Gods and Games Ch. 01

"I don't think you realise it old man. If I was to so desire, I could end the lives of every individual of your tribe before midday. I plan to end Ragnvaldr with my own two hands. Besides, I hired some help from the Mercenary Guild in the capital." Shinichi spoke with frustration in his voice, no longer able to keep his uninterested demeanour.

"You dare threaten us-!" the general had finally had enough of Shinichi but was stopped by Zabel when he extended a hand.

"You want us to go on a war with the mountain tribe?" Zabel asked, far more calm than the others around him.

"Send an army, send a man. It won't matter. I'm not asking you to fight, simply send someone to open that seal." Frustration was slowly starting to seep more and more into Shinichi's words. His usual nonchalant mannerism were getting taken over by his frustration.

"And why not, Zabel?" a voice was heard and the crowd parted to reveal Lady Yuta who had finally made an appearance. The other elders turned to her as she joined Zabel in the centre. "My father, his brothers, my own son and so many of our young men & women have gone on the holy mission and lost their lives. Our people lost their loved ones and they demand vengeance. The bloods are boiling and their swords are shivering with a desire for blood." Lady Yuta turned, now addressing the crowd. "For so many years, we've tried to sneak in to steal back what is ours. It's about time we stop sneaking in through the windows and bust the main door down. Kaede are not weak! We have the strength to take back what's ours. I saw those mountain savages take away what was ours many years ago. No more, we kill every last one of them! For our departed and for our future!"

Her words worked like magic, the crowd was cheering in unison. Through the crowd Roku pushed past and yelled, "I'll go avenge my friend!" Following in his lead, pretty soon a number of men and women joined in. Demanding vengeance, demanding what belonged to them, demanding a war.

In the midst of the chaos, Shinichi made his way to the centre of the crowd where the general and the elders were gathered. He yelled to be heard over the crowd. "On the Eleventh night of this cycle, I'll commence my assault. Send me your volunteer by the edge of the Ragnvaldr settlement. There is a cave near the mountain crossroads. You can't miss it." With those words, Shinichi vanished in the crowd.

Once the excitement of the early morning had died down, a meeting of the elders was convened. The pros and cons considered. However, it was deemed unwise to go against the wishes of the masses. They had nine days to get the army mobilized to the mountains. Time constraints were tight and doubts were flying around. The council and the military got in action.

21:00, Eleventh Day of the Fourth Cycle of 3269, Cave near the Mountain Crossroads, Edge of Ragnvaldr Settlement.

The newly formed Kaede Army made its way to the designated spot in record time. The fighting core was two hundred strong, going against the Ragnvaldr Tribe that was easily over four thousand in number. They knew the terrain and had home advantage.

Kaede Army's support and supply lines were a mess. The units were formed overnight, the civilians in the support units couldn't keep up with the military units and were still on their way. The battle strategies were half-baked and the unit commanders prayed that the enthusiasm of their troupes and the element of surprise would be able to carry them through. A possibility of a siege was considered and they prayed that the support units come in quick with the food and medicines they'll require to hold.

They waited and waited, but when Shinichi was nowhere to be seen, it was decided to send a recon group to the settlement. If the assault had begun, they'd join in as reinforcements. If there were no signs of an assault, they'd retreat and wait for further orders.

A recon group was quickly commissioned, Roku volunteered to be the communicator. As the small four-person team approached the settlement, they were a bit concerned about how quiet it was. They had expected a chaos of fighting but it felt simply like a quiet early summer night. They approached the settlement walls while staying hidden in the mountain foliage.

When they were close enough, they saw that a single man stood in front of the settlement gates that were wide open. It was easy to tell the identity of the man. Shinichi stood by the wide open gates, looking into the settlement with his hands resting on his hips. The recon group leader felt something was wrong, it might be a trap or an ambush. He commanded Roku to stay back and communicate the developments with the main army while he'll go to Shinichi and demand an explanation.

The group waited, staying hidden as they watched their group leader approach Shinichi. Anxiety was at all time high, they couldn't make out their conversation or anything from his body language.

A couple of minutes passed, but it felt like an eternity, and finally the group leader gestured them to come over. The rest of the group made haste to meet up and finally know what was going on.

Roku ran the fastest and reached the group leader. "W-What is the status, sir?" he asked, a little out of breath.

"Report back to the main army that the battle is over. Ask them to join us but remain cautious. I'm going to go in and take a look for myself." He gestured to the other equally confused looking members and the three of them ran into the settlement.

Roku stood stunned next to Shinichi. However, he shook his head and got into action. He quickly pulled out his supplies and scribbled the message. Then he held his arm up and whistled, his hawk flew down from the nearby tree where it was perched. While Roku was busy prepping it to deliver the message, a tall, lanky man wearing oversized clothing walked over to them.

He yawned and looked at Roku as he walked over to Shinichi. "The reinforcements from your tribe? Right on time, they'll help gather the loot and deliver my cut to the guild."

Shinichi nodded to him. "How do you feel?"

"Not as great as I thought I would. Every last one of them fuckers is dead but I still feel a bit... Meh?"

"You killed everyone!?" Roku asked with a look of horror on his face.

"Well, not yet. Some of them are still dying. You can go check them out if you want." The odd-looking man said while pointing to the interior of the settlement.

Roku got up on his feet, a bit shakily. He gulped but his throat remained dry. His chest felt tight and his stomach heavy. He dashed into the settlement to see the carnage that man spoke of.

The settlement was deserted, there were hardly any signs of struggle or even a battle. The doors of every house was wide open and there were a few occasional broken pots or overturned furniture. But nothing screamed battle. There was no signs of blood, or even bodies. There simply was no one around. Roku ran around the streets of the settlement until he came across a weird sight.

A queue of people was standing around a street corner. Roku pulled his short sword out and cautiously approached the queue. As he got closer, he saw that the queue was long and it kept going in the other direction. The queue comprised of regular people. There were women and men, children and elderly. All with pale white skin and platinum blonde hair, the signature trait of the Ragnvaldr Tribe. They were wearing leisure clothes mostly, many were in their pyjamas. They didn't seem threatening. However each and every one of them bore a pained expression on their faces. Many of them were crying. None loud, just sobbing in a miserable manner. It made no sense for them to be queuing like that, the queue was moving however, slowly in the other direction.

Beyond confused and still horrified at the words of that man, Roku ran along the queue, trying to see what was at the front. He saw that the long queue led to one of the settlement walls. A hole had been made through the wooden wall and the people were going through one at a time. That was the first sign of blood that Roku saw. The edges of the hole were bloodied, people kept rubbing past the splintered edges, wounding themselves but they didn't seem to mind. They kept walking through the hole. Roku saw his recon group members standing up on the wall, watching the queue of people on the other side. Curious himself, he quickly scaled the wall and got up. He first saw the absolutely horrified looks of his team members and then the reason.

The settlement wall stood on the edge of a cliff that led to a long, steep, fall down the mountain. The slope was straight and lined with jagged protruding rocks. The people of the queue were flinging themselves off the edge of the cliff, one at a time to their certain demise. Their bodies would hit the rocks on their way down lining them with their blood and guts. A huge pile of bodies was barely visible at the bottom of the cliff. There were no screams, just gentle sobs and light thuds as person after person threw themselves off the edge. Women with babies in their hands, toddlers barely old enough to start school, elderly walking with the assistance of a stick, young strong men and women in the primes of their lives... All shared the same fate which waited for them at the bottom of the cliff. Roku got down on his knees and threw up.

***

Roku walked away, the queue of the ex-inhabitants of these lands was no longer present. The hole in the wall the sole reminder this side of the wall of what he had witnessed.

The army had arrived. The Great Kaede Army now busied itself gathering loot, to be divided into two halves. One would return to their settlement, other would head to the guild in the capital.

Roku felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around. "You don't seem to be doing anything." Shinichi spoke in his low deep voice. "Come with me, I need your assistance."

Roku shrugged his hand off his shoulder, stumbling from the effects of his mental trauma. "You asshole!" he yelled at Shinichi, his voice cracked and he felt his eyes watering. "You killed all of them! They didn't all deserve to die! Only the fighters and only till they didn't surrender! But you-you killed-"

Roku didn't get to finish his rant as he started to cough and spat blood. His legs buckled and he crumbled to the ground. Shinichi stood over him, bringing his fist back. "You're just as pathetic as ever." Shinichi grabbed Roku by the arm and dragged the boy along with him.

Shinichi knew the way to the Ancient Tablet through the cave system. He had been there before after all. By now, Roku was walking along with him without anymore words or complaints. They reached a large stone that sat against the end of one of the tunnels. Shinichi pressed his hand against the stone and it split, revealing a square tombstone on the ground. He turned back to look at Roku. "Cut your hand and place it on the tombstone. Let your blood seep into the stone." He spoke stepping away from the tombstone, remembering what had happened last time.

Roku got down on his knees and pulled out his short sword. He placed the edge along his left palm and pulled. A deep gash opened up in his palm and blood started to pool. He placed his hand on the square tombstone just like he was instructed. His blood disappeared into the stone as if it drank his blood. Soon however, words started to appear on the tombstone.

Roku pulled his hand back and Shinichi stood over his shoulder. Both of them read what had appeared on the tombstone.

Shinichi smiled and pulled away. "Gather your men and get them to take that stone back home with you. That's your Tribe's Ancient Tablet. With that, I've fulfilled all my bargains and my work here is over." He turned and started to walk away with a smile when suddenly he felt his body get thrown against the cave wall. He groaned as he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen.

Roku looked back at the noise and saw that a dirty looking blonde man with pale skin had stabbed Shinichi in his abdomen. He must've been one of the Ragnvaldr that escaped and hid in the caves.

Shinichi cursed himself for loosing focus. He saw the man yank the knife out of him and aimed for Shinichi's chest. But the blade never made contact as the man fell to the side. Shinichi looked at Roku who was still sat near the tablet. That kid had thrown his short sword a distance of almost twenty metres and hit his assailant precisely in the side of their head. A kill shot which perfectly had him lying dead on the floor just before he was able to land the finishing blow on Shinichi. Shinichi collapsed next to the corpse as he felt his own consciousness leave him. It was time.

***

It felt good. No, it felt amazing. If there was such a place as heaven, he was probably in that place. Shinichi slowly opened his eyes and saw an angel. She had her hands on his chest and she was bouncing on his cock. A pair of beautiful white breasts were bouncing as she rode him so masterfully. His eyes trailed up her stunning figure and rested on her face.

Leah had tears flowing down her face but she was too busy fucking him back to life to wipe them off.

"Mhm, what a sight to wake up to." Shinichi moaned in a weak voice, bringing his hands up to rest on her thighs.

Leah stopped and looked down at him. She quickly wiped her tears off and bent down to hug him tightly. She clutched him to her chest and covered his face with kisses. "Shinichi. Shinichi. Shinichi. Shinichi." She kept repeating his name. Relishing the feeling of his name rolling off her tongue.

Shinichi wrapped his arms around her and slowly stroked her hair, smiling at the amazing feeling of having her so close to him.

"Why...? Why? WHY!?" Leah wailed sitting back up on his lap. She placed her hands back on his chest and cried. "Why is your life force so weak? Why aren't you healing? Why aren't you getting better even though I keep fucking you? Answer me, Shinichi!"

Shinichi raised his hands up to cup her cheeks, he used his thumbs to wipe her tears off. "I came to your world on borrowed time. I was never supposed to live so long. But my mission and your gift kept pushing me beyond my limit. But it's time for me to go now."

Leah shook her face, her tears running down continuously. "What the fuck is that even supposed to mean? I'll make you better! I'll heal you, you're not leaving me again, Shinichi!"

"Leah, please..." Shinichi strained his muscles as he managed to sit up with her on his lap. He looked into her eyes with genuine love. "... Kiss me."

Leah sniffled and wiped her face. She wrapped her arms around his torso. She leaned in and kissed her lover. She hugged him tightly. He kissed her back and she returned it with all her passion.

Eventually, his lips stopped moving and his body felt heavy. Leah pulled back, his eyes were closed and he had an expression of content on his face. She gently lowered him down onto the bed and laid down on top of him. Sobbing inconsolably. "No... No... No... Shinichi... Shinichi... SHINICHI!"

11:00, Twenty-Second Day of the Fourth Cycle of 3269, Kaede Tribe's Burial Grounds, Kaede Tribe's Settlement.

The people of the Kaede Tribe had varying opinions about the Shinichi, that had come into their lives as an intruder. Some still disliked him, others respected him, yet some didn't care.

His presence however had greatly affected the tribe. The conquest in the mountains of Ragnvaldr would bring them great fame, or rather infamy. Other tribes would think twice before looking at them the wrong way. The wealth brought in by the conquest would add to their prosperity. There was also a possibility of them taking over the mountains and mining the precious resources themselves. The tunnels already built would turn out to be hugely profitable.

But the greatest gift he brought them was the Ancient Tablet of the Sacred Mother. So there were no surprises when the elders announced that he would be buried in the burial grounds of their tribe.

A large crowd had gathered to pay him their last respects. Aimee was standing in the crowd, wearing her black mourning gown as she watched his body get lowered into the grave. One by one, the elders came forward to drop dirt into the grave. There were many wet eyes, however Leah, the settlement's healer and Roku's mother was beyond consoling. She was wailing while hugging Lady Yuta who herself was wiping off a stray tear from her eyes.

Another inconsolable person was standing next to her, Quin was crying her eyes out and sobbing uncontrollably. Aimee remembered she was just like this when the funeral for the elite squad was organised a month back. No bodies were buried but Roku had read his friend's final letter and buried it instead.

Thinking about Roku, she couldn't find him anymore. He was standing just a few moments ago besides Quin but he seemed to have left. Aimee remembered that he looked ghastly, as if he was suffering from an illness. She felt a bit worried about her teammate back from the team forty-eight days. No one really considered the dead man as the great warrior Shinichi who was his father, but from the way Leah and Lady Yuta were reacting, she wondered if Roku too felt like he lost another person close to him.

It took her a while but she figured he might be back by the lake where they used to hang out after training. She walked over to the old tree and found him sitting under it. He had his knees pulled up to his chest and his head was lowered onto his knees. His arms were wrapped around his head.

She walked over to him and sat down besides him on her knees. She reached over and pressed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, Roku. Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm not sure Aimee." He replied weakly before turning to look at her. "I'm not sure."

Aimee gasped as she looked at him. His eyes, they were completely black.

-End of Part 1.