Aurix the Bold

They were met at the city gate by a mob of angry Nulla, Raspula and humans, barely restrained from falling upon them by a crowd of soldiers. Their rage broke somewhat when Inanna came into view. Several of the humans whistled at her, a few catcalled. Xu’ul’s soldiers dealt with them swiftly and fiercely, and blood ran in the street. Trash flew at them from all directions.

A brittle-looking, gaunt man with deep-set eyes and dark hair stood within the corridor of seething onlookers. “Welcome to Glynn,” he said. “As you can see from the warm reception, we’ve been expecting your arrival. I am Ralin, Ra Xu’ul’s regent. I’ve been instructed to bring you to him immediately. There’s no time for pleasantries, I’m afraid.” His own beady eyes drifted over Inanna’s body. “A shame.”

“Nor would we expect any,” Regulus said, not bothering to hide his disgust. He barely deflected a rotting melon with his massive hand as it hurled through the air toward him. It landed on the stone-paved street with a dull thud and split open, spilling its innards like a bashed-in skull.

They dismounted and led the caples into the massive city. Under other circumstances, Aurix might have been in awe. Under these, he simply gritted his teeth and followed, his anger and resolve mounting as they went. He squeezed the gem in his hand, hoping it would somehow awaken, or that he’d feel something that would tell him how to use it. Its only answer was the constant, dim thrum that ran through his muscle, bone, and blood.

“Aurix,” Regulus called over the raucous shouts. When Aurix turned toward him, he nodded toward three occupied gallows to their left. Dangling from ropes were the three soldiers that had chased them into the Wraithwood. Ravens pecked at their rotting flesh.

Aurix paled at the sight. The men’s eyes were gone, already feasted on by the birds, but there was no doubt who they were, or why they’d been left there just inside the gates.

Ralin noticed their attention. “Ah yes, I believe you were acquainted with those gentlemen?” He shrugged. “The price of failure. And of lying to your Ra.” He gave them all a terrible smile. “Just imagine the price of treachery.” He continued to lead them deeper into the city.

The rowdy crowd fell in behind them and followed as they made their way through the streets of Glynn. Even the slaves had been brought out to watch their executions. Nulla and Grays were everywhere, most huddled into groups that were shunned by the people of the city. They too watched as Aurix and his friends passed, and then fell in with the small army at their backs.

The castle walls towered ahead of them, visible above the multitude of shops and homes. Aurix tried to draw from the bravery and strength of all of the kings that had once lived within, but there seemed to be nothing left of them—he still felt powerless and terrified. He wanted to say something bold and threatening, but the words wouldn’t come. Instead he just walked in silence on legs that felt weak and wobbly.

Inanna took his hand and squeezed.

Aurix looked at her gratefully and forced a smile. The one she returned was warm and completely lit up her eyes and face. Looking on it was like drawing a breath of pure courage.

“No matter what happens today, it will not end well for you Ralin,” Aurix said.

“If my Ra’s will is done—and it shall be—then I am content with whatever today holds,” he answered.

“I don’t think you understand the consequences of bringing the Relics together. Your Ra will destroy Valeria and everything within it.”

“We shall know soon enough. The gem you hold is the only of the God-Forged that Ra Xu’ul does not yet possess.”

Aurix swallowed hard. He had delivered the final piece of Valeria’s potential annihilation right into the hands of a madman. Today might be the day that everything ceased to be. And the blame would be his.

The street opened onto a vast paved plaza lined with empty vendor stalls. People jeered and taunted them as Ralin led them into the square. Several soldiers fell in behind them. A massive black throne sat before the stone steps that led to the castle. The combined light of Shura and Nova in the sky glinted off of the bloodstones inlaid into the onyx frame of the chair. The king of Valeria was seated there.

Xu’ul was bald and entirely clean-shaven, save for a tuft of black chin hair and dark, arching eyebrows. His eyes were deep-set and looked—from a distance—empty and as black as Nyx’s feathers. A thin white scar—that permanent souvenir from Alexa’s knife—marked his cheek a few inches beneath his left eye. He wore a smirk of superiority that Aurix immediately wished he could knock from the man’s face.

He was outfitted in unadorned iron armor from neck to toe. A helm made of the same stuff sat on his lap. A huge shield leaned against one arm of the throne, a plain iron longsword against the other. The light bent and moved around him in a way that made Aurix disoriented and nauseous. The king leaned forward as they approached, as if anxious for the prize they brought.

Standing slightly in front of and to the left of Xu’ul’s throne was someone Aurix recognized immediately. His black and bloodstained plate mail seemed to absorb the light and bore no shine whatsoever. The whole of his face was pink and scarred and disfigured and looked almost wet in the sunslight. His lips had burned away in the fire at Skypierce and he wore a permanent grimace, his teeth bared like a snarling dog.

Rage bloomed in Aurix’s heart and seared away the last of his fear. “That look suits you, Banjax,” he called out to the man. And while he was no longer scared, he really wished the gem would do its thing—whatever that thing was. If it didn’t they were all about to die horribly.

“It’s gotta be now,” Regulus said quietly, as they drew close to the crowd already gathered in the square. If they waited any longer, they’d be completely boxed in by the angry throng. Regulus reached back and slipped his spear from Archaeon’s side. He dropped low and spun, the wooden shaft of the pike tripping Ralin as he walked a few steps in front of them. Within a second, the blade was against the regent’s neck as he struggled to regain his feet.

Inanna let go of Aurix’s hand, and shrugged her bow from her shoulder in a single, practiced motion. An arrow was in the air before Aurix had even drawn his sword. The shot was true, but Xu’ul casually swatted it out of the air with a Gauntleted hand. The shaft of the arrow shattered into splinters, and the arrowhead tumbled harmlessly to the ground with a clatter.

Nyx tore the remainder of her bandage away with her beak and leaped from Aurix’s shoulder, taking to the air. Her flight was awkward, but she circled above them, just out of reach of their enemies.

Aurix took his sword in hand, but nothing changed. There was no surge of power, and nothing from the Tear that indicated what he should do next. The only real hope they’d had of succeeding was failing them.

“Now would be good, lad” Regulus said to him, as Inanna nocked another arrow, not sure where to aim.

“Nothing’s happening,” Aurix said.

More of Xu’ul’s Guard peeled away from the crowd and began to surround them.

“Stop! Or your regent will die at your feet,” Regulus bellowed, his voice carrying over the shouts of the crowd.

Xu’ul took the Helm into his hand and stood. Except for the three of them, everyone in the square fell silent and knelt instantly.

Inanna took another shot.

Xu’ul caught the arrow in midair with his free hand and snapped it in half. He gave Inanna a quick annoyed glance, like she was nothing more than an irritating bug. He looked at Regulus with bored eyes. “Do it, Regulus, colossus of Midian. I have no need of a regent now that I have the last of the God-Forged.” He pointed at Inanna. “Release another arrow, pretty one, and you’ll beg me to kill you for an eternity. Behave and perhaps I’ll make you my first queen.”

“In your dreams,” she said.

“In a moment you’ll regret your insolent mouth, quatch,” Xu’ul said.

Regulus looked at Aurix hopefully.

Aurix could only shrug and shake his head. The Tear remained silent.

Xu’ul turned his attention to him. “Did you come across your parents out there on the Red Plain, Aurix, son of none?”

C’mon, do something, Aurix thought to the gem in his hand.

“Bring it to me, boy.” The Ra’s voice was filled with disdain. “Perhaps I will show mercy to your friends and kill them quickly.” He shrugged. “Or perhaps not.”

“You don’t understand mercy,” Aurix said. “You took that throne through the spilled blood and fear of the people. Valeria demands it back!”

Xu’ul laughed. Those in the plaza joined him. “Does it now? Do you think you speak for all Valeria, whelp?”

That was like digging a finger into a fresh and painful wound, but Aurix bit his tongue at the jab. No doubt he’d pulled that tidbit from the Helm. “No. I speak for the Valeria that once was before you came and destroyed it. I speak for the Valeria that will be once more when you’re gone.”

“Understand this—there will never again be a Valeria that I do not rule.” He nodded subtly at the soldiers that had snuck up behind them while everyone else knelt in silent veneration.

A plated arm slipped around Aurix’s throat and pressed, cutting off his air. Another wrapped around Inanna’s neck and pulled her away from his side. Two more soldiers kicked the back of Regulus’ knees while a third brought a sword down on the shaft of his spear, cleaving it in two. The colossus fell hard to the ground with a grunt of pain. A knife was put to his neck, while another of Xu’ul’s Aegis held him down.

There was a shriek from above and Nyx swooped in, her talons reaching for the soldier that held Aurix. Looking beyond her, Aurix watched as Xu’ul drew back an arm.

“No! Nyx!” he tried to shout. It came out a strained rasp.

She altered the path of her flight just slightly but the arrowhead flew at her impossibly fast. She could not avoid it. It smashed into her injured wing and she tumbled through the air over Aurix’s shoulder, landing on the ground with a cry of pain and anger. She screeched again when yet another of the guards scooped her up.

Aurix struggled, but the arm cinched around his neck held him fast. Another soldier bent back his arm until his sword fell to the ground with a clang.

Ralin regained his feet. He brushed off his knees and wiped away a trickle of blood from his forehead. Xu’ul nodded to him. He made his way to Aurix and stretched out his hand.

Aurix just barely managed to shake his head and forced a whisper. “No.”

Xu’ul slipped Ulixes’ Helm onto his head. “It’s in his hand. Break his fingers if you need to. Rip his arm off for all I care. Just don’t kill him, Banjax wants his vengeance.”

The arm around Aurix’s throat squeezed harder. White spots blurred his vision. Still he tightened his fist around the clear stone, willing it—begging it—to do something.

Ralin sneered at him and pried his pinky away.

Aurix fought him as much as he could, but it was a useless endeavor. He only managed a choked ’acch’, when Ralin snapped his finger. Pain bloomed like a red cloud in his mind.

Xu’ul watched with indifference. He sheathed the Sword of Rhexis across his back, so that its pommel sat just above his shoulder, and lifted Ajax’s Shield onto his arm. It looked impossibly heavy, but he lifted it as if it weighed nothing at all.

Aurix’s hand opened reflexively when Ralin broke his second finger. He could only hiss through clenched teeth. His eyes welled with tears of pain. Xandra’s Tear fell to the ground at his feet.

“Bring it to me, Ralin. Banjax, go and claim your head. His friends can watch him die.”

Aurix was barely conscious when the soldier holding him from behind let go. He dropped to his hands and knees, choking and gasping for air. Searing bolts of intense pain shot through his hand and up into his wrist. In front of him, his brain barely registered that Ralin and Banjax had just crossed paths. There was a dim flicker of satisfaction in his mind when he noticed the General was limping badly on his wounded leg. He glimpsed a flash of red metal as Nova reflected off of Banjax’s gleaming blade. Everything seemed faded and distant. He could see Inanna’s feet kicking furiously at the legs of the soldier holding her, but they moved in slow motion. Aurix thought she might be screaming, but it was hard to tell. Regulus roared like a bear and Nyx shrieked, but the sounds were fuzzy and far away. He managed to raise his eyes and saw Ralin hand the Tear to Xu’ul. There was a sense that the air around him was being cleaved in two, and had just enough time to wonder if it was the same sensation that his mother felt just before she died. He had a fleeting instant of regret for failing those he loved. And then all that remained was an absolute darkness.