Emil

  When Emil and Kai finally crawled out of the depths of the partially collapsed Azurite mine, the last thing they expected was to find themselves amongst a new group of enemies. The Shiraza, the elusive third faction in the Gharian conflict, had also arrived at the fringes of the encampment.

  And their leader just so happened to be the person that they were looking for.

  Karni, Vigil’s the enigmatic Gharian who lorded over rats, was known in the Saar as Princess Kiniyani of the Shiraza. She stood before them with lips curled in amusement, her army of Shiraza warriors cladded in ivory colored shawl against her black robe. Despite her short stature, she radiated authority. A quiet, threatening pressure exuded from her presence, demanding attention. A thin layer of mana shrouded her body at all times, amplifying her force of will. She was powerful and she knew it.

  No wonder we couldn’t find any traces of her.

  Perhaps it should have been obvious that the name Karni was an alias used during her time with Vigil. Her warriors and servants mostly addressed her by her title. Some used a moniker—the Sand Priestess instead. Both were uttered with equal reverence.

  “How amusing it is to find a familiar face in the Saar,” Karni said as she approached the two. Emil and Kai immediately surrendered upon being discovered by the Shiraza army. There was no use to resisting. Emil sensed several Exalted amongst the army and Seismic Sense detected couple of detached forces hidden behind smaller sand dunes spread out on the vestiges of the encampment. Karni alone would have been a formidable opponent, much less than an entire army’s worth of backup. Running away was also suicide. The exit of the Azurite mine placed them on a stretch of flat open sand. There was nothing to hide and impede their pursuers. Kai was also in no shape to move after the injuries he suffered inside the mine.

  “Drop your Azurite stones,” Karni ordered. Unlike the baggy leather cloak that she wore in their prior encounters, she now adorned a black silk robe woven in gold laces that loosely traced the outlines of her body. A translucent ebon shawl draped over her head to her shoulders, bestowing her an otherworldly appearance. A beauty that Emil no doubt might have admired if it weren’t for the murderous gaze directed at his neck.

  He and Kai compiled without question, removing their Azurite accessories, much to their reluctance. Deprived of their powers, they were now completely at the Shiraza’s mercy.

  “You really are a persistent one, aren’t you?” Karni forced Emil on his knees with a sudden kick. She then grabbed his face, holding his chin in the palm of her hands. Her dark pupils flickered about, taking him in. “A successful product of the Bestowed Project. How interesting.”

  Without warning, she took out a dagger and stabbed him in the shoulder. Before Emil could even react, her hands then slashed across his chest.

  “What the hell are you—” Kai tried to intervene. A wasted effort since he was immediately shoved into the sand by a nearby warrior.

  Emil clenched his teeth. The pain was bearable—it was the sudden violence and the clinical nature of her assault that shocked him more. Karni stabbed him five times before withdrawing her dagger. Emil didn’t resist. Despite the violence, her attacks lacked malice and murderous intent.

  “Hisham,” she simply muttered.

  A tall man rushed to her side, holding a set of glass syringes. Hisham quickly took five blood samples with a practiced precision around each of the areas where Karni stabbed him. Then he intoned. Emil felt mana crawl up his body, stitching together the damaged flesh and halting the flow of blood.

  “…There are much more civilized ways to draw blood,” Emil said, shuddering.

  Karni stared at him dispassionately. “I’m aware. But I felt compelled to inflict a bit of unpleasantness upon the man who captured Melody. I never cared too much for that insane girl, but we did spend a significant amount of time together. Call it an obligation to a former comrade. Consider yourself lucky that I’m not taking an arm.”

  So that was an act of revenge?

  “What do you plan on doing with my blood?” he asked.

  “Study it. In science, you need at least three samples to make any meaningful conclusions,” Karni said plainly, beckoning him to stand. Once he compiled, his hands were immediately pulled behind his back and tied with rope. “Rejoice. You’re my hostages now. Be glad that you haven’t been buried as a dismembered corpse in the sand.” She regarded him with her cold, unflinching gaze. “We both know you’ve seen me do much, much worse.”

  ***

  After Karni used Borealis to blow apart the Zal’Khari’s colossal sandworm, the Shiraza quickly seized control of the Azurite encampment. Both Zal’Khari and Dhazara forces immediately lost the will to fight after witnessing the might of the devastating bombs. Now Karni stood before Rakan and Nabil surrounded by Shiraza warriors. Both men had been stripped of their Azurite accessories.

  Emil scanned the crowd of Zal’Khari and Dhazara prisoner of wars. He eventually found Anna and Liesel amongst the group. He breathed a sigh of relief as they made eye contact. None of them sustained any life-threatening injuries at a glance.

  “Are those Ardairan Exalted yours, Nabil?” Karni asked. The three leaders were in the midst of a conference; their voices projected loud enough for their subordinates to hear.

  “I found them after they got themselves entangled with the Zal’Khari. I’ve merely employed their services in exchange for an eventual trip back to Cereza,” Nabil explained.

  Karni paused for a moment. “You mean you’re using them as political hostages while bolstering your fighting prowess,” she said, deducing the situation immediately.

  Nabil shrugged. “It can be interpreted that way.”

  His nonchalant attempt to feign innocence drew a scoff from Karni. “You’ve got the right idea at least. These four are students from Exalted Academy. One of them is the scion of House Belle, the duke of the Rosales province. The other three are highly coveted amongst Ardair’s noble houses, especially the one with the blue eyes. Their presence here implies a connection with House Ulster.”

  “For how much you detest the Ardairans, you’re quite knowledgeable about them,” Rakan growled.

  Karni tilted her head, side-eyeing the Zal’Khari leader as if chastising an inferior. “To take down your enemies, you must first understand them. I’ve spent the last few years undercover in Ardair as part of a terrorist organization called Vigil. We’ve raided the Academy. We’ve razed the capital city of Isarelle.” She shot a glance at Emil and Kai. “Those four Ardairans can attest to my deeds because they’re here to look for me. The explosive that you just saw is called Borealis. A bomb leveraging Azurite and the potential of mana. It is the fruit of my efforts spent away from the Saar, building upon Ardairan knowledge.”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  “How much more of those do you have?” Nabil asked.

  “Enough to make the Ardairans bend the knee.”

  The encampment went quiet. Karni’s words appeared to echo like the distant winds of the Saar. Emil snuck glances at the Gharians in attendance. Nearly all of them had enraptured looks in their eyes, seemingly enthralled by her conviction.

  I see. Her end goal was always a rebellion. Vigil was just the means for her to create Borealis and destabilize Ardair to create an opportunity.

  “It’s not impossible,” Karni continued after the weight of her words settled in, “Think about the potential. With a unified Gharia and Borealis, none of the Ardairans can take us lightly. House Belle is unlikely to intervene due to Isarelle’s recent destruction. The royal family and the Lionhearts are occupied with finding my co-conspirators. House Ulster alone stands no chance.”

  “And who would lead this unified Gharia?” Nabil asked despite the obvious answer.

  “Me, of course. I have the vision. The blood. The right. Zal’Khari, Dhazara, and Shiraza will unite under a unified banner. The two of you will serve as my advisors alongside Hisham. I believe this to be a fitting arrangement.”

  “I decline,” Rakan stated, a bloodthirsty glare etched on his tattooed face, “Might makes right for the Zal’Khari. I do not serve those weaker than myself.”

  Karni raised an eyebrow. “And you believe I’m weaker?”

  “I believe you’re just a tiny, little princess born with a silver spoon,” he spat, venom on his tongue, “A woman who thinks she can rule the Saar just because her daddy handed her power.”

  Rakan’s deliberate provocation couldn’t have been obvious. Still, the insults appeared to have struck a note. Karni’s face hardened at the Zal’Khari’s sneering visage, her eyes brimmed with disdain.

  “I thought you a beast, Rakan. But it seems I was wrong. Because even beasts can recognize their superiors.”

  She raised a hand. The Shiraza warriors around them immediately parted to clear section of space for the impromptu spar. Rakan was given an Azurite accessory and a weapon of his choice. Despite his earlier bravado, the man was fixated on Karni as they moved to their positions, his eyes predatory as he studied his opponent.

  “Who do you think is favored?” Kai asked in a low whisper beside Emil. Similar conversations were happening across the encampment as the Gharians debated the chances of their leaders winning.

  “No idea. But Karni seems confident, which doesn’t bode well for Rakan’s chances. There’s no way she would throw away her perfect victory with this spar if she didn’t think she could win.”

  “True. Do you think we’ll see that giant memetic entity again?”

  The two of them caught a glimpse of the showdown between Anubis and the stone colossus before Karni blew the sandworm apart with Borealis. It was the first time that Emil encountered a memetic entity in person. Most shapeshifters in Ardair never reached close to the pinnacle of their abilities, such that the ability to conjure a memetic entity was almost thought to be a myth. And yet, there was one standing in front of him in the Saar.

  “No, that memetic entity is too impractical for a one-on-one fight. It probably needs time to summon given the mana requirements and the Exalted is likely vulnerable during the process.”

  But as a strategic weapon, the memetic entity was immensely powerful. So long as the Exalted was protected, the memetic entity could trample armies and tear apart fortifications with little effort. Emil grimaced in realization. The rebellion that Karni envisioned no longer seemed like fiction. The threat was suddenly very real.

  Steiger has been too blind to Gharia. We didn’t even know that there were Exalted of this calibre leading their own factions in the Saar.

  Neither Karni nor Rakan spoke a single word. But the air suddenly thickened with bloodlust. The hushed conversations instantly ceased. The spar was about to begin.

  “The rules of this fight are simple,” Hisham declared, acting as one of the overseers of the fight, “Make the opponent yield or render them unable to fight. Gifts and personal weapons are allowed. Karni will not use Borealis or any other strategic weapons. Outside interference is forbidden and will be strictly punished. Now, swear on your honor for a fair fight.”

  “I swear,” Karni and Rakan both intoned.

  The two leaders eyed each other, frozen in their fighting stances. A distance of a hundred meter separated them across the stone dais that became their sparring field. Emi hadn’t realized it, but he was holding his breath. Just how would this battle unfold? The results mattered. Karni at least had uses for them as hostages so they’ll live for the moment, but he doubted that Rakan felt the same inclinations.

  “Begin!”

  Rakan let out a murderous bellow as his body was immediately engulfed in a storm of mana. His height grew. His muscles expanded. His head stretched into the shape of a jackal. A human-sized version of Anubis emerged with a staff in hand.

  Karni was steady. With cold indifference, she remained unmoving as her opponent activated his Gift. Emil narrowed his eyes, concentrating on the movement of mana in the air. Suddenly, he saw myriad threads of mana extending from her hands. One of her fingers twitched, sending a miniscule ripple along the thin threads.

  Rats surged out of the sands. They were everywhere. They instantly transformed into their grotesque monstrous forms that Emil had grown unpleasantly familiar with. High-pitch squeals rose into menacing grunts. Their scarlet pupils gleamed with bloodlust.

  Rakan flicked his hands. A wave of sand collided against the rats at the vanguard. Their flesh dried up in seconds, creeping along their bodies as the decay spread ravenously. Like a plague, the rats fell and collapsed into a mummified mess. With the opening, Rakan charged to close the gap.

  But the rats kept coming. Relentlessly, they emerged from the sands before becoming mummified. The closer he got to Karni, the greater the number of rats appeared. Desperate, he began to rely on his staff. Every swing carved through flesh, breaking apart the few monsters that got past his attack.

  Each step, however, looked increasingly difficult.

  Soon, he couldn’t advance at all. The waves of rats were unending. But he was almost there. Karni was nearly within his interference range.

  “Sand Priestess!” he yelled as though trying to will himself forward just another step.

  The rats refused to let him move. Like a giant wave, they overwhelmed him with sheer mass.

  Soon, Emil couldn’t even see him as the monsters piled atop of his body. He couldn’t hear a word from the Zal’Khari leader over the unceasing squeals.

  “Enough!” Hisham announced, “Rakan is judged to be unfit for battle. The spar goes to Princess Kiniyani!”

  The crowd was silent. The Shiraza stared at the battlefield with an amused grin as though the victory of their princess was all but foretold. The Zal’Khari looked horrified. The Dhazara grimaced in disgust.

  Karni willed the rats to part. Rakan’s human form laid in a puddle of blood on the dais. His body looked mangled and tramped. Teeth and claw marks were drawn everywhere. His eyes were wide and dazed, visibly traumatized by the horrible experience.

  I’m not sure why I was even concerned. Emil swallowed nervously as he examined the one-sided battle. Rakan was a powerful combatant, but Karni’s army of rats was nearly unbeatable alone. She went easy on him if anything. The moment the Zal’Khari leader faltered, the rats would have tore his body apart if Karni willed it.

  You need a Gift that could instantly close the gap in distance. Or something that can’t be blocked by her army of rats.

  Rakan’s downfall was his lacklustre interference range, a weakness that plagued nearly all shapeshifters. A flaw that Karni exploited without mercy. At the end of the day, a battle between two skilled Exalted was determined by the compatibility of their Gifts.

  Karni approached the Zal’Khari leader. She stepped in front of him and looked down at his pitiful form. A humiliating gesture. One that cemented her dominance over the Gharian warlord.

  “Sometimes I curse my short stature for forcing me to look up at my inferiors. This, is much better,” she stated with a sneer, “I’ve proved my strength. Will you bend the knee?”

  Rakan was silent. His distant eyes quivered. His body twitched, shaking in duress. He looked as if his mind was still trapped underneath the nightmare of the rats.

  “Will you bend the knee?” Karni asked again.

  The Zal’Khari did not respond.

  “Very well then.” She was handed a ceremonial blade from Hisham. In a swift motion, she slit the throat of the shattered Rakan. The Zal’Khari was now hers to command.

  Karni then turned to other Gharian warlord. “Nabil, will you bend the knee?”

  Without an ounce of hesitation, Nabil kneeled and lowered his head in reverence.

  “If it is the will of the Sand Priestess.”

  “Good. You’re smart and cunning. It would have been a shame if I lost you as well to this foolishness,” Karni said. She snapped her fingers. Two monstrous rats suddenly erupted out of the sands beside Nabil, announcing his alternate fate if he had declined. “Just make sure that cunning nature of yours is directed at the right cause.”

  Nabil moved his hand over his chest. “I swear on my honor.”

  With his reluctant declaration, the entire Gharia was suddenly united under a common banner. Emil couldn’t help but be nervous as he watched Karni rouse the Gharian’s fervor.

  A new monarch of the Saar had been crowned.