The Exiled King

Chapter 10 - King of Nothing

Three figures were within an underground training ground with elegant columns that merged the stone walls to the structure. The ceiling was open to the brilliant blue sky and warm sunlight illuminated the sunbaked tiles and the people below. One was a man with stark white hair and crimson eyes. He stood at the side, under the shade, watching the two others fight. Of the two fighting, one was a young man with wavy auburn hair and the other was a spectral creature in a vaguely humanoid form, with no distinct facial features. It soon became obvious that the young man was being pushed back as the spectral creature relentlessly swung the wooden sword at him. He was barely able to block the strike and as the spectral creature swiftly swerved its sword to his unprotected side, he was unable to move his sword in time to block the attack.

All of a sudden, the man standing on the sidelines abruptly waved his hand and the spectral creature dissolved, dropping the wooden sword with a clatter. The young man gave a relieved sigh and dropped flat on the ground, breathing heavily.

"Stand up, Eryian! " The man snapped, striding towards the young man sprawled on the ground, "You have no time to waste with that awful performance!"

Eryian sighed, but sat up and asked, "Master Garyth... that was such a strong spectre! Surely you don't expect me to beat it so soon?! I've not had hundreds of years of experience like you!"

Garyth scowled and stooped to pick up the wooden sword, which he then pointed at Eryian.

"You are of my blood... if I could do it, I firmly believe that with enough training, you will be able to surpass me! Now come at me! I shall instruct you!"

Eryian staggered back to his feet and raised his weapon.

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After the morning sparring lesson with Eryian, Garyth retreated to his private quarters—a luxurious suite of rooms lavishly decorated with fine tapestries and priceless treasures from across the world. He walked into the bedroom and up to the giant four poster bed, where he crouched by the post closest to the wall and reached behind it, fishing out a folded slip of paper.

He sprawled flat on the bed with a sigh, and as he relaxed, he felt the aches and pains return. He knew it was a sign that the body was crumbling from within and he prayed that the body would hold on a little longer.

Garyth sat up, grimacing as his body protested, and unfurled the paper, peering at the contents within.

He frowned and muttered under his breath, "They should have still been in Sanobar... why were they in Silvardor?! Why? Too many things are changing!"

I thought that things would be fine after those many years I spent confined by the gods!

After I sacrificed so much...! He thought, his mind an agonising whirl.

He had not known at the time that the path he took would bring so much pain. As Garyth faced the reality that things were changing so fast that his plan could be ruined, a crushing, stifling, suffocating feeling rose up within him. A thought that he'd not allowed himself to consider wormed its way into his consciousness, planting a seed of doubt that instantly took root.

What if... after all I have done... I fail?

As the stifling feeling welled up within him and stole his breath away, mentally berated himself.

Get a grip! He thought, You've come this far already... you cannot give up now!

He looked at the messy scribble on the crumpled paper again—words he'd scrolled in a hurry on that fateful day.

I can do it. I have to do it! He thought, And they deserve every bit of the destruction I will bring upon them!

Guilt and a hollow, empty feeling were overtaken by the sweet sting of rage.

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The next day, he struggled to rise from bed. He could tell that Kuban Whiterose's body was losing its effectiveness.

I will need a new vessel soon, Garyth thought, perhaps that guardian brat...

He stretched and groaned as the body protested.

Ah... it's been too many years...

He wandered into the great hall, where Eryian was seated, along with a dozen or so demons of varying sizes and appearances. Eryian looked tiny compared to the large demons, but they sat amicably and shared the sumptuous meal before them. As Garyth approached them, he plastered a lazy grin to his face and straightened his posture, forcing his body to move as he wished.

Eryian looked up and made a face of visible relief when he saw Garyth, but quickly shifted his expression as Garyth sent a glare his way. Garyth walked past the demons, ducking beneath a pair of wings and stepping over a tail, to reach the head of the table, where there was a pile of papers and a large map of Dargon.

"So, shall we discuss our plans to invade Dargon?" Garyth said pleasantly, gesturing to the map.

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In a vastly different plane of existence—where the sky was violet and strange and beautiful structures filled the landscape—there stood a grand palace. Elegant pillars and rounded towers that touched the sky, built of precious materials, adorned the grand palace. Within a hallway paved with marble tiles and lined with columns, two gods and an archangel conversed.

"How are we going to stop Garyth?" Aeliyas complained as she followed her brother.

Gialan grinned and replied, "It will probably not be too difficult if we combine our powers."

The archangel frowned at Gialan's words and rustled his snowy wings nervously, saying, "With utmost respect, lord Gialan... I believe you are wrong. He was not easy to detain... quite the contrary, actually."

"Ah yes... you were the one that Pelos trusted to arrest him, weren't you, Cassiel?" Aeliyas said thoughtfully.

Cassiel scowled, "And he was a pain to deal with! In the end we had to resort to using his family to apprehend him. Truly a regrettable and messy affair."

"His family? Do we stoop so low now?!" Aeliyas cried.

Cassiel and Gialan both glanced at her with comical faces of disbelief and Gialan said, "Sister, this is Garyth we are speaking of! While it is regrettable that his family was involved, the consequences of letting him run wild on Dargon would have been too horrible to let be!"

Cassiel chimed in, "He was researching ancient magic to control demons... we could not let him remain. I will also add that we did send him numerous warnings that he did not heed."

Aeliyas frowned, but let the matter rest. While she detested the lengths they had gone to capture Garyth, she knew instinctively it could have been a lot worse.

A thought occurred to her and she asked, "So what happened to his family?"

Cassiel winced, but replied, "Unfortunately his wife perished, but his child lived. He may have descendants in this world still."

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So this is the first chapter where there is some insight to Garyth's thoughts... what do you guys think? Also, I drew the picture above.

What do you think happened between Garyth and Cassiel?

Please leave a vote and a comment if you enjoyed this book!