Part II He awoke in a dark, dank cave from a nightmare of demons and fear. Someone or something had dragged him here from the battlefield. He tried to sit up but pain lanced through his body. A soft, sultry voice came from the shadows beside him. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." In the dim firelight of the cave, Jared saw the speaker, a slim, young woman with dark hair peeking out of her cloak's hood. She was dressed in a leather cuirass with a baldric of deadly throwing knives. Leaning on a long black staff, she smiled down at him. "YOU! You're..." said Jared as he struggled to get up. "Yes. Adrienne of Dilentos, former Ledrene to the Emperor Sarkas IV yadayadayada... And you should stay still." Jared struggled to sit up. "If not for your evil father we wouldn't be here!" growled Jared. "If not for your father, my father would not be dead, my mother driven insane by sorcery, my people slaughtered! My brother..." He was racked by choking sobs. With a sigh, Adrienne sat down beside him. Resting her staff across her lap, she looked intently into Jared's eyes. "Don't you think I know that?" A look of profound grief crossed her face. "My father was a good man. A bit over-curious, but then he is a scholar. He never meant to release the demon horde. He was not like any of his predecessors, not an empire builder. His love was for old books, ancient lore and artifacts." Her hand caressed the staff in her lap. "It was in one of his expeditions that he unearthed the legendary Crypts of Annar in the Moruvian deserts. All our seers warned him not to open the crypt. I warned him too. It reeked of evil. But his curiosity got the better of him. He delved too deeply into the crypt, and there he discovered... the Demon-sword of Karos, Soul-eater. From then on my father changed, as the sword spoke to him in his dreams, slowly seducing him. It promised him power and knowledge lost to the world. My father is not a strong-willed man. He could not resist the sword's dark beauty. The sword spread its influence, slowly eating away like a canker, until now...my country is a land of dead things, my people fled to the four winds. And the demon's power grows as it feeds on more human souls, as more cities fall to the ravaging horde." A single tear rolled down her cheek. "And only I can put a stop to this evil. The blood of his blood shall redeem his sins. These words were written on the crypt walls. I...must kill...my father." The silence of the cave was broken by the sound of jingling armor. Jared reached for his sword but it was not at his side. He felt Adrienne's hand on his arm. "Relax. They are your companions." Three men entered the cave and knelt before Jared. They were his elite bodyguards, his lifetime companions, trained from young to serve and protect their prince with their lives. "Denshur! Aldar! Kedrin! My friends!" Jared almost leapt up to embrace them, but fell back in pain. "My prince...we have failed you..." said Aldar "We did not see Prince Orlok...I mean, he just crept up..." stammered Kedrin. "We were betrayed my lord. Orlok opened the city to those demons, after he stabbed you in the back. We formed a shield ring around you when we saw you go down. Then we fought our way clear of the battle to the foothills. There we met the lady," Denshur gestured toward Adrienne. "She led us to this cave." "What about the rest? Jorin? Ambar?" asked Jared anxiously. "They fought rearguard. I...think they are dead." Denshur gazed at his boots, tears in his eyes. "My city?" asked Jared in trepidation. "Destroyed. Not many managed to escape...they knew our evacuation plans! Orlok...must have been that snake! The demons captured...most of our people. The city lies in ashes," sobbed Kedrin. Jared's face contorted with pain and grief. His whole life had just been burnt to the ground. He had nothing left. Nothing except... "Vengeance! Vengeance against Sarkas the Damned. I swear to end his miserable life, let this be the only purpose of MY life from here on!" Coughing in pain, Jared made it to his feet, unsteadily. "Aye lord! This we swear too!" Denshur gripped Jared's arm. With a chorus of "ayes!" the others too gripped Jared's arm. Jared turned towards Adrienne. "I will aid your quest. But know this. No one, except me, can kill Sarkas. This, it seems, is my destiny. To commit regicide...and patricide." Hiding her tears, Adrienne turned and walked out of the cave. Notes: Karos, Soul-eater: The ultimate incarnation of evil. More fiendish than all devils and more malevolent than the foulest demons.
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