The Emperor of Destruction Ch. 01

"It's a story for another time," said Cunha. "Suffice to say that the Unending Sea is not quite Unending. I eventually found a land which was being ruled cruelly, by tyrants who didn't care about their people. Peasants were beaten, abused, even killed. I started to fight back on their behalf. Other men joined me. Over time we liberated more and more villages, and my forces grew larger and larger."

"You... you have an army?" Margaret asked.

"A small one," said Cunha. "Word reached my ears about Emperor William's decline. I figured you might be in trouble. I decided to come back and try and help you."

"Oh, Cunha, that's so sweet of you," said Margaret. Quickly she told him how Delos had taken control of Rockrod, and refused to let her see her ailing father. She told him that Darvin would make a much better Emperor, and was relieved to see that Cunha agreed.

"But my husband's forces aren't large enough to take the castle," said Margaret. The garrison at Rockrod Castle were loyal to the Emperor, but with Emperor William sick, Delos had authority over them.

"I have two hundred good men camped in the forest five miles from here," said Cunha. "Together, we can take Rockrod, if you can get us in." He looked at her imploringly. "Margaret, I need to know. Is there any secret entrance into the Castle? One that might not be guarded?" Rockrod was called a Castle, but it was also every bit a fortress, guarded by high walls.

Margaret gave Cunha an appraising stare, and nodded. "Yes. There is." She took a deep breath. "If we do this, Cunha, you have to promise me there will be no killing."

Cunha bit his lip and looked down for a moment. "Margaret, there may be no choice. If they fight, we'll have to fight back."

Margaret took a deep breath. "I understand. But I want casualties kept to a minimum. Once the Household garrison realizes they are outnumbered, they should do the sensible thing and surrender to us. And above all I don't want Delos harmed."

"Of course," said Cunha. "I understand."

Margaret raised her hand to touch his cheek tenderly. "It's so amazing to see you again, in our time of greatest need. It's as if the Womb of the World created you just to help me at this very moment."

Cunha took a step forward and looked into her eyes. "Do you think so? If so, which Candelabra of the World put me into the Global Womb? Was it Anber's, or Bemos'?"

It was said there were two Candelabras of the World, belong to Anber and Bemos. Anber was thought to be evil, and so when Anber had access to the Womb of the World, he used it to create wicked things. But when Bemos had its turn with the Global Womb, the Womb was used to create only good. So it was said.

Margaret continued to touch his cheek as she felt her ahmen rise within her. "Oh... definitely Bemos. Bemos for sure." She felt herself sinking towards him, closer, closer, closer....

She couldn't!

She pulled back, feeling embarrassed. "Let me... let me talk to my husband. Farnham."

"You do that," said Cunha. "Talk to your husband." His expression was unreadable.

********

They arranged to strike two days later. Margaret went to the Freehold where she lived and talked to Lord Farnham. He was willing to help, as Margaret knew he would. Farnham was a good man. He knew the risks; if they failed, they would all likely be executed as traitors. But he agreed to help out of his love for her. Margaret resolved that once this situation was resolved that she would spread her legs and work even harder to bake a meat pie for Farnham. And hopefully when it was born it would be a boy, a male heir.

But Margaret felt some apprehensions when she gathered with Farnham's forces in the little forest behind the castle two mornings later. Darvin was there, of course. Margaret had to really work hard on him to persuade him to come. He was reluctant and even a little afraid. "What if people die? What if something goes wrong?" he said.

At that moment Margaret knew he would be a terrible Emperor.

But Delos would be even worse.

Perhaps, Margaret thought, if Darvin let her guide him, his rule could be a successful one.

The other source of Margaret's misgivings were Cunha's men. She hadn't gotten a good look at them in the dark two days earlier, and now that she did, she didn't exactly like what she saw.

Cunha's men didn't look like shining knights who took from the rich and gave to the poor; to the contrary, they looked more like bandits. They were clearly unshaven, unkempt, with dirt on their faces and wildly uncombed hair. They gave Margaret what looked like sinister leers and whispered to each other with little grins on their faces. Their leader, a man named General Cloaka, inspired even less confidence. He was just as unshaven and dirty as the rest of his men, but also had a wild look in his eyes, one that caused Margaret to shiver.

And then there was the giant woman with four Wisdoms, and the man who was also a dog.

Margaret was not ignorant. She had been educated by royal tutors. So she was aware that there was a land called the Hidden Valley where a race of warrior women lived who had four... four Wisdoms. But she had never actually seen one before. Frankly, Margaret had thought they were little more than myths.

But this woman was no myth. She was over six feet tall, and all muscle from the look of her. She had armor covering both sets of Wisdoms, though the tops of her Wisdoms were exposed, and Margaret saw a nasty scar on the woman's upper right Wisdom. The woman looked like she had been chiseled out of stone.

White Stone.

She was White.

Nearly everyone in the civilized world were either Cream, or Beige. Creams and Beiges got along with each other, except when they didn't. Creams thought Beiges were arrogant, and Beiges thought Creams were sly and tricky with money.

And then there was that tiny percentage of people who were White. Most Whites lived in Rape Town, on the eastern edge of the Centerfold. Rape Town was a place of anarchy and violence. What else did one expect from White folk? The Emperor's soldiers kept out of there unless they had good reason to go in, and they had swords and armor and shields. Regular folk simply didn't go to Rape Town. Unfortunately, the inhabitants of Rape Town often came out to plague their Cream and Beige neighbors with robbery, theft, assault, and sometimes, yes, rape. More than one woman who wandered too close to Rape Town at night found herself viciously assaulted and then, two months later, ballooning up with a meat pie if she wasn't careful enough to go on the ragweed.

Margaret had been educated to understand that it was poverty that drove Whites to act like animals, but she had barely even seen one from a distance. And now she stood in front of a giant one who stood in front of her blank faced, and she held a wicked sword.

"This is Zebrah," said Cunha, introducing her to Margaret. "Before she came to work for me, she was the First Sword of the Wind Swords, the most impressive organization of warriors among the Alkemi of the Hidden Valley."

"That is not true," said Zebrah. She spoke in a deep, flat voice. "The Wind Swords are not the most impressive group of Warriors among my people. Those would be the Harpies. And I was not First Sword."

"But you would have been, if you had been given the chance," said Cunha.

"Perhaps," said Zebrah coldly.

"Perhaps," Cunha grinned as he raised his eyebrows.

Margaret's eyes turned to the creature who was standing to Zebrah's side. It had the face of a dog, with a dark muzzle, but the arms, legs, and body of a man. Though the body was covered in a thick layer of dark fur. And on its back was a tail. "What... what are you?"

"This?" Cunha asked, putting his arm around the creature. "This is Dog. Say hello to Margaret, Dog."

"Hello to Margaret, Dog," said Dog, in a dry voice.

Margaret jumped slightly.

"Yes, he does speak," said Cunha. "In fact, Dog speaks well and fights even better."

Zebrah snorted visibly.

"These are some of the best fighters from all over the world," said Cunha.

"I'm sure," said Margaret, turning back to Zebrah's well muscled body.

It was time to commit... or to forget about their entire plan. Margaret looked at Darvin, who was nervously trying not to make eye contact with Zebrah, and made a decision.

********

The entrance to the tunnel was hidden behind some bushes in the side of a hill. It led on for two hundred feet under the castle walls into the granary. One by one they emerged from the tunnel. Cunha had brought his two hundred men, and Farnham had brought nearly a hundred.

As they emerged from the granary, they saw a servant carrying a bundle. He immediately dropped what he was carrying and tried to run.

Dog Man was quicker, running forward to grab him and break his neck with a sick cracking sound.

"I said there was to be no killing," said Margaret.

Cunha grabbed Margaret roughly. "Margaret, all it would take would be one man to raise the alarm. We can't afford to be intercepted before we reach the throne room."

"We're not going to the throne room," said Margaret.

"We're not?" said Farnham. "Isn't that where Delos will be?"

"Probably," said Margaret. "But I want to check on Father first. Maybe we can avoid further bloodshed if we can persuade him to remove Delos from power."

"Where is he?" Farnham asked.

"The Royal Apartments," said Margaret.

********

Margaret winced as the two guards outside Father's quarters were dispatched by Cunha's men. She was having more and more reservations about what they were doing and how they were doing it. Perhaps Father could put a stop to this madness.

Margaret was not prepared for what she was to see when she entered Father's bedroom.

There was blood everywhere--on the bed, on the floor, on the walls.

"What has happened here?" Margaret said. She ran over to the bed. Father lay there, with a bloody hole in his chest.

William McMasters, the Emperor of Aridor, was dead.

"What... what could do this?" Margaret asked. She heard a hissing sound, and looked up, but it was almost too late.

A giant spider, perhaps a foot in diameter jumped down from the ceiling directly on top of her. Or rather, it would have, if Zebrah hadn't knocked Margaret to the floor a split second before the spider hit.

Margaret blinked as she looked up at Zebrah; her blade was pointed upwards, and the spider was impaled on it.

Zebrah offered Margaret a hand up. Her face was cold and impassive. Margaret took her hand. When she stood erect, Zebrah turned away, wiping the spider off her blade, and then cleaning her sword on Father's bedsheets. Her sword was a famed vorpal blade, sharper than any blade in existence, and it had a name.

Thrasher.

Margaret noticed that Thrasher was so shiny it gleamed. It was almost silver in color.

"What... what has happened here?" Margaret asked, trying to make sense of it all.

"It looks like Delos staged a retirement party for your father," said Cunha.

"Delos?" Margaret made a face. "No. He would never do this. Not Delos."

"With your father out of the way, no one could stop him," said Cunha.

"Father," Margaret whimpered, as she looked down at the bloodied remains of the Emperor. "Father, I'm so sorry."

"Margaret, we don't have time for this," said Cunha. "We could be discovered at any moment. We must deal with Delos."

"He's right," said Farnham, taking his shaking wife into his arms. "We can all grieve later, dear."

Margaret bit her lip and nodded. She needed to be strong, now. She needed to be focused. "All right." She took a deep breath. "Let's go."

********

They had to kill four more soldiers before they reached the throne room. Margaret was numb to it all. Seeing her father dead, seeing his body ripped open like that, left her in a state of shock, worse even since her mother had died all those years ago.

When they entered the throne room, they found Delos sitting there, waiting for them. He had a smile pasted on his face as dozens of Farnham's men and Cunha's soldiers filed in behind Margaret.

Margaret slowly approached the stairs below the throne, in the company of Darvin, Cunha, and Farnham. Delos seemed quite alone, except for two guardsmen flanking him on either side. More to the point, Delos seemed relaxed, as if this were all some sort of game, as if it were a game he had already won.

Margaret felt wary, to say the least. She knew that Delos was stronger in the Power than she was. Or Darvin, for that matter. She had hoped that he might be persuaded to surrender when he was surrounded by her men. She had hoped that even if he didn't surrender, that she combined with Darvin and Cunha could overpower Delos. Margaret didn't know exactly how strong Cunha was with the Power, but when she had last seen him, ten years ago, his jizz had felt quite strong.

"Sister," said Delos, extending his arms. "So nice of you to pay us a visit. Who are all your friends?" He stared at Farnham, and nodded slightly to him. Then he looked at Cunha. Recognition slowly dawned in his eyes. "Could it be... Cousin Cunha? I thought they sent you over the Unending Sea."

"They did, Cousin," said Cunha.

"Not so unending as we were lead to believe, then," said Delos.

"Oh, it's unending all right," said Cunha. "I spent five years sailing east, and then five sailing west."

Delos laughed. "I always heard you had a good sense of humor. I think if we had been differently situated, we could have been friends."

"It's too late for that, Delos," said Margaret. "Not after what you did to Father."

"Father?" Delos looked confused. "Father is receiving the best medical care we can provide."

"No! Father is dead."

"Dead?" said Delos, still looking genuinely confused.

"You killed him!" Margaret cried.

Delos looked confused for a moment longer, and then his face cleared up. "Ah. I think see now. First Father, and now me."

"We have you surrounded," said Farnham. "Surrounded, and outnumbered, as you can see."

"I see," said Delos. "And what is it you ask of me?"

"Step down," said Margaret.

"Step down? And who will rule the Empire?" His gaze turned to Darvin, who was staring down at the floor. "Him?" He laughed, the sounds echoing cruelly through the throne room. "You mean you, Margaret. You're to rule through him. Isn't that right?" Delos said.

"No," said Margaret. But her denial was feeble even to her own ears.

"And what is to become of me while younger brother here is ruling the Empire?" Delos asked. "Imprisonment? Execution?"

"Exile," said Margaret slowly. "Exile, if you can prove you didn't murder father."

"How exactly do I prove a negative?" Delos asked. "How do I prove I didn't eat a slice of bread this morning? How do I prove I didn't get out of the left side of my bed instead of the right? How many things can you prove you haven't done today, Sister?"

"I can prove I haven't killed you," said Margaret. "Yet."

Delos gave a slow chuckle. "Your thinking is all so charmingly old-fashioned, Sister. It's not all your fault, I suppose. The McMasters blood line has run rather thin, especially since Father's Father's time. Or was it Father's Father's Father's time? I forget. Well, it doesn't really matter, does it?" And he took his hand out of his pocket and held up something before them. It looked like a small statue, a figurine of a man with a sword and a shield. "Do you have any idea what this is?"

Margaret looked at the figurine with puzzlement. She was trying to remember something one of her tutors, Master Entilda, had once taught her, showing her illustrations in a special book. "No," said Margaret, shaking her head. "It couldn't be. A manatas?"

Delos merely smiled.

"But the manatas are all gone. There hasn't been one found in a hundred years," said Margaret. She looked at Delos appraisingly. "You're bluffing. That's just a statue."

"Is it?" Delos asked.

Suddenly, Margaret felt a tremendous buildup of energy. She could sense the jizz flowing through Delos. A beam of energy shot out through him, through the manatas, striking a marble pillar. There was a tremendous blast as a hole was burned through it. Everyone's jaw dropped.

"As you can see, I am not quite helpless as you think," said Delos. "In fact-"

Margaret felt another buildup of energy. But this was not from Delos.

It was from Cunha. She sensed a tremendous surge of jizz bubbling up inside his body. Delos sensed it too. He raised the hand with the figurine and pointed it at Cunha even as Cunha launched a blast of power at his Cousin.

The Roots of the Earth. That was the ultimate source of the Power. The Wise Man Peine called it "gravity", but whatever it was, a small number of people had the ability to tap into this tremendous power. Most of them were McMasters. But not all. Wizards like Peine had the power too.

And now Margaret felt the power, coming out of her cousin. He launched a beam of intense energy at Delos. It was met by a beam of equal energy from Delos.

Delos's face was a mask of concentration. So was Cunha's. Slowly, Margaret saw Cunha's beam move forward, even as Delos's beam retreated. Delos cried out as he tried to force more energy through his manatas. Cunha, sweating profusely, snarled and redoubled his efforts. Slowly his beam came closer and closer until it was almost touching Delos.

"All right," said Margaret. "That's enough, Cunha."

Cunha didn't respond. He had almost broken through. He growled and kept going.

"Enough!" Margaret cried.

Cunha released the beam. Delos staggered back into the throne. Margaret blinked as she realized what had just happened. Cunha had beaten someone who had a manatas. That shouldn't be possible.

Cunha reached out and caressed her cheek and smiled. "Enough is never enough," he whispered.

Margaret's eyebrows furled as Cunha turned and blasted a hole through Delos's chest. The beam was so strong that it burned a hole through the throne itself. The guards around Delos charged forward, but then beams of energy came out of Selvanna and Zaragoth's hands, and Delos's men were quickly cut down.

They had the Power too.

Cunha walked up the stairs to the throne. He looked at the hole in the back of the chair critically. "I suppose I will have to get that fixed."

"Cunha, what are you doing?" Margaret asked.

Cunha looked down at Delos and smiled as he kicked him out of the chair. Delos's lifeless body tumbled down the stairs.

"Taking the throne, of course," said Cunha.

"But Darvin is going to become Emperor," said Margaret, getting a sinking feeling in her stomach as Cunha sat down on the throne.

"You knew that was never going to happen," said Cunha. "Darvin is about as well suited to becoming Emperor as I am to growing Wise Ones." His smile seemed to grow progressively larger and bolder as he saw realization spread across Margaret's face.

"You... You weren't sent away because your father killed your mother, were you?" Margaret asked.

"No," said Cunha, and now he was grinning widely. "Mother and I struck up... a relationship."

"You and Aunt Tara?" said Margaret, making a face.

"What can I say, she wanted it," said Cunha. "She begged for it."

"She did not!" said Margaret.

"She did," Cunha was still grinning. "I bangstuck her real good. She loved my hot wax. But then Dad came in on us unexpectedly one day, and I had to dispose of him."

"You... killed Uncle Rogan?"

"He was in the way," Cunha explained. "I was able to adjust to the loss, of course, but not Mother. She took her own life two days later. If I had only gotten to her troublesome note first, I wouldn't have been sent away."

"Emperor William found out... and sent you away for bangsticking your mother and killing your father...."