Chapter 59: Chapter 59

King Dyron

The Kingdom of Howard Outskirts

They stood on the brink of oblivion itself, covered by the darkness. Dyron and all his forces were unseen by anyone, Flora’s passing had rendered them blind. It was as if they had relied on the deity for their protection. Without her, they are as meek and as weak as sheep.

His minions and allies were resting underneath a forest that Dyron covered with a black fog, they were already celebrating as if they had won. Some were sharpening their weapons, some were sparring, as if they were warming up. Dyron grinned at this, seeing that they were battle ready.

In the corner of his eye, he saw Colter shuddering weakly, conjuring flames that flickered in and out of existence.

“Is he having doubts?” Dyron thought, slightly feeling aggravated, “I cannot have that.”

Colter’s eyes showed fear, anxiety and horror. His flames were turning from crimson red to its usual red color. The laces of black flames with it died and sputtered out and this made the prince question his motives over everything.

In frustration, he roared a primal roar and smashed a tree with a flaming fist. It imploded with splinters and chunks of wood set afire. The others stared at him worriedly, afraid that they might get the same treatment as he did the bowmen.

“What the hell is going on?!” Colter shouted, clutching his head in pain and horror, the streaks of red marks across his body were fading slowly, before they reappeared again. It was as if he was shifting back to his usual self, but the poison that was given to him fought back. He fell on his knees, his hands still around his head as he bashed it into the ground, as if trying to bury the pain with even more pain.

Dyron moved towards him cautiously, silently preparing the ‘imperium venenum’ spell to poison this prince again,

“Father…” Colter groaned still on the ground, writhing in apparent pain, but was still able to sense Dyron’s presence close in.

“Are you feeling well, my child?” Dyron asked with genuine worry, not about Colter but his plans.

“No, as you can see!” he answered violently coughing and bashing his head on the ground once more.

“Tell me what ails you, my son, let your father alleviate the pain that disturbs your peace.”

Colter turned to stare at him form his position on the ground, “I am questioning what is going on, I do not know what is real. There are flickers of memories and visions that do not fit with the memories in my head. I am starting to have doubts on our attack.” Suddenly the prince screamed in pain, streams of flame suddenly burst from his back and disappeared. Something inside him was fighting and Dyron needed to take care of that, no matter what the cost.

“Listen to me, during your time there, you were dosed with something heavy as a child that befuddled your memories.” Dyron said quietly, pouring concern and sorrow into his voice.

“Tell me the truth!” Colter roared in agony as more flames erupted from his back, drawing gasps and screams from the monsters around them.

“Very well” Dyron said resignedly, as if he was afraid of reliving a horrible memory:

“King Malik Howard stole you from me as a child, he sent a force of his royal guards to take you away from me and your mother. I was away at the time; I was handling some of their forces in another part of my kingdom. Your mother, being the protective and loving mother that she was to you.” Colter listened while slowly suffering from the pain in his body, his original thoughts and his blood was fighting the poison slowly but he listened.

“Then this monster Aimon run her through with a spear, he killed her Colter. Your mother, the only woman I ever loved” Dyron exclaimed with false tears coming out of his eyes, “I was too late to assist in fighting them off. By the time I had gotten to my kingdom, your mother lay dead and beheaded in my own throne. They had tauntingly put her still staring head on the top of my throne as if to mock my weakness at the time.”

Dyron pounded the ground this time, putting on an act of sorrow and vengeance. The earth shook with his hit and Colter slowly started to believe these lies. “All she wanted to do was to protect you from these awful Ecanus and she died doing so. They took you away from me, I was blind with sorrow and rage, Colter. My wife had been slain and displayed like some sick hunter propping up the body of an animal he had just slaughtered, and my only son had been stolen away from me because Malik wanted a reserve that he can control.”

Colter stared at him with emerald eyes that suddenly flashed into crimson, the poison was working again yet somehow his body was still fighting back fiercely, he groaned in pain again as if his heart had denied this story that Dyron told him.

“So, while I tried to find a way to get you back, Malik and Regina took you in as their child, a second prince in order for them to secure their power further. But have you not noticed why King Malik treated you like someone who did not belong there? You were treated like a monster; you were sent to frolic with the common people while they sat in their castle doing royal business. Not minding what you were doing.”

Vaguely, Colter’s corrupted mind remembered this, how he had been treated all those years.

“Gian, Malik’s first-born son hated you because should something happen to him, you were to take over the throne. He wanted you dead, do you remember how he had treated you like a piece of filth that did not deserve to be called a prince?”

Colter nodded at this, his rage building, staving off the pain that his body was going through. The red marks were starting to appear again, darker this time.

Dyron allowed himself a grin of victory as he made headway into corrupting Colter further.

“Now Malik, when he realized you were like me, that you could not be controlled into the prince that he wanted. He also treated you like a piece of trash that was destined to be thrown when it is no longer of use. You could not be controlled, hence you had to disposed or alienated or ostracized. I had learned of these using my spies and I could not control my rage at how my only son to the only woman I ever loved was treated.”

Colter stared into the sorrowful eyes of his ‘father’ who allowed himself a small sniffle as he tried to recall these false memories.

“I sent a strike force to retrieve you, but we were repelled in every way by that demon of a general, Aimon. He wiped out my force of well-trained friends, I had also loved them like my own children and Aimon mercilessly slaughtered them. They also had me by the throat that time, Colter. That time I wanted them to give me an honorable death in battle but they simply turned me loose to stew in the shame of my failure. I was given this scar as a memento for it.” Dyron suddenly unclasped his armor and raised the tunic behind it, there was an ugly scar on his chest, it was as if it was struck with a mighty blade that then burned into his flesh.

“So, I used all these years to build my strength and my forces, when I found out that you had ran away, I was delighted because I finally had the chance to find you again and my beautiful vultures did, Colter. I was so joyful when you were found! But when I saw you, you were in a weakened state, it was as if they asked that evil goddess Flora to put magic and poison through your body to weaken you and alter your memories. I tried to repel that with my own magic that restores your original thoughts, but it seems that dead goddess’ poison is still fighting back. Tell me, my beloved son, is that not enough of a reason to avenge myself upon the kingdom that had only wrought woe onto my life, my kingdom, my wife and my own child?”

Colter got up slowly, staring his father in the eyes with his eyes blazing with anger and rage. Dyron swept him in a crushing hug, which Colter returned wholeheartedly.

“The imperium venenum worked its wonders, once more” Dyron thought maliciously as he hugged the corrupted prince, grinning once more at his brilliance in concocting lies and spreading hate towards the Kingdom of Howard.

“I understand now, father.” Colter said, letting go, his voice was wracked anger, vengeance and unrelenting power, he had been fully corrupted and every semblance of his old self has now hidden itself never to be found “By my mother’s honor, by yours and by the kingdom’s” Colter promised, his aura of dark flames building once more, as the others gasped at this show of power, it was as if his prowess had improved even more. “I shall not rest until the kingdom, the royal family and every citizen within it has been dispensed justice. Justice by my hand and sword!” He suddenly unsheathed the ‘Black Phoenix’ which was on his back and let out a roar of victory.

The others followed, drunk by the scene they had watched, their awe at the king of darkness growing even more as he managed to prevent Colter from reverting. The battle cries filled the air, signifying the impending doom that is awaiting the Kingdom of Howard.

Dyron’s eyes were firm and settled now, as he laid them on the Kingdom that stood just over the horizon. “Malik, my old friend.” He whispered darkly, “I will take your head and feed your flesh to your son.”

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Gian

Kingdom of Howard

A war horn sounded throughout the kingdom; it was an alert. A larger flock of vultures were seen flying through the kingdom, they were here, finally.

“That loud woman with an oracle’s powers was right.” Gian whispered to his father as they stared at the incoming intruders. “Father, your orders?”

Malik shook his head and stood up, “Let them come.”