“After a time. I’d intended to escape to the Human Realm in secret, then raise you here in the Ash, when you were ready. We’d have remained here as long as needed before returning. If things had gone according to plan, no demon would ever hold sway over you. Alas, we were discovered upon entering human lands. Discovered and pursued. To keep you safe, I played the part of decoy.”
“You handed me over to Rudvik and allowed yourself to be captured. That must’ve been hard.”
“Aye, it was. You were everything to me. To trust you with some stranger… I had little choice and many regrets.”
“Well, you could’ve done worse. A lot worse. Rudvik was all I could’ve ever asked for in a father.”
Cirayus stopped digging for a moment. “If I hadn’t handed you to him… But nay. Your worth is incomparable. I’d have burned an entire village down if it meant keeping you safe. I, and all your other retainers.”
There it was again. That weight. Like a soul-crushing mountain that rested atop his back.
“They gave their lives. All to hide me.”
“It was the honor of their lifetime. Though, while our actions kept you safe, I’m afraid you were forced to grow up knowing nothing of who you truly are. I can only imagine the hardships you faced in the human lands.”
Vir looked around the wasteland and considered Cirayus’ words. What kind of person would he have become, knowing only this barren hellscape, fighting day in, day out?
True, he’d have avoided most of the painful experiences he’d endured, and there certainly were many of those. Vir thought back to Brij. The bullying, the abject poverty, the winters he’d struggled through on an empty stomach. It certainly hadn’t been an easy life. He’d have faced none of those issues had Cirayus raised him here.
But there were good times as well. Rudvik. Their forays together into the Godshollow. Apramor, his temple, and his tales of the gods. Aliscia’s writing lessons. Maiya. Had Cirayus raised Vir, he’d never have met her. That alone horrified him.
It didn’t end there—he’d never have witnessed Daha’s poverty, nor Rani’s gorgeous waterways, or learned the truth of the Pagan Order. He wouldn’t have witnessed the Undercity or learned of their curious non-magical lighting.
Nor would he have known the joys of traveling with and fighting in a party, and while he’d parted on unpleasant terms with Spear’s Edge, there were plenty of good memories there, too.
Memories he cherished dearly.
He understood now that all these experiences had helped him grow. Not necessarily in combat power, but as a person. Yes, he might be a demigod by now had Cirayus tutored him, but he’d also be a child, untempered and oblivious to the true workings of the world. A person lacking in real world experience. It was the hardships, the letdowns, the betrayals, and the failures that forged him into who he was today.
If Vir was ever to answer Cirayus’ hope and help the Gargans, they would need a leader. Not a man-child monster who knew only combat.
Of course, it’s not like I’m there yet… As far as he’d come, Vir fully understood he had a long way to go. One look at Maiya made that obvious. Her leadership skills far outstripped his own, and she knew more of the world, too.
“I think it’ll work out,” Vir said at last. “I might not be as strong as you wanted, but I’m here now.”
“Aye, that you are,” Cirayus replied, continuing to dig. Only his upper body remained above ground now, having dug several paces down already. Once again, Balancer of Scales aided his efforts, and ash flew in all directions as he worked.
I want power, he thought. So I can protect those I care about.
He couldn’t say whether he’d ever accept his role as a demonic prince, but for now, he could at least tone his body, temper his mind, and go into the Demon Realm with open eyes. From there, he’d let the winds of fate guide him.
Clang!
Cirayus had hit something solid. “Lad, mind giving me a hand?”
“Don’t you have four?”
The giant chuckled. “Aye, but if four is better than two, six is always welcomed. Think we’ve got it.”
Vir had been wondering when the giant would ask. He removed his armor and rolled up his sleeves to keep them from getting dirty, then jumped into the pit Cirayus had dug.
“It’s a sword, right?”
“Aye, wrapped in cloth, along with a small bag. You dig on that side. I’ll work on this end.”
Vir wondered why they needed two people to dig out a sword—there was already a good bit of it uncovered. A bit more and Cirayus would’ve been able to pull it out on his own—but Vir didn’t complain.
Methodically, he scooped ash out one handful at a time. Owing to how deep it was buried, Vir ended up moving far more than he’d initially expected. When he thought he’d reached the end of the cloth-covered blade, it kept going.
Ah, right. Oversized, of course.
Except, the more he dug, the more of the blade he uncovered. Even after Cirayus announced he’d retrieved the satchel and had unearthed the hilt, Vir hadn’t found the blade’s tip.
No way. This can’t be real, can it?
It was only ten minutes later that he finally found it.
Climbing back to the opening of the ditch they’d dug, he took in the blade in its entirety.
You have got to be kidding me.
Cirayus gripped its hilt and lifted it effortlessly, unraveling the cloth ribbon in one smooth motion.
Brilliant seric glinted as he hefted the blade.
A blade that was half again as long as Cirayus was tall. A four-handed, curved mega-talwar, the likes of which Vir had never even imagined possible.
End to end, it must have spanned twelve paces, nearly three times Vir’s height. Its weight… Vir didn’t even want to think about it. It’d take five men to lift the dang thing.
“Oh, Sikandar! How I have missed you, my friend!” Cirayus shouted, swinging the blade as easily as Vir would a katar.
The sheer force of that casual swing blew away the ash that covered the floor, creating a miniature maelstrom within the cavern that forced Vir to shield his eyes.
“I mentioned some call me The Ravager. I earned that title only after I forged Sikandar some centuries ago. This is why. Oh, you may wish to plug your ears, lad. Or you may well go deaf.”
Cirayus grabbed the enormous hilt with all four hands, braced himself, and swung.
The gargantuan sword blurred out of sight, smashing into the cavern wall an instant later.
Vir barely plugged his ears in time. Even then, the crash of seric on stone reverberated in his chest, and the ensuing shockwave bowled him over, sending him tumbling end over end.
Coughing and sputtering, Vir righted himself, disoriented at the strange lighting.
Wait… light?
There was no sun in the Ashen Realm, and yet the surroundings had become much brighter.
“What did you—!” Vir’s words choked in his throat, and it wasn’t on account of the ash.
The cavern was gone. Cleaved off by Sikandar.
Vir stumbled back and fell on his butt.
“Grakking chal!”
14EMPEROR OF THE ASH
“You must listen to me, Ekavir. The lands we’ve crossed are incomparable to where we are headed. Stay close by my side. Promise to follow my every command, for I fear my skills may not be enough. Not in this realm. Not against the beasts we’ll face. For this is where your training truly begins.”
That was a week ago, and Cirayus hadn’t exaggerated his words. If anything, reality had been worse. The monsters they encountered, the battles Vir had endured… The giant was right. Training in the Human Realm would’ve been useless. Nothing fought like the creatures here. Forget their strength—which was in another league next to the Ash Beasts in the Human Realm—the tactics they employed, the erratic, unpredictable behavior, all of it made them lethal in a way Vir wasn’t used to.