Fate of a Dynasty

Regulus lifted his head and nodded in recognition of his understanding, "Thank you, I will not disgrace you again," he whispered feebly.

"I am sure you will not. I am going to be putting your wife in charge of my favorite arena from now on, she will report to me. Any further problems and I will have your head on a spike faster than you can say, 'Emperor', it will be in your best interest to aid your wife in running my arena effectively. I wouldn't want to have to bring her back in for another dose of punishment," he smirked, "although I am not entirely sure she would be so desperate to stay away, perhaps you will find things deliberately going wrong!" He laughed, once again slapping and gripping the flesh of Mariana's bare ass, who still remained comatose on top of the desk between them.

"There will be no more problems, my Emperor," Regulus Orion replied with a blank expression, the life seemingly drained from his pale face.

"Excellent, I have much to do, I will not waste any more time on the two of you," he stood to dress himself, "pray I do not hear your names again. The keys to your shackles are here," he said, throwing the keys on the table.

*****

The red trim of Emperor Augustus Redmaine's armor outlined the gleaming silver metal, his helmet donning a red feathered strip from front to back, a clear signal of his position. His royal red cape trailed behind him as he walked across the main deck of 'The Endless Rage', the lead ship of his fleet.

"As you all know, today is the day where we finally sail west. We have our allies placed exactly where we need them. Now is the time we have all been waiting for," Augustus addressed his war generals, "it will be a long journey, and not easy at that. The rewards, however, will be most worth it."

"The world is ours, Emperor. Your men are keen to set sail." The tallest of his generals spoke up.

"I have the utmost faith in you, General Swanson. I am sure you and your house will be most useful in the wars to come," Augustus acknowledged, "as will the rest of you," he added to the other Generals.

The emperor glanced towards one of his nearby soldiers, "Send news to Ardune Clement, tell him we are setting off with the force of the Athenian empire."

Warlord Julius Azazel

With preparations for the invading Luandan forces, the potential invading Athenian fleet and his task of locating and bringing Lucifer home, Julius was busy. The first thing that needed to be solved was the large army of warriors occupying a small area of land in the south of the country. The invading forces were more of a nuisance than a major threat, but an impending war with Athenia was a worrying outcome of the invasion. If he could squash them early enough it might make the emperor think twice about sailing east.

The city streets of Tayper were bustling with the usual activity. People selling their wares or shopping for what food or silk they needed. Squads of warriors marched through the cobbled city streets wearing the infamous blue clad plated armor of the Dominican army. Whispers of war had started, something that was all too familiar to Julius Azazel. The people of Dominica were a proud people and as such never faltered in giving their full support to their warriors, offering food and wine as they passed by.

The dark hair of a child messenger swept with the wind as he darted between the oncoming traffic between himself and Warlord Azazel. It was not uncommon for children to be used as messengers in Dominica, they had superb knowledge of the city and could travel between blocks using routes only they seemed to know. Julius had the most contact with the palace and as such he had employed only the most trusted to run errands for him.

"My Lord Azazel," the boy panted, having finally found the man who was supposed to be at his home.

"Ah, Zachary. Good job in finding me, I was a little worried you might find my house empty and return to the palace. You bring news?"

"Yes, Lord Azazel, I can find any man in this city no matter where he is," The young child said proudly, "The Queen has requested your presence at once my lord, preparations to march south are in full swing."

"You never fail to amaze me with your maturity, Zach. There is a bright future for you, of that I am sure," Julius replied with a kind smile, "return to our Queen and let her know I will be with her as soon as I have finished organizing the last of the warriors into their squads."

Without a second thought the young boy sped off towards the nearest market house and climbed up its wooden beams, lifted himself onto the rooftop and disappeared over the backdrop.

Organizing the last-minute chaos of unprepared squadrons was enough to turn a man's hair grey, it was always the hardest work of any battle. You could spend years training warriors for every battle scenario imaginable from land to sea and yet when the time for battle came the chaos that ensued was always the same; warriors missing shields or spears and saying their goodbyes to their wives and children, leaving a nervous feeling in the air.

As the sun started to disappear behind the distant mountains, Julius was confident that his entire army was prepared, each stationed under their respectful captains ready to march the following morning. It had been such a chaotic couple of hours he almost forgot he had been summoned to the palace.

As he made his way to the magnificent building, he could only hope that it would not be the last time he set his eyes upon its beauty, or the beauty of those who sat inside it.