber doorway.

"Thank you Fioro, I only wish they had arrived sooner," Julius replied absently, scanning the letter.

"Just as I thought, he is in Athenia. And they have him fighting in petty arenas. Time for your little fun to end, Lucifer." Julius mumbled at the letter.

"Fioro, have a team of 4 capable men arranged to retrieve our Prince. I think it is about time he returns."

"Yes, Warlord Azazel." The young man replied, leaving the room with haste.

This man is going to send me to an early grave, what on earth is he doing fighting in petty arenas? He has left me with no choice, he can't expect me to ignore this. I must set off to the palace at once. Julius thought.

He had to be sneaky about this, if Lucifer realized he was being tracked it might set him back further than he had been since Lucifer's departure. If there was one thing that would be more difficult than capturing Lucifer Virdansc, it was capturing him when he knew he was being tracked.

***

The gold furnished palace doors swung open before Julius Azazel. The building was such a beautiful rendition of marbled walls and velvet hallways; its walls were said to hold the secrets of time. The first kings of Dominica had built the palace to commemorate the wealth and heart of the people which was signified in the golden decor. Few Dominicans were permitted to enter and as such, it was always an honor for Julius to walk within its walls.

To walk into the royal palace and disrupt the queen with no warning was enough to have most men thrown into the dungeon and flogged, but fortunately for Julius, he and the Queen went back to their childhoods, giving him far more leniency than most Warlords would receive. The queen was the only human in the known world who left Julius with butterflies; he would jump from a cliff had she commanded.

Queen Brianna Virdansc was as beautiful as she was intelligent. Men would crumble before her as if in a haze, and Julius had yet to see her outwitted by anyone other than her brother, who happened to be the cause of his business within the palace.

Julius entered Queen Brianna's study to find the young, beautiful Queen hunched over a mountain of papers, furiously signing each one before almost throwing them into the arms of her servant who was barely managing to keep everything in order. Without raising her delicate head to see who had entered the room she cleared her throat, "Ah, it looks like my dear friend Julius has come to pay his old friend a visit." The Queen Regent spoke softly, "Perhaps my day will become more interesting after all, and I can delay having to finish these damn papers. Never become Queen, Julius. It's not all it's made out to be, you know."

"I am sure I would make an awful Queen, your Majesty." Julius chuckled with a smile. "My Queen," he continued, "I bring you some... private news", glancing towards her servant who was staring at the opposite wall awaiting his next command. "Perhaps he can leave us for a short while."

"Alexander, please take what has been signed already to Vice Commander Marucs Aldirn, he will be expecting them all. If he complains advise him he can come and sign them himself," the Queen again spoke with a quiet confidence, showing she was comfortable with, and more so understood the weight of the crown upon her head.

"It isn't easy dealing with these powerful men, you know Julius, they seem to think of me as incapable, something they tend to find out the hard way is most certainly not the case. Most of them have testicles bigger than their brains."

Julius chuckled. "I do not believe them to think that of you my Queen, I believe they are simply intimidated. I will happily remove any man from your service who you are not confident in."

"No, no. No need to flex your muscles in front of me Julius, and please stop calling me that. It's Brianna. If I must ask you again, I shall have you flogged." She teased.

"I would remove these slacks, and have you whip me any day, my Queen," Julius teased back, "but for now, I do have more pressing matters. Something I think you and I will need to discuss," he said while pulling out a chair and sitting before Brianna, "I have found your brother, and you are not going to believe what the bastard has been up to."

Queen Brianna's beautiful, big brown eyes widened. "You have found him?"

"I have, and it wasn't easy." Julius replied frankly.

"Please, tell me where he is and if he's okay." Brianna begged, breaking her royal demeanor for a moment before her face suddenly relaxed as she came to the realization, "Of course he is okay, it's Lucifer after all."

"Oh, he is fine, actually he has been fighting as a part of a gladiator team in one of the cities in Athenia. I hear he has made quite the impression going by the name 'the boat man', a label acquired due to how many souls he has sent to the underworld. I hear he has gained some attention from the emperor."

"Naturally, the man is like no other man I have ever known. He would kill a dozen of the best soldiers Athenia has to offer with one arm tied behind his back and a wild dog attached to his leg." Brianna laughed.

"A very strange example, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't paint an amusing picture." Julius replied with a smile.

"Bring him home will you Julius, I know you are likely the only person who would ever know how to speak to Lucifer. I still think he feels guilty about what happened, and I don't know why, he knows I love him, he knows I want him home."

"I will do my absolute best, Brianna." Julius said, using her name to emphasize his point. "But you know as well as I, if the man does not want to be found, then he will not be."

"I know." Brianna knew there was no use disputing the fact, if someone else had made the comment she might have ignored it and commanded them to try harder, but when it was Julius how could she. He was the only person on earth who knew her brother better than she did, so there was no use demanding him to bring her brother home, it was a task that could well be impossible.

Lucifer

The Nundellan's defeat at the hands of the gladiators had the whole city talking. The expectations would normally be to see the gladiator's heads smashed to pieces, blood-soaked sand and the odd limb scattered around the arena. Ever since Lucifer had arrived some months ago the death toll of gladiators had dramatically reduced to the point he was becoming some-what of a local celebrity. The silver haired 'boat man' with his sharp blue eyes hidden behind a spiked helmet, rumored to be a descendant of death himself.

Lucifer removed his armor and wiped the sheen of sweat from his forehead, his hair dripping wet from the midday heat. He splashed his face with cold water from a wooden barrel in the corner of their room before turning to address his friends.

"You know for a second there I thought you were going to get your head smashed to pieces, a little slow on raising your shield." He teased Jardan, one of his fellow gladiators.

"You just clean that blood off your spear and shut your mouth." The large, strong Athenian gladiator replied.

"He's right." Isabella chimed in, "You're getting sloppy, big boy." She said with a wink.

"I'll show you getting sloppy." he teased back, taking a step towards her playfully with his arms out wide.

A spear appeared between the two of them so fast they both had to look to see where it came from, finding Lucifer casually holding his weapon out. "You'd last five seconds, Jardan, now sit down. I think it's about time we got out of this place. I must meet with Orion later, and I don't intend on any of us being around much longer. Isabella won't be a problem; I know he's going to send her with me. The rest of you however, that's going to take some planning," Lucifer said, too deep in thought to be distracted by their games.

"Do you think the others know we are leaving?" Jardan asked.

"They shouldn't." Lucifer replied. "Unless one of us has slipped up."

"I've not been with anyone but those in this room since we had that conversation." Isabella said, with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"I'd never say anything. I'll smash anyone who says I have!" Jardan spoke loudly.

"Quiet, my friend! You must keep your voice down. And you, Johna, have you kept your tongue?"

The fourth member of the group, situated in the corner of the room glanced up. "I'd sooner kill them all than tell them of my impending departure."

"As I thought", Lucifer replied, looking back towards Jardan, "So stop panicking, and stick to my plan."

It was never Lucifer's intention to include his three new friends in his life, but they had entered, nonetheless. They had fought for him, killed for him, and he believed after what he had done for them, would die for him. That was a rare commodity in the world, there would always be people who would die for you at the right price but having people who would intentionally go out their way to do whatever they had to do on sheer loyalty alone was a rare gift. The one hindrance to the situation was now there were three souls who Lucifer was responsible and cared for. It meant he could no longer easily disappear under a new name to live a life of solitude.