Chapter 5 – The New Lord Zhakar

The Blood Citadel rose into view ahead of Kaz, its imposing bulk still impressive even as parts of the fortress were still smoking. Thousands of years of history were etched into this system of fortifications. It seemed to Kaz and Ahriman both that this fortress would continue to survive the test of time long after Klavan and Janaro were gone.

As Kaz approached the fortress proper, he could see what appeared to be small manmade hills surrounding the Citadel.

“Hmm. Why would Lord Zhakar want to spend time constructing temporary fortifications on the Klavan side?”

{Maybe those are the work of Janaro soldiers after they captured the fortress?} Ahriman mused.

“Don’t be stupid. The Blood Citadel will never fall as long as Zhakar lives. Plus, don’t you clearly see the Klavan flag flying on top of the tower?” Kaz could not help but leak some pride when he thought of the military prowess of his country.

As Kaz walked closer down the hill towards the Citadel, he realized with a start that the mounds were not made of dirt, but of human bodies. Upon closer inspection, all of the bodies that he could see were of Janaro. No Klavan dead were among the piles of corpses. A heavy cloak of death energy surrounded the mounds.

“Interesting, even though these soldiers died more than a day ago, there is still a large amount of Death Energy here.”

{Death Energy has strange properties. When large amounts are gathered in one location, it slows the speed at which the energy dissipates. In this regard, Death Energy is like a body of water. The larger that body is, the longer it takes for it to fully disappear.}

Lost in thought, Kaz jumped as a voice cut through the air.

“Oi! Identify yourself and throw your hands up in the air. We won’t hesitate to turn you into a hedgehog if you don’t comply.” A patrol of Klavan scouts had spotted Kaz as he wandered slowly towards the South Gate.

“It’s me, Kazimir! I’m the steward’s son and historian apprentice for Lord Zhakar” Kaz instantly threw up his hands and shot back a reply. Knowing full well Klavan’s no tolerance policy, it was better to obey quickly than risk being killed.

“Eh….so it is you.” The lead scout closed the distance between Kaz and himself in a flash. Squinting, the scout looked closely at Kaz. “Huh. So it is you Kaz. I thought you had died or something since your body was not found anywhere within Citadel grounds. Where the hell were you, anyways?”

“There’s no need to be suspicious. I was completing a delivery to Master Ahriman when the assault happened. Janaro soldiers ambushed and left me for dead. I hid in the forest until now. How is Lord Zhakar and my Father? What about Alexei?” Kaz’s words spewed from his mouth as fast as he could speak. Worried about what the Janaro officer said just days before, Kaz refused to believe that his father and brother were dead.

“Mm. It’s better if Lord Zhakar told you personally. I’ll take you to him. Boys, keep patrolling, I don’t think any of these craven Janaro bastards would play dead to escape. However, I wouldn’t put it past any of them to try something like that. Oh, and you can call me Scout Corporal Ranik.” Turning on his heel, Ranik quickly headed back in the direction of the South Gate.

“Right.” Feeling discouraged, Kaz followed Ranik as both men silently passed through the gate. Kaz did not realize the extent of damage that the fortress had suffered. He noticed that the walls were fully intact, and thought that the inside would be more or less the same. Thus, he was wholly unprepared to see that almost half of the fortress had been razed to the ground.

As Kaz followed Ranik through the Citadel gates towards the Keep where Lord Zhakar was, Kaz noticed the many preparations that the Klavan soldiers were making inside the Citadel. Messengers were running throughout the complex, blacksmiths were hammering loudly, and sergeants were busy bellowing orders at their squads. There was a grim, frantic atmosphere pervading the entire Citadel. It was as if every single surviving Klavan soldier felt as if they had been shamed personally. There was no laughter, no jokes among the soldiers. Every single soldier from the scouts to the superheavy infantry were singularly focused on their personal preparations. Previously having breathed in the relatively fresh mountain air, Kaz gagged internally at the stench of blood, steel, and sweat that lingered in the air.

Although the Citadel bustled with more activity than a beehive at this moment, Kaz could still figure out that nearly everybody present had a specific military function. There were the soldiers who make up the bulk of the remaining Klavan force, the officers who commanded them, the logistics coordinators who were responsible for the supplies, and the workers who handled the daily needs of the army such as cooking and laundry. The merchants, scholars, and other militarily optional people were nowhere in sight. Kaz prided himself on being to see the small details in historical situations, and the present was no exception.

I feel rather uneasy at the absence of the merchants and scholars. Although some of them must have been killed or chased away, they couldn’t have all been killed. In addition, I know for a fact that some of the greedier merchants could not resist the temptations of making supply deals with the army in times of war. Kaz started to feel his anxiety increasing with each step that he took.

{Why are you feeling so uneasy? Isn’t it normal for a military stronghold to not have useless idiots like merchants and scholars? They’re not that necessary for waging a war and the military has the means to acquire supplies from the peasantry regardless of their complaints right?} Ahriman irritably piped up.

That’s not the point. Although this situation is obviously not normal, there should be some effort to return to normalcy. There isn’t anywhere close to the Citadel that the civilians could take refuge in. With the Janaroian remnants combing the countryside after their defeat in the Klavan recapture of the Citadel, the logical safe choice would be to seek succor under the protection of Lord Zhakar.

{Bah. Damn your reasoning. Maybe they all died. Maybe nobody actually cares enough to come back. Maybe there’s thousands of other reasons. Why do you worry about such banal things? If you have the time to contemplate such unnecessary thoughts, think about magical theory and how Death Magic works.}

You might think that the details are unimportant, but therein lies your downfall, Ahriman. Had you been more careful, maybe your Lich experiment would have been successful instead of you being a dislocated spirit. Did you really have to !!! Kaz barely suppressed a groan as Ahriman sent a mental shockwave through his mind.

{Gods above and below boy, do you ever shut up? I’m beginning to think that maybe fusing with you wasn’t that great of a decision on my part after all.}

Still feeling slight vertigo from the “undeserved” reprimand, Kaz was startled to realize that he and Ranik had arrived at the Lord’s Office. Ranik was looking at Kaz in an irritated manner as Ranik knocked crisply three times on the heavy wooden doors. The guards in plate armor on both sides of the door paid them no heed. Their halberds combined with their pristine partial plate armor gave the guards a menacing aura.

As if he has anything better to do. I doubt any Janaro forces are even within a kilometer of the Citadel.

“Come in.” A coarse voice beckoned from within. The voice was different than the old Lord Zhakar, and Kaz’s face fell as he realized that the younger Pagan Zhakar was the one within.

Ranik opened the door and gestured for Kaz to walk inside first. Kaz steeled himself, and walked in with as much of a neutral air as he could manage. Pagan and Kaz had never really been on good terms, amicable to say the least. Pagan thought little of Kaz since Kaz never really trained himself in any sort of martial or combat art. Kaz thought Pagan was just a musclehead devoid of higher learning. However, the old Lord Zhakar appreciated the study of other subjects besides tactics and protected Kaz as much as was necessary.

If Pagan’s in power now, that means that either the previous Lord is dead or incapacitated enough to not have a hand in decision making. Kaz’s uneasiness intensified as he got closer to the Lord’s dask.

“Ah. Kazimir. Not exactly who I wanted to see. But I suppose I always knew you’d be crawling back here sooner or later.” Pagan had a smirk on his face as sat back in his chair.

“It’s good to see you too, Pagan. What happened to Lord Zhakar? What about my father and Alexei?” Kaz wasted no time in trying to get his answers. Unfortunately, Pagan’s smirk turned into a grin as he watched Kaz’s facial expression grow gradually more worried.

“What’s the rush? Have a seat. You’re not injured, are you?” Changing the subject abruptly, Pagan took full pleasure in making Kaz squirm in the uncomfortable seats reserved for guests meant to be intimidated.

“No, I’m fine. I just had some minor scratches while evading the wolves in the mountainside returning from Master Ahriman’s house.” Kaz gritted his teeth and attempted to make small talk. Growing flustered now will only serve to entertain Pagan. I always knew he had a sadistic streak, but I never thought he would act this way after such a disaster had unfolded.

“Oh, right. That old bastard lives all the way out in the woods, doesn’t he? Is he still alive?” Pagan’s grin disappeared as he thought about the Citadel’s apothecary. He had never liked Ahriman despite the old man having his the former Lord Zhakar’s favor.

“He’s dead. What about my family?” Kaz kept his words short and to the point, rapidly losing the patience for other matters.

The smirk rematerialized on Pagan’s face. “That’s nice to hear. I always did dislike that old codger. I never really knew why, but he just rubbed me the wrong way. I’m actually glad that he’s gone.”

{Think again, you little shit.} Although Ahriman wanted to do something to mess with Pagan, he did not have the necessary magical energy to expend. All the old magi could do was sulk.

“So, what happened to your father? What about the Steward and my brother? What about Master Kahaz?” Kaz tried pressing the point, growing increasingly worried.

The smirk disappeared from Pagan’s face as he got serious. “Dead. They’re all dead. Kahaz was gutted like a fish as he tried to prevent enemy soldiers from getting into the library. His guts are currently plastered all over his precious books, courtesy of some barbaric Janaro commando. The stewards tried to defend my father from some enemy commandos. All three of them died miserably under the blades of Janaro. I’ve buried the all three in a military fashion. But then we come to you.” A dark look gradually appeared on Pagan’s face as he spoke.

Dead...they’re...dead. I was gone for a day, two days at most, and they’re dead. Kaz was in shock as Pagan’s words sunk in. Numbly, Kaz looked up at Pagan.

“What...what am I supposed to do now?” Kaz softly asked.

“That’s what I want to know. I find it...suspicious that you left just before the attack happened and came back unscathed. Going to Ahriman’s hut in the woods seems to me like a convenient excuse. I don’t think the West Wall could have fallen without an insider.” Pagan’s words hammered into Kaz.

But I didn’t come through unscathed. I actually DIED. But I can’t say that. Kaz’s mind was in a whirl as he panicked to find an excuse to satisfy Pagan.

Seeing Kaz’s panicked look, Pagan smirked. “It seems that my words were on the spot, huh? Ranik! Take this traitor and toss him in the dungeons. I’ll deal with him later when I have more time.”

{Wow. This brat’s a real bastard. He’s obviously looking for a scapegoat in order to alleviate some of the blame that’s inevitably going to be laid at his feet.} Ahriman looked at Pagan in a new light, understanding the lengths that Zhakar went in order to preserve his newfound power.

Don’t you think I know that? I know history and politics just as well if not more than he does. Kaz numbly tried to think of a possible way out of this rapidly degenerating situation.

Ranik gave Kaz a look of disgust. He didn’t think that it was a coincidence either. Klavan military policy was that there were no coincidences, and that there should be an explanation for everything. Shaking his head at the lack of response from Kaz, he reached over to tie Kaz’s hands together.

“No, Pagan, I didn’t betray the Citadel. Why would I do that? I don’t have the means or the desire. You have to believe me!” Kaz’s eyes grew wider as he tried to jump out of his seat and get away from Ranik’s reach.

With a grunt, Ranik quickly slammed the hilt of his longsword into the back of Kaz’s head. Knocked out like a lamp, Kaz’s vision blacked out and he knew no more.