Chapter Five
Max Three
Screams filled the nights air, being silenced as quickly as they began. There had been seven in total, drinking and boasting to one another about how they would skin the human themselves, their heads held high filled with pride and boastfulness. They fell quickly, barely able to scream before blades pierced their throats, their own friends holding the knifes that did the deed. When Minion arrived two hours later with a large convoy of waggons, filled with everything they could find, Max stood waiting with not five allies like he had before, but now twelve. They stood fully armoured next to naked corpses that resembled them, vacant expressions on each of their faces.
The skal were wary as they approached the elves, surprised when they readily fulfilled whatever was demanded of them. After having each take their own body to be burned, Max had his new servants help load the carts with everything the elves had, including the tents that were large and made of the finest silk of the Midnight Kingdom. With everything loaded, the twelve creatures took up positions along the convoy, guarding as it slowly made its way along the ancient road that circled the city, heading northwards into the Northern Waste. Behind them a fire raised into the sky, not only the bodies had been set alight but the houses the skal had repaired as well. Months of their hard work burning alongside their bloody sins.
Max's mind ran rampant, questioning every decision he had made this night. He walked at the front of the convoy with Minion crawling along beside him, seemingly just as on edge, however the two did not speak keeping their own counsel.
The possessions the convoy had assembled were meek, mostly consisting of scraps of food and wine, with a few barrels of water that was just as murky as what Max had already tasted. The elves had clearly planned for the arrival of the settlers and the supplies they would bring, leaving little food and wine that would be quickly used by such a large convoy.
Having been the Emperors Shadow Guard, Max knew all too well the difficulties of moving large forces from one location to another. When Max had become a General, he had often delegated such tasks as the math required was too difficult for him. Luckily, he found that Minion was very adept at such tasks, sending off small groups to scavenge what little the Northern Waste had in the way of plant life and pray to hunt.
At first Max had worried they would have to stop and set up camp, allowing the skal that couldn't ride upon the carts, mules, or horses to rest. Surprisingly, Minion was able to organise them so his people slept in bundles resting upon each other, seemingly they were fine with the arrangement as sleeping in large mounds of bodies was common among their race. The only thing stopping them from continuing their march north through the day and night, to get away from the elven dominated south, would be the tired horses and mules. Realizing this would be an issue, Max had the convoy stop when the beast seemed to be slowing down early the next morning. He told them to rest the horses, before unstrapping the horse pulling the front cart and taking it to a clearing nearby. He pulled his sword loose from its scabbard, moving close to the horse and slitting the creature’s throat.
Surprise rang out throughout the convoy from the other beast of burden and the skal, as the horse screamed out in pain before collapsing to the floor. Raising his hands into the air once more, power surged through Max, making the fur of the skal who stood nearby go on edge. They watched with unease as a horse slowly tore itself from below the earth, just as the elves had. The horse, much like the others, looked the same as they had in life, except the eyes were vacant and veins of fire rippled across there flesh.
“Detach another five horses and bring them here, we can harvest them for food.” Max’s orders sent the small creatures rushing to accomplish his goal, as he turned to those still watching from within the cart. “Take everything off this dead horse’s body and attach it to this new one I summoned, then reattach it to the cart.”
The creatures ran to fulfil his orders, bringing the five horses to him while they screamed in fear from the smell of their kins blood. Several skal arrived with blades and small bags of salt, preparing the body as quickly as possible.
“Why not kill all the horses in the entire convoy?” Minion asked, curious but with clear wariness, as he watched Max go from horse to horse quickly slitting their throats, while several of the skal struggled to restrain them from fleeing.
“It is not as easy as it looks, as always with magic there is a price. I must pay a price to accomplish each of the summoning’s and as I have no souls stored up to pay that price, I'm having to use the energy from my own body. Considering I've barely been sleeping lately and not at all for an entire day, the same day I killed and re summoned several elves, my energy is already very depleted. It would also not be wise for us to kill all of them now, we may need the food later and there's plenty of grass for them to eat, so there is little cost in keeping them alive.” Max replied, never ceasing in his action of killing each horse and bringing them back once more. He used the little strength he had remaining to help his small friends attached the saddles and equipment to the carts.
“That's a nifty gift you've got there, I can't say I've ever seen anything like it before, are you some kind of necromancer?” Minion was still clearly weary and frightened, but willing to still trust Max.
“It's not necromancy, it's called Soul Binding and if you want the history of it, I can't help you. I wasn't born with or trained to use it.” Max replied remembering back to the day his gift was forced upon him, still wondering if he should have refused. “I was told by a madman it had something to do with my issues with anger, supposedly it made me a possible candidate when others were not.”
“How does it work? Are they your slaves now?” Minion asked, gathering all the information he could.
“Like I said, I am not an expert. I only know what limited information I was given and have learned myself. If I or any I have summoned kill another creature, that creature's energy then comes to me, stored within my body for me to use in numerous different ways. The most common way I found of using it was reforming them, where they are reborn naked and covered in strange fire. However, I can also use their energy to empower myself, heal injuries as well as perform small acts of magic mostly involving fire.” Max explained as the last horse was hitched, he then tiredly sat down on the grass and watched as the skal cannibalized the dead horses as quickly as they could.
“Are they still alive? Do they eat or drink, do they still think?”
“I honestly don't know if they're still alive, but I do know they don't eat or drink, instead taking energy from me to sustain themselves. They rarely tell me anything unless I request it, only telling me facts they would have already known with little of their opinions. They are mindless servants; they do whatever I ask and never question my orders.” Max replied staring across at the human among their ranks, once more wearing his magnificent armour made of pure shadow iron and wielding his shadow iron blade. The sword was so powerful it could slice through magic itself. Max had never been gladder they were almost weightless, as it had allowed him to carry his old friend’s equipment within his pack with little issue.
“They sound like slaves to me; I'm surprised you would be okay with forcing this fate on them.” Minion said clearly showing his distaste.
“You call them slaves; I call them my enemies turned allies. And I never claimed to be against slavery, I simply find it distasteful when there are better options.” His words cut like a knife through Minion, making him flinch back and stared anew at Max. Max wondered if perhaps Minion was regretting his decisions already.
“Am I right in assuming you have an army of these things that you can summon?” Minion asked, his eyes not leaving Max’s, as if he was a dangerous predator he didn't want to turn his back on.
“I did have an army of them, as a matter of fact, I had so many of them I felt like a God with the power that ran through me. However, as the war came to an end, I was sent to take the capital of the elves alongside several other forces of the Phoenix Empire. After much brutal fighting, my force was within a stones throw of the headquarters of the elves magic guild, when they detonated it with some strange ritual, taking half the city with it. Still don’t know what happened, I was forced to consume almost my entire army just to stay alive leaving just a few hundred souls. After that, the war was over, and as I no longer held so much power, I no longer felt like a God and realised how corrupted I had become. How I no longer claimed souls to fight the war but because it felt good, I loved the feeling of consuming and dominating my enemies… So, out of fear of losing myself again, I ordered my remaining men to kill themselves and refused their souls leaving only one.” Max explained with a half-truth, staring towards his friend whose eyes vacantly stared back.
“Who is he?” Minion asked as he followed Max’s gaze.
“He was my best friend, that's all I'm going to say about it.” Max stated coldly, looking into his new friend’s eyes. “I understand why you would be wary of me; however, I swear to you I will never claim the souls of your people or you. I am not some deranged monster; it was war. If I hadn't become what I have now, the Phoenix Empire and perhaps all of humanity would be extinct. I don't expect you to be ok with what I am, as I am not myself, I merely ask that you don't let distaste get in the way of the survival of your hive.”
Minion simply nodded before going quiet for a time. When next he spoke, Max had almost passed out. He pointed towards a clearing where skal children, including Rod, played.
“I will take you at your word, if this is what we must do to protect my people, then I shall do it and have it burned into my soul, so it is not burned into theirs. Around you are one hundred and seventeen skal, my hive, my family. That is how many lives are being rested on my shoulders and now yours. Never forget that this is how many skal I have entrusted to you, this is how many lives you will either save or doom.”
As Max looked at the kids, he saw Rod eagerly waving at him with the skal version of a smile upon his face. Max waved back and smiled in turn, before replying to Minion with a new determination in his heart.
“I need birds, the faster the better, spread the word that if anyone sees one then they let me know immediately. They must not kill them; it must be me or one of my men.” Max ordered, receiving a nod of acknowledgement, as Minion quickly started spreading the word to the closest skal, who rush to spread it further along the column. Worrying Minion would feel insulted but being unable to help himself, Max continued to give orders. “We need to get as far from the south as we can, that will mean going through the Northern Waste. We cannot linger, far too many creatures roaming here, not to mention wandering packs and warbands. I believe it is best we take the Weennore road and head for the Thousand Daggers. There are many long-forgotten fortresses and traitors of the Midnight Kingdom.”
“What about the warband you were searching for?” Minion asked, surprising Max that he would risk reminding him.
“I can not justify searching for them, I have put you all in danger and until I have kept my word to you, promises made in a letter mean nothing.”
Minion nodded, giving orders that led to a flurry of activity, including one skal retrieving a map. As the map was rolled out on the back of the waggon, Minion and Max examined it, realising it must have belonged to the humans who razed Fiskrtre, as many locations had their imperial names instead of the old tongue. Scavo had a large mountain range that passed from west to east called the Thousand Daggers. It was often used as a marker for the northern border of the Midnight Kingdom, even though much of the area was under their control in name only. Beyond the mountains was nothing but the desolate snowy wasteland, where is said nothing lives as the snow the further north you go is alive. It is said to melt your skin, consuming you, leaving nothing behind.
A mountain range heads south from the Thousand Daggers called The Split, stopping before reaching the south coast. It has two breaks along it, before opening up before it can touch the shoreline. Currently they found themselves on the east side of The Split, stopping them from accessing most of the continent, trapping them in the east. Two large cities rest within the two passes west, where they would likely be attacked as traitors. While the mountain ranges were not impossible to pass in other sections, they would have to do so with waggons and children, with starvation killing them if not the cold.
That left only small parts of the northern mountain range where they could set up, from Minions limited knowledge there was only a handful of forts this side of the Thousand Daggers. Most were unmanned since the end of the immortal war, as the Midnight Kingdom pulled most of its forces south to strengthen the more valuable regions.
With the horses harvested for all they were worth, and the new ones reattached, the convoy remained for a few hours for the still living horses to rest before they began once more heading straight to the north. They kept as close to the coastline as possible, following the Weennore road as it was the closest usable road. The Northern Waste was considered parts of the Midnight Kingdom; however, it was a brutal desolate landscape of cracked earth where nothing but small clumps of grass grew.
The Wastes, or the Otpa Sjee to the old races, had always been wild even before the war, the hounds having claimed it as their new territory. However, since the war, it had been flooded with refugees from the south, filling the land with countless tribes, small settlements and would be warlords. Minion claimed there were hundreds of packs and warbands patrolling these regions battling one another, consuming the loser’s women and children to increase their numbers further. Luckily, most of those bands stayed to the west of the Thousand Daggers, as it was far larger and less patrolled by elven forces. There were however still several bands that stuck to the eastern side, using passages that only they knew within the mountain ranges, venturing into the west for trade and conquest before returning to the east to recuperate.
In recent years Minion had heard tales of rebels forming in the Waste who refused to bow to the midnight Kingdom. The most infamous of which had captured the fortress of Vugleer and named himself King of Hounds and the Otpa Sjee. Luckily, the would be King was far in the east, his eyes firmly on controlling the western side of The Split, for now at least.
When word was passed to Max of seagulls being spotted in the air, causing him to retrieve one of the elven bows, giving it to his only human servant and having him pick off as many of the birds as he could. Bows were another weakness of Max's, he always pulled too hard and snapped the string. With every bird killed it provided more food for the convoy while also allowing Max to resummon the creatures, sending them off to scour the landscape for anything of value. While he could not communicate verbally with the creatures, he could give them mental commands such as to fly north for an hour and take note on what they saw. When they returned, the birds would peck his hand to signify different pieces of information they spotted, allowing him to get vague ideas of what was happening in their surroundings.
After a day and a half of travel, he had accumulated nine seagulls which he used to scour the north and the west for signs of warbands, food, water, or anything else out of the ordinary. Using the creatures, they were able to find a small river that allowed them to recuperate their water supply. As well as a herd of deer, allowing them a boost to their food, and their souls giving energy to Max. They were forced to stop several times over the next five days, as the horses that had not been turned struggled to continue. However, from that point on, every horse and mule had been killed and turned into the tireless servants of Max.
Progress sped up further as they barrelled their way north with unease spreading. After sleeping in wagons and eating whatever scraps could be found along the road, many of the skal had grown tired and sore, however they did not complain, simply continuing with sad expressions from sleepless nights filled with fear. Guilt clutched at Max every time he looked upon the creatures, he wondered if they were beginning to regret helping him. He already regretted ever entering those ruins, as now he was responsible for their lives.
One morning, a small raven that had been acquired two days prior, returned with news. It took ten minutes of yes and no questions for Max to figure out that a wondering pack was to the north, camped on a small ridge that overlooked the main road that followed the coast. The birds lack of knowledge of different races and their names proved difficult in determining what their force was made of, however Max was able to ascertain they were big, muscular, and hairy.
Max and Minion had pondered simply going around, giving a wide berth towards the west before re-joining the road further north, however that would take time and the rocky and increasingly broken terrain would make it difficult to manoeuvre the carts. Deciding to gather more information, Max unlatches one of the horses and rode his way north. Minion was left with the column, given several birds he could order to find Max and warn him if they were attacked.
As he neared the plateau, he ordered the horse to stay before approaching on foot, getting as close as he dared to examine the potential threat, using the spyglass Rod had given him. Quickly he named the creatures as the hound's, large feral brutes designed for war and nothing else. Often, they made-up the bulk of the elven armies as their stupidity and brute strength made them the perfect frontline to break the back of the enemy. Immediately Max wrote off any chance of negotiation. As soon as they saw a human, who no doubt personally responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of their kinsmen, they would immediately charge. Max pondered sending the skal to negotiate, however came to the same conclusion as such weak creatures would seem pathetic in their eyes and not worth negotiating with.
As Max looked over the pack, he saw many towered even above him, these were no doubt the males who made-up their fighting force. His eyes also rested on many women, most with plump bellies or small babes on their breast. Max decided there was no choice but to take the detour, he would require a sizable force to take the pack down and he did not wish to waste skal lives attempting to do so. With that decision, he begun to turn away when his eyes rested upon a woman, a human woman.
Max was roughly two miles from the plateau, yet the woman stared directly at him, and he at her. For a moment he thought he must be seeing things, as it was impossible for a male human to live amongst them, let alone a female. Then he remembered, could this be the woman he was told to find?
Deciding he had to be sure, he made his way closer, staying amongst the long grass, that covered much of the Northern Waste in large clumps. As he approached, the figure continued to stare in his direction, even though he was deeply embedded and impossible to see at such distance.
When he was roughly a mile away, he once more looked and there were no doubts in his mind, she was in fact a human female living amongst the monstrous hounds. It was practically unheard of for any humans to live within Scarvo, as the hatred of the elves for their race was ruthless. Their hatred ran so deep that even those humans they enslaved would die from the brutal lashings or simply being worked to death. Max's knowledge of the hounds was limited to what he had seen fighting against them on the battlefield, however he did know from captured prisoners the creatures did not believe in mercy, only utter dominance. Hounds were cruel, the only price for not submitting to them was death or enslavement.
The woman continued to stare at him, this close he could make out features of long red hair on a thinly clad body. Max stared back feeling his heart pulling in two directions. A desire to save one of his people, fought against his desire to protect his new allies that had risked their lives for him. She was the key; she would lead him to the destination the letter spoke of, his new purpose. Wracking his brain, Max let out an audible groan of frustration before turning away, unable to stare at the distant beauty he felt calling to him for help.
When Max arrived back at the column, his thoughts ran rampant as his heartbeat through his chest. He quickly told Minion, receiving compassionate eyes the entire retelling. When Max said the girl must be left, Minion did not disagree, stating.
“It is a hard decision, but it is the right one, we cannot fight against creatures like that, perhaps with training we could in time, but right now they would tear through us like we were grass before the scythe.” On his way back, Max had ventured to the west to gain a rough idea at what their other options were, learning it would take several days to traverse carefully around. Much of the route was dry cracked earth that would swallow the wheels of their wagons and break legs of clumsy horses, forcing them to walk with care. With the decision made, Minion left to give the orders.
While Minion spoke with his people and prepared the diversion, Max found his way over to his old friend, who stood guarding the centre of the column, where he would be less likely to be spotted by scouts. As always, looking upon his friend filled him with sadness, however he needed to speak to someone and he did not know who else he could. Chris was the smartest man he had ever known, the two having been closer than brothers despite having been entirely different. In life, Chris had studied constantly, having been fascinated by other cultures, while Max had spent his time sparring and earning himself renown as a strategist on the battlefield. Ironically though, Chris was far better when the two sparred, unless Max was allowed to use his hammer, in which case Chris always lost but made Max bleed in the process. Standing alongside him, he lets a heavy sigh leave him, not sure what to say.
“I am surprised you resummoned me Master, you were very upset when I last served you.” The creature that had been known as Chris muttered, his voice and expression lifeless. Max had come to learn the stronger the soul, the more of themselves carried over once they had been consumed. Chris was one of the strongest he had ever consumed, so kept much of his former memories despite not being himself anymore, a fact Max could not accept.
“What did you expect, the real you failed me and got himself killed and you expect me to be happy with this shitty replacement? You may have my friend’s memories, but you're not him, don't expect me to treat you like him.” Max replied bitterly, the creature of course only did as it was told, unable to argue or deny.
“Is there some way I can help master, or do you simply wish to insult me?” The creature asked showing no signs of sarcasm, genuinely ready to submit to being insulted if that was what Max wanted. Max instead stared at the creature, who once had the same green eyes as him, however now fiery red. His cheeky smile, that had made the women swoon, now replaced by an emotionless levelled mouth. No longer able to look upon his old friend, Max simply looked to the column as he spoke.
“I am responsible for more death than I care to remember, I can kill almost anything, not caring who they were and sleep easy at night. And yet, even after all these years, I struggle to keep to the words of our order. ‘The lives of the many, before the lives of the few,’ it is the way things should be and how we protect this world from whatever comes to destroy it. Yet, I saw a young woman standing alone, surrounded by monsters and I can't stop thinking that it is my duty to save her, even at the cost of innocent lives. And to make things worse, I was told she would lead me to fulfilling the promise I made you, as well as the death I seek.” He let his words hang in the air as his friend simply listened, Max did not expect a reply, complex thoughts were often beyond his servants. So, when the reply did come, he could not help but look at his friend once more.
“You're not part of the order anymore, you were banished, so whatever rules we lived by in the order, you no longer must follow them unless you choose to.” Chris said as though it was a simple fact, one Max had not considered. From the day he was born, he was a part of the order, if only in training. Their ideals and beliefs were ingrained into him as walking was. Now he was no longer amongst them, what did that mean, should he still live by their ideals? His mind surged with possibilities, as Minion crawled his way over.
“We are ready to leave now, you should get some rest.” He practically ordered before turning to leave, only to be stopped by Max's voice.
“I'd like to take just a moment and discuss any ideas, perhaps we can still head north?” Minion turned around, looking confused until it was replaced with anger.
“I thought we agreed, there is no way to help the girl unless you want to throw away my people’s lives?” Minion replied, clearly knowing what this was about.
“I'm not saying that we fight, I simply want us to take a moment to see if we can come up with a better idea, rushing to make a decision could cost us later.” Max argued, the idea of leaving someone in the hands of a brutal pack just not sitting well in his heart.
“The only way you're going to get the girl back without violence, would be through negotiation and they are not going to talk to either of us. We would need an elf of noble standing or someone they would fear. I don't see any around here, do you?” Minion yelled, flailing his arms around in exasperation, before stopping movement altogether as his eyes lit up. “Perhaps you are right and there is an alternative... Taking such a long detour, and venturing closer to the centre of the Waste, would put us in significant danger of crossing other packs or warbands. We both also agree we cannot fight the hounds as they will no doubt tear us apart, however perhaps negotiation is an option?”
“They will not negotiate with us, you just said so yourself, your stature will seem a joke to them and there is no way they would negotiate with a human.” Max insisted feeling a migraine forming in his head, but feeling a surge of hope as a grin formed on Minion’s face.
“I didn't say it would be us that negotiated,” Minions stated, his eyes moving down the column. As Max lowered his hand, he followed Minion’s stare, stopping on Darius.
