Chapter II:
The Black Shadows in Alania
1
The forest ended in a low hill, covered in knee-high grass that rippled in the night breeze.
At the edge of the trees, a shadowy grey figure raised both hands; a strange voice cried out, carried by the wind. A red streak seared across the sky, the light growing as it travelled until it formed into a massive fireball—headed directly for the walls of the great castle at the top of the hill.
A blinding flash turned the black sky red, and a moment later an explosion thundered. The castle wall crumbled and erupted into flames, making the shadows of Kanon’s imperial castle, Shining Hill, shimmer and dance.
Emperor Beld of the Marmo Empire watched with all the solemnity of a priest performing some divine ceremony. He sat astride a giant black stallion and wore blood-red armor and a black cape. He was an old man, over sixty, but despite his advanced age he still had the body and mind of a man in his prime—thanks to the power of the great sword at his hip.
Beld had defeated the Demon King to claim the coal-black blade, and since attaining it he’d used that long, broad sword to destroy countless lives. It seemed to tremble with pleasure whenever it met a new sacrifice.
Beld himself often saw a demon when he looked in the mirror.
A victorious cheer rang out from the hundred knights behind him as they watched the castle burn, but Beld’s expression didn’t change. He knew this was only the beginning. The wall may have crumbled, the fire might have caused chaos, but his men were outnumbered ten times over by the enemy soldiers still inside.
Beld advanced slowly out of the cover of the forest, then looked back at the elite troops waiting for his signal. He raised his right hand and swung it down swift as a flash.
The black-clad, armored knights galloped out of cover and rushed up the hill toward the castle, the thundering of their horses’ hooves competing with their angry bellows and shouts.
Beld drew his sword. The black blade absorbed and trapped all light, intimidating even in the darkness of a moonless night. The evil energy emanating from it sat heavy in the air around them. He held the blade out parallel to the ground and prepared to spur his horse forward.
“Taking the field yourself, Your Majesty?” a voice asked from beside him.
Beld deftly wheeled his horse about to face the voice. The woman at his side appeared to be in her mid-twenties, with long, thick black hair tied back and a mysterious circlet on her forehead—several golden bands bundled together with a green jewel at its center and two red, eye-like gems mounted on either side.
The woman’s name was Karla, but Beld knew nothing else about her. Nothing, except that she was a wildly powerful wizard, and she was on his side—which was all that mattered.
Wagnard, the court wizard, had warned him time and time again that her strange magical powers were dangerous.
That same dangerous magic had just shredded Shining Hill’s walls like parchment.
Beld smiled fearlessly as he displayed his sword to Karla, swinging the huge blade with one hand.
“The sword craves more blood—human is its favorite.”
“Does it?” she said. “Perhaps the same could be said of you. After all, a sword reflects its wielder—so they say.”
“Indeed,” Beld laughed, the sound barely distinguishable under the noise of battle. “You could say the same about magic—your flames show your destructive tendencies,” he said with a gesture at the blazing castle.
“Perhaps…” Karla smiled frostily. “Well then, my job here in Kanon is done. I will depart shortly for Valis. Events have been set in motion, and I must prepare for the next move.”
“You’re busy,” he replied. “I hear you’re plotting something in Alania as well.”
“Yes, I have many plans in motion. They’re all necessary if I’m to make you Overlord of Lodoss.”
“I look forward to it.” Beld pulled his steed’s head around and kicked hard at its sides. The horse galloped like lightning up the slope toward the blazing castle.
Beld never doubted his victory.