First Strike

By Aradia

The village was decimated, coloured with blood and rays of the dying sunlight. Smoke drifted upward lazily, the fires still raging violently, destroying the buildings. The mountain trolls had rounded up and slaughtered the men, leaving the women and children to be hostages.

Lucian Taarene watched with pleasure as one of the trolls tore the clothes off of a young girl. When the girl’s mother tried to intervene, the troll simply tore the older woman’s face off, her blood spraying her daughter. On the ground at Lucian’s feet lay a young woman, her dress torn, her inner thighs streaked with virgin’s blood. She wept quietly, out of fear that Lucian might do more than simply rape her. She had seen Lucian’s troll tear her mother’s face off, and she was watching as that same troll raped her younger sister. It wasn’t long before the troll finished and cut the girl’s throat.

Lucian reached down and yanked his captive to her feet by her hair. "What is your name?" he demanded harshly.

Brilliant blue eyes met his with a mixture of fear and hatred. "Katryna," she spit angrily.

He smiled with amusement, then released her and backhanded her to the ground. "You will address me as ‘my Lord,’ Katryna. Is that understood?" She nodded silently, and received a kick to the side.

"Yes, my Lord," she whispered, watching the raiding party bring the remaining women and children to Lucian’s attention.

Lucian waited until the group was quiet, then crouched down, looking at Katryna. "What loyalty do you claim, Katryna?" he asked in a crooning voice, stroking her brown hair as he might a beloved pet. "To which nation do you offer your life, and your people’s lives, and your entire way of life?"

Katryna looked at the group of weeping women and frightened children, knowing that her answer would mean the difference between life and death, and would define what her personal and village honour would mean in the years to come. As she studied them, looking at the people she had spent her whole life around, she intuitively knew that they were doomed.

"We are loyal to Kettahr, to the once King Sardis, and to the now Queen Calypso," she finally declared in a loud and firm voice. "We owe fealty to no other, and we refuse to bow before any other."

Lucian’s hand tightened in her hair, and he practically hurled her into the group of women. "Foolish wench," he hissed angrily. "I thought you were smarter than that, and that you would claim loyalty to my brother."

"Your brother?" another woman asked fearfully.

"He is the Prince of the Dark Lands, Alanna," Katryna said, hate and anger giving her a courage that she would not have normally possessed. "He is Lucian Taarene, and his brother is the Dark King, Leurc Taarene."

Lucian suddenly had an idea, and he strode to Katryna, yanking her back to his side. "I have decided what to do about these women, my troops," he called, claiming everyone’s attention. "The woman Katryna will remain with me, for she suits me well." Katryna flushed with anger, and tried to keep the edges of her torn dress together. "As for the rest…kill them. All of them."

Katryna gasped in horror, and tried to free herself of Lucian’s grasp. Lucian kept a firm grip on her arm, however, and laughed at her futility. "Watch and learn, my pretty Katryna. Your townspeople will pay the price for your foolishness, and you will learn that Kettahr is nothing without King Sardis."

"If you have any mercy in you, let them go free!" Katryna cried, tears rolling down her alabaster face freely. "I will willingly go with you, but let them live. We are only a small village, and hardly worth the attention!"

"I have no mercy in me, and you will go with me, willingly or not. And do not underestimate your people’s importance. Calypso’s hold on Kettahr is tenuous, and she knows it. She will not allow a small village to be attacked without provocation, and she will know it was me." Lucian smiled at Katryna, sending shivers down her back. "Kettahr will topple and fall, the nymph will run back to her islands, and my brother will expand his empire. And, if you are lucky, perhaps I will make you my consort. For now, however, know that you will be my slave, and at my mercy."

Katryna said nothing, forcing herself to watch as the trolls slaughtered the helpless villagers. When the last child was killed, she turned her blue eyes to meet Lucian’s amused hazel eyes. "I have made a vow," she hissed with anger. Lucian raised a brow questioningly, and she continued. "I have vowed that the Queen will know the names of each man, woman, and child you have destroyed today, Lucian Taarene. She is the ruler of Kettahr fairly, as our King Sardis was the ruler. If, as you say, she responds to this provocation, she will know who died on the altar of your egotistical ambitions!"

Lucian stared at her for a long moment, then chuckled deep in his throat. "I expected no less of you, Katryna," he said in a moment of honesty and admiration. "I would have killed you had you no spirit within you."

"And I will kill you for this destruction you have brought on us," she replied with venom.

Lucian shrugged, and gathered his troops. "We have more work to do, my troops. We are going to wage war on Kettahr, and we will send Calypso back to her islands. And after we have claimed Kettahr as our own, we will then destroy her and the Kestrelae. And Kestrel will be our own as well!"

The trolls roared in approval, though most obviously didn’t understand what he was saying. All they understood was the promise of war, and that was enough for them. Lucian climbed onto his stallion, and dragged Katryna up in front of him, riding off to the Dark Lands. As the trolls lumbered after him, the sun finally sank below the horizon, casting the decimated village into shadows.

Talkback: Post Reply | View replies (0)