Ultimate Assassin Saga: Tundra

To be honest, he hadn't expected such luxury from the Bear tribe. For them to freely provide them a tent of their own was something that he never would've thought would happen, but here it was. Also, he had expected to be under guard, but there were no guards outside and no one treated them as if they were criminals. There level of trust for two strangers amazed him and he knew that no matter how hard he tried, there was no way that he could ever trust someone the way that they did.

The Bear tribe was truly amazing.

Acheron sat on one of the fur mats across from the fire, and when the Barbarian stepped into the tent, he looked up at him. The look on his face was inscrutable and he couldn't tell what the man was thinking, but he wasn't worried about him. He knew that he could trust him no matter what. Acheron would never do a thing to harm him or the tribe and he had proved that over and over again since he had known the man. He'd had many opportunities to turn and leave, but he never had. For that, Acheron had his respect and admiration.

"Let's warm the place up a little shall we?" Acheron asked in a light, airy voice as if he wasn't surrounded by Barbarians that could turn on them and kill them at any time. It was apparent that he was going to trust the Bear tribe and that he should do the same. At his words, he raised a brow, but he said nothing and he watched him closely.

The Chaos Demon raised a single hand and he saw that it began to glow with a red light. The reddish aura pulsed around his hand until it fully engulfed it, and once his hand was practically burning with power, he lowered his hand to the dry kindling. Almost the very moment his hand came into contact with the wood, the wood flared and a fire began to roar from the wood, instantly warming the tent. With that, the Chaos Demon's hand stopped glowing and he placed it back on his thigh.

With nothing else to do, the Exile walked across to the fire and he sat down across from the Command Assassin. He placed his hands in his lap and he stared into the flames, his mind lost in thought. His thoughts drifted back to the Elk village and to his siblings.

He felt mostly anger and hatred for Darcine, but at the same time, he felt a little sad for the relationship that had been destroyed. They had been friends as children, playing and training together. They had both been happy children, loved by both their parents and respected. This was before politics and the death of their mother had gotten into their way. He was of the stern belief that it was their mother's death that had driven Darcine to the brink and had made him the way he was.

After their mother had died, Darcine had become more withdrawn and had refused to be around his baby sister. Despite the fact that she hadn't killed their mother, Darcine had seemed to blame their sister no matter what was said to dissuade him from it. As he got older, he began to show a cunning mind, and unfortunately for the Elk, he had begun to plot how he would take the throne from Darville.

When Darcine had informed him late one night that he would be on the throne instead of him, he had known that there was no saving his brother. Darcine was to far gone and there was no way to pull him back from the brink. It was that day he began to look at his brother as a threat and began to wonder when the knife would sink into his back. He hated not trusting his own flesh and blood, but Darcine had shown that he would do anything to attain the throne of the Elk tribe, to set right the perceived wrongs their father had wrought upon the tribe.

Then, there was Diana. Sweet, cute, and happy Diana. From the day that she had come into their lives, the two eldest males of the family had known that a miracle had happened to them. Despite the loss of the Queen of the Elk, the Princess of the Elk would make up for the loss and made up she did.

She had grown up to be the girl that they all knew she was going to be. Caring and kind, no matter what the personality of the other was. She sought to marry a good man, and because of that, she had kept her virginity over the years, unlike the majority of the Elk tribe Barbarians. Diana was a pure being, one without hatred and without the need for revenge, no matter what happened to her, but he feared for his sister.

She was alone with Darcine now and he feared what he could do to her. Darville had seen the look in his brother's eyes many times when looking upon Diana. There had been disgust, hatred, rancor, and many other emotions, but the most notable had been the unnatural lust. Even when she was a small child, he had looked upon her in such a way, and when Darville had brought it up to their father, he had ignored it, saying that Darville was seeing what he wanted to see.

He knew better though.

He knew that his brother had twisted feelings when it came to their sister. Darcine had never voiced them, but he could see it every time Darcine looked at their sister. There was the hatred there always as was to be expected and most people never got past the hate, but he saw deeper to the lust that lay hidden underneath. Darcine had always blamed Diana for the death of their mother, reasoning that if she had never gotten pregnant with Diana then their mother would've lived, but no one knew that for sure. No one else blamed Diana, and even though Darcine had never said it to Diana's face, Diana knew what her younger older brother thought of her.

Now she was alone with him with neither Darr or Darville to protect her and he worried what Darcine would do. Would he leave her alone and resist his impulses? Would he find a reason to have her exiled or executed? Or would he fulfill his sick, twisted fantasies and rape their sister? These were the thoughts that ran through his mind and infiltrated his dreams, plaguing him even in sleep. He was never free of his worry for his sister and that was what drove him forward so urgently to attain this alliance.

He needed to keep Diana safe and this was the only way that Darville knew to do that as well as get what he wanted. He knew it wouldn't be easy, but nothing good in life was ever easy to attain and that was why he would fight onward to attain it. He had to become King of the Elk once more, even if it meant killing Darcine with his own two hands, and despite the number of things Darcine had done over the years to him, he had never hated his brother. He doubted that he ever would.

Darville sighed while Acheron stoked the fire.

XXXXXXXXXX

Acheron sat staring into the dying fire, his patience dying with the fire. They had been left here for most of the day and he was getting anxious to move around, but he knew that they couldn't. King Dalan had asked that they stay within the confines of the tent and he feared what would happen if they stepped out of the tent once they entered. He didn't fear dying or being attacked, but he did fear losing the alliance and preventing Darville from being put back upon the throne because of his impatience.

Darville hadn't said a word over the last few hours, and any time that he looked upon the man, he saw that he was staring into the fire, lost in his own thoughts. He could sense the anxiety and anxiousness filling his aura the entire time, nearly choking him with it, but he knew that he could do nothing to calm him down. He knew why the man was feeling the way he was after all and he couldn't blame him. If he were in Darville's position, he would be scared to death and feeling like he needed to kill someone too.

He knew that the majority of the Barbarian's anxiety came from his worry over Diana. That was understandable. She was his sister after all and he loved her. Also, he had gotten the feeling that he was her protector as well, though what he was protecting her from he had never asked about or understood. He could guess though and his guess was really no surprise.

Darcine.

The Command Assassin hadn't seen much of the red headed Barbarian, but when he did see him, he'd always had a bad feeling. He'd noticed Darcine looking at Diana more than once and he could feel his emotions as if it were a cloying fog of negativity. There had been many emotions buried within him: anger, hatred, resentment, disgust. However, out of all of those emotions, the one that was most present was the most sickening of them all: lust.

Lust was a base emotion that everyone felt at some point in their lives and most of the time in droves. However, a brother was not suppose to lust for a sister or any member of their family. Incest was even looked down upon by the Demons, seen as sickening and wrong. If Demons saw it as sickening, then it had to be something horrible, but he knew that it existed in the world and that it wasn't quite so small of a number either.

When he had been General of the Dalkian armies, one society that they had wiped out had been an inbred society. A society based off of incest where everyone was related and having children with one another. It had created horrendous deformities like large heads, bug eyes, impossibly thin bodies, webbed hands and feet. This community had been one that even the Demons of the campaign had been disgusted by and none of them felt any remorse for wiping out the inbred community. It had been a service to the world to wipe out such filth and even he stood behind what he had lead his people to do. They had deserved death and still to this day they were the only kills as General of the Dalkian campaign that he didn't fell remorse for killing.

His thoughts were interrupted when the flap of the tent was drawn back. The Chaos Demon looked up and stared at the woman that stood in the opening to the tent. She was a kindly looking woman with a soft, gentle smile and matching eyes. She was bland with dark hair, dark eyes, and tanned skin. Her clothing was simple, though they looked warm and he was sure that they protected her from the harsh elements of the outside.

"King Dalan asks that you accompany me to the meeting." the woman said in a calm, gentle voice. He never would've expected such gentleness from a Barbarian voice, not even a woman. In fact, he had assumed that the women would have to be even harder because they were women. Everything about this woman was gentle though and she didn't look as if she had suffered for her gentle nature. She looked to be flourishing actually.

Darville's head snapped up at her words and he cut his eyes to the opening of the tent. He narrowed his blue eyes and the Chaos Demon thought for a moment that he was going to leap at her, but then, he merely nodded his head. Then, he uncrossed his legs and he rose to his full height. The Chaos Demon was still sitting so the man towered over him, but he quickly pushed to his feet as well and the two men followed the woman out of the tent to the village beyond.

The Command Assassin walked behind the woman as she sauntered across the ground towards the center of the village. The tent in the middle rose up like a center power of the village, creating a powerful image for all that beheld it and many more than likely wondered what went on within that tent.

The woman opened the flap of the tent in the very center of the village and stepped aside, holding the tent flap open while smiling at them. It was obvious that she was going to make them go first and he didn't mind that. Giving the woman a nod, he walked over to the large tent and he ducked his head as he entered the center tent for the first time.

He straightened as he stepped into the tent and he looked around it, noting that it had the exact same furnishings as their own tent. It was nearly identical in fact, right down to the campfire in the very center of the tent. Seated on the other side of the campfire was Dalan, his legs crossed and staring into the campfire. The moment he walked into the tent, Dalan raised his head and smiled at him. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and he cut his eyes over, noting that Darville had stepped in beside him, but there was another behind them.

The woman had entered the tent as well.

He narrowed his eyes, wondering why she would be here, but not really knowing. How could he know? He was an outsider and the ways of the Bear Barbarian tribe were a mystery to him. She could be a very important individual for all he knew despite her very plain looks.

This idea was reinforced when the woman walked over to the same side as the Barbarian King and he bowed his head to her. She shook her head, but bowed her head to him as well and she sank to the ground, sitting cross legged next to him, showing their equality as the both of them stared at the two outsiders.

"Please, sit and we shall talk." Dalan said in a soft voice and with a smile on his face. He wasn't commanding them to do so, but they felt that they should do as he asked of them. He nodded his head to Dalan before he walked over to the campfire and he sank down cross legged on one of the soft fur mats. Darville did the same, walking over and sinking down right next to him.

The two outsiders felt very cautious and uncomfortable with their position. They didn't know what exactly to do and that bothered both men. However, Acheron refused to allow that to get in the way of the conversation and that much was plain on his face. Seeing this, Darville schooled his expression as well and took on the same expression.

"We know much of both of you." Dalan began, his voice soft and cryptic as his eyes glowed in the firelight. He stared at the two outsiders across from him and both of them had a feeling that when he spoke, he spoke the truth so they both decided to listen with open ears. "We know of your sins, your good deeds, and your ambitions. Your ambitions are all noble pursuits, but as you have both learned, you can not achieve them alone."

He paused, obviously gathering his thought and his smile had faded by now. Acheron continued to watch the man, curious about what they could know about either one of them, but not doubting what they said. He didn't know why he didn't doubt them, but he didn't. Then, he saw the Barbarian King's eyes cut to him.

"Acheron, the Command Assassin, and sword of the Dalkian Empire. You came to this world from the Abyss with your brother, showing only loyalty to yourself, but you stood with your brother because his goal was one that you hoped to achieve yourself. A sovereign nation to call your home, and with this hope, two Chaos Demons helped to carve out a bastion of hope for Demons and other dark creatures. Then, you cast off your mantle of Assassin for the most powerful thing in the world: love. You were asked to kill the one person in this world whom you love, and instead of doing so, you gave up everything that you had spent your long life building. Do not despair for you will have what you once had again, only this time it will suit your heart." Dalan said in monotone, neither judging or taking his side.

The Chaos Demon stared at the man, surprised by what he had just said. He knew of his past and his ambitions without his having to tell him. He had hit the nail on the head and he found that to be quite the amazing feat considering he had never told anyone about it. He noticed that the Barbarian King had cut his eyes to Darville and he spoke again.

"Darville, would be King of the Elk tribe, but now the exiled. You had no ambitions to become King of your people, but you accepted it because you knew that it was your duty. In fact, there was no one else that could possibly take up the mantle. As the eldest Prince of the Elk, it was your duty and your honor is very important to you." Dalan said, his voice hinting that honor meant a lot to him as well before he continued once more. "Then, you were framed and thrown from your own people without a hope of coming back. However, you will get back and you will come back as the bearer of the future for your people. That much I know."

The Exile stared at the other man, wondering how it was that he could know all of this, and after several minutes of waiting, the man didn't speak again. So, he decided to ask the question that was on both of the outsiders' minds.

"How is it you know all of this?" Darville asked, his voice not suspicious or even distrusting, but filled with curiosity. The Chaos Demon saw his hands on his thighs, his fingers lightly digging into his legs as he leaned forward and waited for his answer. The Chaos Demon already knew the answer so he wasn't as eager, but he did still listen to determine if he had been right or not.

The answer came, but not from the Barbarian King.

"Because it was I who told him." the woman said, her voice light and airy, showing her amusement. The Barbarian at his side seemed surprised by this, but the Command Assassin merely nodded his head, having expected this. "Forgive me for not introducing myself earlier. I am the Seer of the Bear Barbarian tribe."

He quite formal bow to the two of them amused Acheron, but he said nothing. This was for Darville to figure out himself and it looked like he was having a hard time believing that someone could see who they were and what their ambitions were, but he couldn't turn away from the cold facts. Dalan had just laid at their feet both of their life stories in a nut shell and not a piece of it was wrong.

"Do you know what is to happen in the end of this?" Darville asked, his voice cautious and hopeful, obviously trying to mask the last part, but unable to do so. It was amazing really, but he didn't smile at it. It wouldn't do to make fun of the man.

"I do know what is to happen next, but I can not tell you. All I can do is provide you with the necessary settings in which your battle must take place." the Seer said, her voice mysterious and cryptic. The Command Assassin found that a little creepy, but he wasn't all that worried about it. "That is why you will wait in the tent you came from for another day. Tomorrow, the rest of the Barbarian tribes of the Tundra will arrive and it will be you who will lead them back to the Elk, but not to destroy. No, you will lead them to unite."

From the look on the Exile's face, it would seem that he had accepted what the Seer had told him and was now ready. It seemed that their job of uniting the Barbarian tribes of the Tundra had been done for them and they could take the fight to the Elk much quicker. That also meant that Darville could take his rightful throne much quicker and begin his peaceful reign. And with the whole of the Barbarian tribes united underneath him, his would be a powerful rule.

There was several more minutes of talking, but it was all superficial now. They knew what they were to do and they knew that nothing could compare to that. Both men were smiling when they left the King's tent for their own and both had thoughts of the next day and what it would bring. Tomorrow was going to be the beginning of a powerful and epic battle, one that would be passed down from generation to generation from parent to child. They would be living it.

Acheron smiled.

Darcine felt like something was wrong, but he didn't know what. The next day had come quick and he was staring out at the horizon from the window in his bedroom. It was still early morning, but he felt that he needed to prepare for some reason. He had a feeling that his rule was going to be under siege soon, and despite shaking off those feelings numerous times, they continued to return to him.

He was naked in his room and despite the cold he was warm. It was because of his blood. He didn't know why, but his blood was keeping him warm now. He had noticed the change a few weeks ago. One day, he had been shivering in the cold and the next he barely felt it. He had no idea why that was, but he wasn't about to question his good fortune.

The Barbarian King turned his head from the window and he looked back on his bed. Three girls, lay there under the covers, their tears long dried and their fears of him still instilled. He smiled at the thought of having all three of the girls last night and how good all of them had felt under him. They'd had no choice of course but to have sex with him. He was their King and his word was law. They were but lowly females, existing only to breed more strong male children and relieve stress or frustration on.