The Emar preferred the night time, and on rare occasions when they were found outside, it was usually a stormy day, dark and rainy. They founded the city of Shikha in the Wolvig territory by agreement with House Cadmus. The city was essentially a series of caves built into the Blue Mountains with a deep and intricate system of chambers underground. For the most part, they kept to themselves and very rarely mixed with humans. The Cadmus family was well known for being a fair and friendly people, and they welcomed the Emar with open arms.

Emar are an off branch of the human species, having large eyes and entirely too much hair. They generally had weak chins and were long and thin. They were often called Shades because of their ability to become invisible in shadows. In the daytime, they were easy to catch; but at night, they were practically impossible to find. They had their own whispery language; but most were able to speak the common tongue. They did not subscribe to the Elder Gods as did a vast majority of humans. Neither did they follow the other beliefs common to humans, including the Quell. No human in all of Kronos could say that they were familiar with the Emar and their ways. They were peaceful and kept to themselves and everyone was happy with that arrangement.

House Cadmus was a Gods fearing noble house whose patron God was Lahni, goddess of love and the moon. This helped them to be generous and caring. They allowed all to travel through their territory, and even to settle in their lands if they wished. They did not mind at all when approached by the Emar to settle in land that was to them, essentially worthless. They also let the Quell in their country, and despite their odd ways, they didn’t bother them. They believed in the goodness of all men and non-human races, and that if anyone showed aggression, it was just that they were misunderstood. They went out of their way to accommodate any and all comers, even at the expense of those who had lived in Wolvig for many years.

Anatol and Ursina lay to the West, Preston shared Wolvig’s Eastern border. These neighbors were not anywhere near as accommodating, and they knew from experience that House Cadmus could not be counted on in time of war. They had no respect for the confirmed bachelor, Miles Cadmus, who along with his Steward, Burk Stiofan, ruled the land with a velvet glove. The only thing that kept them from invading his lands and taking them for their own was that he was harmless. More importantly, if they did invade, the other two countries would be forced to react. They were like mongrels, staring each other down for a single bone.

The Quell had been around for a very long time. According to them, as long as the Elder Gods themselves. They believed in their High God, Quell, who ruled every aspect of their lives. He was the opposite of the elder God Lahni. Quell demanded absolute devotion, and anyone who did not follow him was an outsider. Outsiders were to be feared and hated at the same time, and if the opportunity ever presented itself, to be sacrificed for Quell’s glory. The followers never mixed with the citizens of the countries that they landed in, and would eventually would start making outrageous demands. When they were in the minority, they claimed victimhood, when they had sufficient numbers, they would become violent. Only with an inhumanly tolerant King like Miles Cadmus were they able to exist and grow.

It was a sunny afternoon in a place that had rain more days a year than it had sun. The caves of the Emar seemed deserted, though they were not. The Emar hated the sun and they avoided it at all costs. The upper caves were abandoned till later that evening when the sun would be gone and the temperature would drop to where they could feel comfortable roaming from their subterranean homes.

Lem Lothe hated the Emar. He hated the peace-loving followers of Lahni, who allowed his people to exist without persecution; but he hated the Emar even more. They looked weird, their ways were different, and of course, they did not believe in subservience to Quell. Lem grew up on the streets, without parents and without anyone who cared if he lived or died. When he was barely a teen, a priest for Quell found him and took him in. Years of beatings and long periods of near starvation toughened him up for the war to come. He was so full of rage, that only the blood of non-believers would help him to sleep at night. Only the thought of the rewards to come in the afterlife made it possible for him to perform the most horrible atrocities in his God’s name. Quell demanded that everyone conform or die, and Lem found that he was very talented in getting young men who grew up like he did, to sacrifice themselves to appease their savior.

Ahead lay the only real colony of the Emar. They inhabited islands off across the oceans; but this was their only outpost amongst the lands of men. They probably didn’t have a standing guard, as they had never fought with men till now. The rest of society found them to be an oddity that was tolerable. The Quell hated their non-conformity and their strange religion. If you did not bow to Quell, then you were less than human, all non-believers got what they deserved.

Turning to his second in command, Zoran Crys, to carry out his attack plan. “Take a dozen men, and circle around the main entrance so that you can approach it from behind. We will march up to the front and meet you when your men are in place.”, he commanded.

“Yes Sir. May the vengeance of Quell fall upon these heathens.”, Zoran said before galloping off. A dozen or so men followed him as they went at full charge to the left of the rise where the mounts could easily ascend and they could flank the Emar hive’s main entrance.

Lem watched them with pride. His followers were so willing to die for the cause that had dominated most of his life. He would never, himself, go off on a suicide mission, because the movement needed leadership, and he was the only one with the vision to carry out God’s will. Unlike his followers, who were for the most part, unwashed, uneducated and unsophisticated country folk; the priests had beaten the word of Quell into him, and made him an educated man in the process. Where his men opted for long unkempt hair, his long hair was pulled back in a neat tail. His beard was trimmed close and his clothes were reminiscent of a knight’s day clothes; but showed allegiance to no house. He sat high on a brown stallion, so that he could rest his legs, and look down on his fellow believers.

Peering through a collapsible telescope, he watched as Zoran and his people came up the backside of the hill where the cave entrance was located. There were no guards because in all of human history, no one had ever attacked the Emar, and they had never been known to war with anyone. The men entered the cave, while others gathered dry brush from around the hilltop. Soon they had a fire started in the mouth of the cave, and Zoran’s men just kept piling on more and more dry material till the scene was obscured by billowing smoke. The smoke was so thick that they had to retreat down the hill.

Lem laughed to himself at the sight, he delighted in the suffering of anyone who was not a true believer. Now it was time to begin phase two. Calling out to the rest of his troops, he led them to the base of the cave system to wait. There were enough of them to form a semi-circle that blocked any possible retreat from the smoky caverns. Within a couple of minutes, the Emar started flooding out. They were coughing violently, throwing up, and at the same time, shielding their light sensitive eyes. They looked scared and confused by the sudden intrusion. Some of the older Emar looked over the ring of humans who were apparently the cause of their predicament, and they knew.

“Who is the elder amongst you?”, he asked the mass of strange people. They looked around at each other, not all of them spoke the common tongue. After a few uncomfortable moments, an older male Emar pushed his way through the crowd. He looked up at the human atop a beautiful brown horse, he said nothing, it was obvious that he was their leader.

“Men, look at this heathen, this devil creature from across the seas.”, he shouted so all of his people could hear. “They come to this land, and refuse to bow before Quell, the one true God.” His voice was smooth and powerful, persuasive and commanding. “What shall we do with you, devil spawn?”, he asked of the elder.

The man looked tired, “We are no threat to you, we keep to ourselves and stay in our isolated community.”

“I know that you are not a threat to us, Quell be praised! You are not even human, so there is no way that we can convert you.”, he said to the man. Turning to the crowd. “What can we do with these demons? They’re impure, not made by our Lord!”

“Kill them!”, they all yelled in unison. The Emar understood not only the words; but the body language of the crowd. There were over a hundred of these crazed acolytes who were brandishing mostly farm implements that when used for war could be very effective. “Send them to Vanya, kill them all!”

Lem was one of just a handful of the group that had actual weapons. He pulled his longsword to the cheers of the crowd. He looked down at the old Emar who was looking down to avoid the direct light of such a sunny afternoon. “In the name of Lord Quell, I send your devil’s soul to Vanya!”, with that, he swung the blade from his mounted position. The blade bit deeply into the creature’s neck, cutting about halfway through. The elder Emar fell dead to the ground, Lem having to yank the blade from the old corpse. The women and children screamed at the sight. They were a peaceful people, and never died violent deaths. Their instinct was to flee; but they were completely circled by the followers of Quell, to their backs were the still smoking entrances of their caves. A few ran in, the rest waited like sheep for their deaths.

The humans waded into the Emar with clubs, smashing the large skulls of the Emar, their red blood flying everywhere. Others with homemade spears were stabbing men and women, pulling out and stabbing again. Men used knives, scythes, shears, every type of implement that could be used to kill. The Emar adults fell with very little in the way of defending themselves. When the Quell were done massacring the adult Emar, only the children were left. Little males and females were gutted, a few beheaded, the babies were grabbed by the feet and their heads bashed on the rocks that made up the outside of the caves where they had lived.

In a very short time, the Emar were completely wiped out. Their bodies looking more human in death than when they had been alive. Blood was everywhere, all the followers had red splashed on them from head to toe. They laughed and cheered at their victory, praising the leadership of Lem Lothe and of course, praising the wisdom of Quell. The bodies that had been living creatures only minutes before meant nothing to them. They left them where they lay to rot in the sun.

Lem exited a tent that had been erected near the scene of the massacre. Everyone stood around eating and joking while their leader could be heard praying inside his private tent. The prayers were loud and went on for a long time. When he showed his face again, everyone stopped what they were doing and gathered around to hear his proclamation.

“I have prayed to Lord Quell, and he has given me a vision. A vision of our next task, and the next and the next…”, he bellowed to the crowd. We shall take this mountain city and build it up. This shall be the cornerstone of our future empire!”. The crowd hooted in pleasure and agreement.

“Clean away these bodies, burn them far enough so that we are not suffering the smell. Then, we make a temporary camp. Tomorrow, we take prisoners who will build our cities. We will take their food for our own, we will take their women for our pleasure.”, this brought huge cheers. “We will sweep across this land till all bow to Quell, or die for their heresy!”