𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐔𝐄 || 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘙𝘪𝘯𝘨

"COMMANDER, THE DARK LORDS HAVE ACCEPTED YOUR REQUEST FOR AN AUDIENCE, SIR."

Talon's hardened gaze lifted from the battle plans. They had been scribbled on and tattered by the constant abuse of his clenched hands and unyielding mind. He couldn't sleep. Not when the third blood moon rose higher tonight, signifying the near war on the brink of breaking out. He was on so little time with so few options left. And none complimented the other.

His vision, they told him of the future. A future with pain and an everlasting flame to their realm. Dark ships would block out the sun and bring an eternal night where all of Alexion's people would be killed. Ships the shape of blades stabbing into the planet's crust and sucking the energy out of it. That was a future he couldn't risk coming to fruition.

Standing from the table, he had walked past one of his soldiers, that seemed bewildered by the bleak silence in response. Left to follow his commander out of the barracks and into the winding halls of the Alexion castle.

Torches and lanterns alike rested in posts revealing a path to the lords of this realm. One that was cast out a long time ago by Odin and left to fend for itself. The dark marble floors reflected Talon's obsidian armour with the help of the orange flames that burned brighter than any other night.

Passing by the soldier's quarters, he could hear the sound of laughter and giggles from whores. And seeing a fraction of the room, he could tell his men were oblivious to the imminent doom they all faced. The men drank ale with their lustful desires being practiced on the women from the brothel in the lower streets of Alexion. Their bodies were bare with the sound of moans and cries filling the air.

He never condoned this type of behaviour. The escapades his men indulged themselves in were his concern when they appeared inside this holy structure the lords have built for him and his men. But with the future he has been foretold, his worries and care would have to be put on pause for them.

Arriving at the large golden doors that led deeper into the castle, two of the lord's guards stood to watch. They nodded towards Talon, a silent greeting of respect towards the man, opening the double doors for him. When the soldier still following Talon tried to pass, they grabbed the handles of their swords with the dragging of their blades filling the silent air.

"Go home, Erik," Talon commanded. "This is where our paths part, my friend."

"But Commander-" The soldier tried but started to back away when the older man turned and marched towards him.

Talon grabbed Erik by the side of the neck harshly and stared deep into his eyes. His fingers dug into the man's nape, causing him to wince as he tried to keep his commander's gaze. But that didn't stop Talon from glaring at the young man. "You have a young babe on the way, Erik. Spend your time with her as long as you can," Talon told him before lowering his voice. "In the coming night, you leave Alexion and make haste to Asgard. Tell Odin what has become of Alexion."

"Sir, I-I don't-"

A large hand connected to Erik's cheek with him tumbling to the ground. His armour clanged together as he groaned on the floor. Although Talon was in his 50's, his strength had no bounds.

"Listen to my order, soldier!" Talon barked. "Do as your told. I won't repeat it to you. If I do, it'll be with your corpse."

Erik knew his commander to be serious just by the look in his eyes. Sharp and narrow with his upper lip twitching in annoyance. He'd seen the same look Talon had given to countless incompetent soldiers of his when they had been on the battlefield or the training grounds. He was not someone you disobeyed or pissed off.

"Now, go." It was a simple order that Erik, this time, followed. Standing to his feet and quickly makes his way out of his commander's sight. Still feeling the hot burning gaze of those bright blue eyes on the back of his head.

Once Erik was gone, Talon inhaled deeply, hoping to calm himself before he would come face to face with his lords. Pressing forward, Talon took one of the torches by the door and ventured into the darkness that was within.

As he got deeper into the castle and lower into the heart of their planet, he was revealed more and more of what had yet to be seen by the public. The high priestess's sitting by flames, praying to whatever god they worshipped. Their low melodic hums shake the walls and ground that give them the house to do such pointless tasks. Personally, Talon did not believe in such false beings. There were no gods. Not ones worthy of his heart and mind at least.

His torch cast out the darkness and revealed the square paved walls where his eyes curiously glossed over. Tombs from past lords of Alexion were stored in these royal walls. The seal of the kingdom was etched into the stone with the name of the past loyalists to the realm. Rarely did any normal soldier or civilian come down these sacred halls. So, in a kind act of remembrance, the holy priests whispered prayers for the dead. But Talos found it a rather meaningless act for Alexionarians that was the worst of the worst. It was a prime reason they had been cast out from the 9 realms and forgotten.

He descended a flight of steps that led to another set of double doors with the insignia of the Alexion inscribed onto the rock. A dragon with 4 heads all twisting and curling in the air until they arrive above with them breathing a ball of fire.  4 heads for the six lords and the one ball of flame for Alexion and how they birthed it into existence.

Talon pushed the doors open and was revealed to the lords, all sitting at a round table with lanterns finally giving light to the room. Candles on the table, showing each of their faces that were old and wrinkling from years at their seats of power. Guards surrounded the edge of the room with blank expressions. Never were they to speak unless necessary, neither were they to see or hear. Their loyalty to the lords made them trusted to be in the same room when deligating occurred, which had seemed to become a frequent matter as of late.

"My lords, I have little time and very little patience for the matters we face," Talon announced, approaching the head of the table. "We are faced with an enemy far greater than anything we have faced before. Tomorrow night, our end may very well come."

The lords showed a very little amount of care for his statement. All continued to eat and drink as Lord Mane who sat at the other end of the table, lifted his bored gaze towards Talon. "And where did you hear this, Commander?" The Lord asked, taking a sip from his red wine.

"The witch foretold that after-"

A loud boisterous laugh filled the air from Lord Pak, who dabbed his mouth with his cloth. "You mean, 'The Bitch'?" Pak inquired, amusingly. "That woman has been speaking fairy tales since before you were born, boy. None of them mattered and they still don't."

Talon held his tongue for a moment, almost forgetting his place in the lord's presence. If they wanted, they could have the guard kill him- or at least try. Even then, he wouldn't make it out of here without a fatal wound. So, he would have to endure these fat slobs for a little longer and hope they finally saw what was coming.

"She had foretold the death of Fenris years before it happened. How the beast was stored away deep within Asgard," Talon pointed out. "Where is Fenris now?" His challenging tone wasn't unwelcome as a few of the lords glanced at one another, now slightly intrigued.

Lord Mane placed his golden spork done, clasping his hands together with his gaze becoming focused on the Commander. Talon's eyes flickered to the glowing ring that was cuffed around the lord's middle finger. Elven writing was etched into it. It was made from pure magic and the sorcery of the tools that the high elves only acquired. The Edith Ring was what many called it. Not much was known about the item, but everyone came into agreement that it held greater power than most understood.

Talon blinked when Lord Mane motioned with both his hands for the man to continue. "She told me that when the blood moon rises higher than we've ever seen, the coming days are ones of darkness and reckoning," Talon explained. "Tonight, a blood moon hangs above us like a totem. A warning and final call for what is coming to kill us all."

"I must ask, who is it that is coming?" Lord Frazier, the one kind lord of the table, inquired. "If we know what force we are facing, then perhaps we know what we need to prepare for and what we must do."

"But even then, what does it matter?" Pak asked. "We've dealt with these things before, my lords. We've killed our enemies and we've dealt with Talon's visions of incidents!" He exclaimed with a wave of his hand. "And the last thing I will do is believe that old bitch down in the slums."

"Perhaps we should send scouting ships into the perimeter of the realm," Lord Kits suggested. "We may have time to get information on who it is and why they are here-"

The constant talking and back and forth had begun to sprout a migraine for Talon. His face scrunched up in pain and annoyance as he sighed. "I have something to say!" Talon's voice cut through the room like a knife, cutting at the Lord's words and seizing them to exist.

He sniffled, grabbing the spare chair at the end of the table, he pulled it back before sitting down. "I never aspired to become Commander of your army. It came to be from the actions of others and insistence of wanting war with every realm," he said. "Nonethelessless, I fought for you. I built an army to defend your honour and to defend this realm. I have seen young men die in your name."

Talon then raised a brow, looking at the Lords. "So, I must ask, have you been on the battlefield?" He inquired, earning a general silence. "Have you realized what your words and your commands have put us in a position with no hope of surviving? You thought killing the high elves would bring us prosperity. It ended with half our crop supply dying. You have taken flames from Musphelheim and used them to give us light to our city, which only created volcanos to erupt and kill thousands of yards of our forests."

For years, Talon has faced tragedy after tragedy that revolved around his home. Seeing and taking part in meaningless wars and watching hundreds of innocents be killed. Those days haunted him and were something he could never wash off of him. But for once, he wanted to save people from this dark force approaching their world. He wanted to redeem himself after all the horrible things he'd done.

He slowly stood to his feet, as he said, "I am the Commander of your army." And almost as a wave of anger came over him, he sent the chair he'd been sitting on, fly back with his sudden outburst. "Me! Not you! Not you, not you, and not-fucking-you!" His voice roared and echoed off the chamber walls with all the Lords staring at him. "You've all had your ideas, and they have all brought us closer to our demise! So, hear me now, we are evacuating the planet and getting all the innocent to Asgard. The army will be under my control and we will stay and defend this fucking planet that you have doomed to be destroyed!"

And that was what he left them with as he made his exit. But it felt like only a split second when he heard almost the flicker of a match before he spun around with his sword unsheathed and blocking the beams that came from the Edith Ring. The force of said magic was enough to push Talon back a few feet, eyes squinting to see Lord Mane holding a blank expression.

Talon, on the other hand, was nothing less than angry. His teeth gritted as he fought against the weight pressed to his magical blade crafted by the works of Dwarfs and Light Elves. Imbuing the Asgardian silver with the mysterious wonders from the Elves. It was a gift from the very few Elves left in the nine realms after her spared them, of course under his terms.

But it was enough to handle the Edith Ring. Or so he thought as the steel began to crack and chip with the elven tongue glowing brightly on the edges and fuller. And before he knew it, the steel finally broke with one half flying off to the side and the top half still tight in his grip. Yet, it did not matter when scorching heat struck to his chest and began to burn away his armour slowly. His body tensed up, the broken sword falling from his grip, and he became elevated.

The only way to describe the pain was multiple blades that had been left in a firepit being pressed against his skin. And it wasn't too far off as his body was slowly stripped of clothing with his body becoming bare and burned by the power of the ring that enveloped his body.

His groans and cries filled the air as Lord Mane said, "I wouldn't have blamed you for speaking your mind, Commander Talon," he stated. "What I will not condone is you taking matters into your own hands. So, you'll be imprisoned in the ring for the rest of your days. Trapped and never to be put to rest for your insubordination to the Dark Lords of Alexion."

"Then you will die with it!" Talon yelled with uncontrollable laughter following. "And I will bask knowing that you fat slimy fucks are crushed and slaughtered like the little piggies you are!" He laughed out maniacally. "My death comes without apology, bastards! You will die with your food in your throats and heads placed on pikes!"

The pain was swallowed down as his body began to evaporate and turn into dust, and that dust was absorbed by the ring. And it went like that until he was finally gone and the room was filled with silence.

The Lords all sat uneasily. Having gotten very few answers to the questions they posed to the former Commander. But Lord Mane still held a stoic expression. Being the head of the Dark Lords, he rarely swayed from what he believed was right. Killing Talon Emigold was what he believed to be right.

"We will command the army," he said, gaining the other's attention. "No longer will we listen to any deluded man or woman. This is our city and planet. We will keep it that way."

But their fates were sealed. Their stories end already written and transcribed into the books of history.