Ian's Quest Pt. 10

It was the fall equinox, and the new alliance seemed to be in trouble. The army of the Deathless Emperor was pressing deep into the center of the rebel army, which seemed ready to disintegrate. Ian watched the battled from hilltop about the valley, and beckoned to his son, Ioannis, asked "Will they run?"

"Father, they've retreated farther than planned, and a few in the rear columns are running. It's not quite time for the counterstrike yet, so they could use some help."

"Yes, I agree." Focusing his power through Kadosh, he summoned image of his grandfather Eliezer, who was on the hilltop on the other side of the valley. "Grandfather, the center needs some help."

"I agree, Ian. Come to me."

"I'll be in touch, Ioannis. Wait for orders here, and ride like fury when the canone start to speak."

"Yes, father."

Another thought, and Ian shifted to stand next to his grandfather. "Do you see what I mean? We need to send reinforcements."

The old man scratched his beard. "No, there are none to spare. We need everyone for the counter attack. The trap is set and we'll be ready to spring it momentarily. The cavalry on each wing has almost defeated the Imperial Guards, and when that happens, they'll be able to move in and block the entrance to the valley. But you're right, they're giving too much too fast down there and we need to slow it down. I see the Deathless one has yet to enter the valley. If I go down there and make my presence known, it will draw him in. I'll take Kadosh, wait until he moves into the valley." In a blink, Eliezer was gone and Ian turned his attention back to the struggle.

It was a classic trap: Ian lined up his army with the center across the face of a mountain valley with the wings on the slopes. As the Deathless Emperor's army advanced, the center let itself be pushed back while the wings held their ground. At the edges, the cavalries engaged, with the rebel cavalry gaining quick superiority. A breakdown in the center threatened that strategy.

Lighting erupted from the retreating troops, and with a shout they began to hold. More and more blasts came from behind Ian's line, throwing the Imperial front line troops into confusion and slowing down the forward push of the army. A regiment of demons with the Imperial standard came to attention in the rear near the Imperial pennant and began to push forward, throwing their own human troops out of the way in their advance.

"That's him," Ioannis shouted. "The enemy!"

"Not yet," his father said. "Not quite yet. Let him get into the trap first. Grandfather will keep his attention where it needs to be, and he won't be overcome. The Deathless Emperor would love to destroy Eliezer and take Kadosh, so he'll keep moving that direction, no matter what."

Ian summoned a page who brought his crystal ball. Giblis appeared immediately with a big smile on her face. "The Cranebreak division have lived up to its name. Blennder's corps has disintegrated, running in all directions and Lowsring is retreating toward the capital from the Far Continent's forces. Your trap worked, we caught them between our two forces and they got their tits wrung out completely."

"Excellent. How's Merlina?"

"Bored. What's next, love?"

"Have the Far Continent alliance follow Lowsring and occupy the capital if they can. You head north and mop up any resistance around Cashawm."

"Yes, Lord. Remember me when you're done." Giblis gave him a wink and blew him a kiss before disappearing.

The knot of guards entered the valley, and the press of soldiers slowed their pace. About halfway from the entrance to the front it stopped entirely, stuck behind a jam of men and horses.

Ian gave the signal and the canone sounded, throwing the Imperial troops into shock as the smell of gunpowder started to fill the air. "Charge!" came from the throats of a thousand commanders, and the Ian's entire army descended on their surrounded prey.

It was a bloodbath until Ian's personal guard reached the Imperial elite forces. The demons were difficult to overcome, and Ian summoned Kadosh back to send many to their homeland. He was in his prime, physically and mentally, and in the late afternoon he reached the Deathless Emperor's presence. The Deathless Emperor sat tall in his saddle, he appeared to be Ian's age, but flashes of a winzied old man peeked through from time to time, indicating the magic that kept him young and vibrant was wearing off. Eliezer appeared and shouted a spell that cast a sphere around the three of them: Eliezer, Ian and the Emperor.

The Deathless Emperor's voice was deep and hollow, with a slight raspy edge to it. "Well, old man, the tables are turned. I wondered when you'd turn up." He turned to look at Ian. "You must be Ian, I see the resemblance, both to your side of the family and your mother's. She will be glad you were alive; she thought you died as a baby two hundred years ago. Shame she won't see you in the flesh, maybe your son will be good enough although she always hated the thought of grandchildren. Oh, there's one more generation, being a great grandmother will kill her with shame. But enough of this pleasantry. Which to do first? It will be you, young man."

The Emperor reached his hand out and send a wall of force to blast him; Ian responded with a counter wall that met halfway. Back and forth the spot went where the two forces pushed against each other. The battle raged around them, the slaughter continued, until the Imperial troops turned to run. The Deathless Emperor paid no attention. "I can always get a new army," he growled, "but you are another matter. I cannot die, what do you hope to accomplish?"

"This." With a surge, he pushed until his force almost reached his opponent's body; the Emperor barely fended it off. Three more times Ian pushed and the third time the Emperor fell from his horse, his power spent, his armor shattered.

As the man sat in the mud, panting heavily, he said, "What now? You cannot kill me? What can you do now?"

Eliezer brought out the Pearl of Oncona and whispered into it. It sprang open and a demon popped out, who was immediately surrounded by a circle of blue fire. "Crankebreak," Ian said in solemn tones.

It was a tall demon, whose skin had more yellow and orange in it than red. "Yes, young puppy? What can I give you for the favor you've done me already? And after that, what can I do to get my freedom?"

"Submission, and a promise never to harm me and my heirs for eternity."

"Sure, if that's all. I even owe you a little."

"You can put this one in the place you just occupied."

Cranebreak looked at the Emperor. "Oh, you! What an idiot! Well, the joke's on you all the way around." The circle fell and he grabbed the Emperor by the arm, throwing him into the Pearl. A door slammed shut and the jewel returned to its milky hue. "Thanks for the good time! Is he going away for good?"

"Yes," Eliezer said. "We have plans."

"Now the submission and oath."

Cranebreak knelt at Ian's feet, putting his foot on the scaly head, and submitted as required. "I smell my brother on you," he said after he got up. "Have you been around Gritchlaudroneckstis?"

"Yes, you could say so."

The demon sniffed a little more. "Oh this is delicious! Have I got something to roast his ass about! If you let me go, I'll pay back the twerp for what he did for me."

Ian performed a ritual dismissal, and by the time he was gone, the battlefield was quiet. Ioannis came up when the sphere was dropped, and smiled. "We've won, father! It's over. Now comes the easy part."

"Not quite, Ioannis," Ian said. "I have to deal with my mother. Rally the men and return to camp. Tomorrow start moving south toward Longreen, and take the surrender of the remaining troops. I'll let you know what comes after that."

The younger man embraced his father, and mounted his horse to lead his troops away. Eliezar watched them ride away with his grandson, leaning against his shoulder. The sun was starting to touch the rim of the mountains as they found themselves alone.

Ian looked at his grandfather. "Must you go now?"

"Oh, yes," the old man said, looked at the sun. "It's past time. The only reason I got to live this long was to see this day. My life has stretched out too far. You need me to go; I must do you one last service."

"What?"

The ancient blue-veined hand held up the Pearl of Oncona. "I must take this to Stormrest with me." A sunbeam touched them and his grandfather sighed. "Farewell," the old man said, and walked up the sunbeam until he disappeared. "Good luck with your mother," was the last word he heard.

The power of Kadosh moved him in an eyeblink to his mother's study in the capital. Night had already fallen, and Melanthalia was sitting at her dressing table, wearing a long scarlet silk robe. Her white hair reached to her waist, and she was combing it. Her skin was lily white, porcelain, smooth and perfect, and her eyes icy blue. Her fingers were long and artistic, her body lean. Ian noticed how much her face resembled his, particularly in the cheekbones and around the lips.

He stood there several moments while she kept combing her hair, as if nothing else was going on in the world. "I never thought I'd see you again," she said, calmly. "I thought you were dead. Morcombe Glen was such a messy day. But I guess Rotten Cabbage Pass will be the battle that changed the world now. Well done, Ian."

"Thank you, Mother. I've done my best."

"You certainly have, but then again, you've had a lot of help. Especially from that old coot Eliezer. Shame he was a better grandfather than a father, Xander could hardly stand to be in the same room with him. Confuses me how he keeps skipping back and forth in time. You look as though you're...oh, let's see...a few age lines around your mouth, a touch of grey in your hair, you know red was my color once...you're in great shape, so you're not over forty...but your skin looks weathered, you were at sea a long time...thirty five, yes, thirty five! Am I not right?"

"Yes, Mother. Absolutely." Melanthalia stood up and turned. She was rather thin, with a small waist, her head came up only to his chest. Her feet were bare and delicate, and her arms and legs seemed fragile. There was a sizzle in the air around her, the magic she employed to maintain her form so strong it almost made the air around her sparkle. "You still look lovely, I'd guess your age around thirty."

She laughed. "You're kind to your old mother. I was thirty at the time of Morcombe Glen, and that's where I've stayed for...oh...two hundred and fifty years. Unlike you, I've lived through every one of them. Of course, unlike my second husband, I've maintained my youth through honest magic rather than dealing with demons."

"And a number of virgins gave you their blood as well, to drink and bathe in. Don't think they did it willingly, did they? So I'm afraid I'll have to contest the 'honest magic' claim."

"As you will, Ian. Now I imagine it's time to settle the succession, something we've never had to deal with before. A Deathless Emperor didn't need an heir, but now he does and so...I imagine my bloodline will have to do. Let's see about you: good age, good experience base, you've been a good monarch, qualitatively of course. A bit too moral for my taste, I prefer a strong man who isn't afraid to push people around to get what he wants."

"Mother, I believe you don't have much say in the matter. I believe my claim is the best, and after all, I won the war."

"No, no, no. You won the battle, and that's all."

"Of course. We still have a few things to settle. After all, my armies won't get here for a couple of days, resisters will probably gather in the southwest swamps and carry on for a while. General Lowsring has operated out of swamps before. I believe only one of us will be able to carry on after this interview..."

"No, not necessarily. I can be a good mother, forgive my only son his folly if he's willing to see things my way. I don't need the spotlight, but an empire is bigger than a kingdom, and I'm sure you'll need my...advice in the coming years."

"I don't think so."

"No, I don't either. I hoped your resolve would be more like your father's, but it isn't. I'll have to find someone else, but you've given me a few descendants to choose from."

"Your planning is going to be an exercise in fantasy, Mother. You need to deal with me first, here and now."

She waved her hand and turned away from him. "You're so disgustingly pedantic, my son. Like your grandfather. I hope reality doesn't notice Ioannis should only be, oh what is it, 19 instead of 29 years old. It really wasn't fair for Eliezer to raise two boys at two different places at the same time for 10 years. I'm sure the double dipping aged him, as did the flying ahead 200 plus years in history. Where is the old coot? I thought he'd be here to gloat since he invested so much in this victory."

"He's gone on. We put the Emperor in the Pearl of Oncona, and Grandfather took it with him to Stormrest."

She blinked in surprise, and smiled. "Wow, nice move. The Deathless Emperor's confinement is in a place of eternal bliss, where he could never exist outside that pearl. No one will retrieve him from there, and he will remain for eternity, trapped in a jewel in heaven. An awful fate for an evil man." She laughed out loud, putting her hand on her table to steady herself, and went through three bouts of laughter, at the thought. "Good for you, Eliezer. That one you tied up beyond unravelling."

Ian snickered. "Yes, I think so, too. If I had the chance, I would have put you in there with him."

"I am eternally indebted to you for that," she said, grinning evilly at him. "After the first couple of decades the charm wore off, and our relationship was purely business. Anyway, after about ten years in your company, Ioannis is too warped for my uses, especially since he's got a lovely bimbo for his own, as well as a son of his own. A regency for an infant might be fun, would have to get a nanny. Better an older child, like the sailor boy at the Far Continent. I don't care if his mother's not of noble blood: I make my own nobility. Seven is a good age to start training him. He wouldn't understand women in blouses, and I'm not running around with bare tits to satisfy him. The half elven seem the best bet, loyalty assured, the right age, trainable, mothers who are dark Elves of Historum, probably the best bet. Have to use some magic to disguise them, but not as much at the Deathless one. Over time, I can phase it out, let them be seen as they are, maybe concoct an accident to explain everything. Yes, that's the answer."

A circle sprang up around them, encompassing mother and son. Ian stood calmly before her, unimpressed. "Nice dreams, Mother. Shame they won't work."

Melanthalia raised one eyebrow and summoned a staff topped with a red stone to her hand. "Ah, my son. I regret this; I spent so little time with you. But it's a mother's sacrifice, I guess." A huge gout of flame shot out of the ruby, burning everything around Ian. For three minutes, she roasted the spot he was, thinking to reduce him to ashes.

When she stopped, Ian stood there naked, Kadosh still in his hand. "Something's lost in every conflict, I've lost more than this," he said calmly. "You'll lose something as well."

She blinked in surprise. "Well, seems like you've used to how that damned stick handles. Took me forever to talk your father into surrendering it. But it didn't negate my magic that time. You've drunk some dragon milk, that has to be it. She used to be a witch named Fristia, crossed Hrekmer, Cashawm's god of Fire and Ironmaking, who cursed her and her daughters into reptile form. Bet you had fun with them."

"Yes, Mother. I won't go into details."

"Thank you for that. You remind me of your father now, only he was a little smaller than you. All right, power against power." She sent a wall of force toward him, and he responded in kind. Unlike the Emperor, her trails of force snaked and wove around seeking a winding path to its goal, but Kadosh managed to stay bound to it, wresting it out of the way at every turn. They curved in on themselves until the tangled web dissipated in a flash.

"I think you've met your match, Mother. This is the end of Empress Melanthalia's power, here, now." He reached out and it was her turn to wrestle his attack about of the way, or failing than, come to another draw. Like wrestler with leverage, Kadosh prevailed over the ruby's power, wrenching it from its source by force. She panted for a moment and sent another tendril out: it was intercepted and forcibly banished as well. A third time she tried with no luck.

Then Ian sent out another force tendril that wrenched the red jewel out of its staff and crushed it, turning it to dust. She threw the staff at him, and it disintegrated when he brought Kadosh up to fend it off. For the first time, a look of fear was in her eyes, and she shook nervously. Out of desperation, she breathed fire at her son, seeking desperately for something to harm him. The flames were reflected back and burned her gown off, leaving her naked as well.

He laughed, knowing her staff was where most of her power resided and its demise left her helpless. Kadosh sent a impulse through his mind, and he nodded. Melanthalia's face held a look of terror as Ian levitated her off the ground and turned her horizontal, her head away from him. He forced her legs apart, and moved her close. "You aren't going to fuck you own mother, are you?" she questioned, a tone of rage in her voice.

"This will be worse," he replied. As her groin approached, he held Kadosh level and inserted the end in her anus. It became slippery at the end as it was going in, and he could tell it was bending to follow the track of her bowels. It took two minutes, but he forced the entire length of his staff inside her.

She shook violently in the air, turning different colors: red, blue, green, yellow, purple, orange, white, black. Her head wobbled and her mouth was wide open, her scream sailing up and down the scale, and her hair billowed out from her head straight up above her. Five pulses of light came from her body, like lightning flashing in the mountains, that almost blinded him, and then all was quiet. Melanthalia was in a daze, exhausted.

Kadosh sent Ian another message, and he inserted his cock in her cunt. She closed her eyes, and accepted it, moving her hips slightly to draw him in, and moaning as he got his full girth inside. It felt different than any other time he had sex: Kadosh's presence in her other passageway gave it an electricity he'd never felt before. He was almost sorry it would be a one time experience.

Nature moved him, and he increased his tempo until he was pounding her hard, roughly, without mercy, and her lips moved silently. It wasn't long before he was ready, sending his semen deep inside her. When he finished, Kadosh slipped out of her other opening, slowly, gently, and became a staff once again when it was out.

He floated her to a couch, and she laid back resting. Her voice was different when she spoke, gentler, softer. "It must have been the Queenling, you must have met her. Did you ever notice that anyone would screw you, become your minion after you fucked them? That's what she gave you. I couldn't have figured that out." She touched herself and shuddered. "Oh, I thought I wasn't interested in anything like that ever again. Too bad you can't make your mother your consort."

Ian sat down, drained. "No, don't think I should do that. Have a lot to deal with before deciding that." A rough fanfare came from the East, reedy and harsher than trumpets. "That's one of mine. My demon regiment is here."

"I will tell my troops to surrender." A small writing table appeared before her, with a quill and piece of parchment. It scribbled on its own, and after a wax seal appeared, disappeared. "Bet you'll need me to teach you this little magic, Ian."