Blood Moon

Waging War

The kings at the table pursed their lips, silence ensuing. The only sound that could be heard was the struggling of the demon, rattling his metal chains.

"So," King Harold replied to him. "What you mean to say is we need wage war against this creatures?"

"We have been at war with them for many years now, your highness. I am merely telling you to finally end it." King Xanadu stared him down, refusing to look away.

"Do you truly think that if we went with that barbaric plan of yours, we'll able to reclaim peace?" King Xerxes exclaimed. "No! You'll only be sending thousands of warlocks and warriors to death! How do you hope to learn how to kill a demon king?"

"How do you hope to learn how to defeat it, if we all stay cooped up in our homes, waiting for them to evolve so much that they'll end up capable of blasting through our walls?" King Xanadu was firm on his stand, not minding the outbursts of disagreement all sent to his direction.

"Thousands of our warriors will be killed!" King Alexus exclaimed.

"And millions will perish if we continue as we do. What we are doing is setting aside the problem and working our way around it. But sooner or later, this will blow up and we will be laid to waste." King Xanadu said sharply. "Merely fortifying our walls i not enough anymore, what we are doing is putting more bars in our cage when we could find ways to take what is rightfully ours. We humans own this continent, yet you sit here and let these horrid creatures trample over it." He said, gesturing towards the still struggling demon on the table.

In a flash, his hand drew out his sickle and decapitated the demon, stopping his gurgling abruptly. His head slackened, his long tongue lolling to the side. King Michael's jaw tightened, his fists curling on the table. "King…Xanadu." He spoke up, struggling to say his name.

"Your barbaric ways does not guarantee our safety. Even if we do raise arms, no one can be certain if we are truly making way toward our freedom or just racing towards our doom. Aside from being too risky, waging war is costly. If we fail, not only will we lose thousands of warriors, but we'd also end up with empty coffers." He scoffed.

"And all of us here know that striking a deal with those from other continents takes years." He stared at him condescendingly, arrogance plastered on his face. “Getting enough resources to wage war without crippling costs from the other continents is no easy feat, heading there takes a year and there’s no guarantee that they will help us.” All the other royals nodded, agreeing with his sentiment.

"So what do you suggest? We sit here, strengthen our walls and pray to your God that a miracle happens and they stop evolving? That they will suddenly disappear?" King Xanadu talked to him as if he was nothing more than a child, enraging the young king. King Xanadu paid him no mind, he could the real reason why King Michael is refusing his plan. If he went along with it, he won’t be given more witches and warlocks from the other kingdoms.

"An armor won't save your life in the battlefield, you have to fight to survive!" He bellowed, angered by the cowardice displayed in front of him. “The problem won’t fix itself, your highnesses. Wiping out these abominations is up to us.”

The other kings remained to be skeptical, the risks felt too high and the result is not sure to be success.

"I think he's right." The sudden agreement made him King Xanadu flinch, his head whipping towards the direction of the voice.

“Have you lost your mind, King Ulysses? We have survived centuries like this, our lands prospering despite this predicament!” King Alexus gestured at the decapitated demon on the table disgustingly, a scowl forming on his face.

“And that guarantees that we’ll survive the next? Truly, you must be jesting.” King Ulysses’ tone became sharp, displeased by how he was addressed. “You must be daft not to notice that fending off these creatures is getting harder as time passes, continuously evolving while we remain stagnant. We are not matching their pace and soon they will be too strong. We have spent years and years trying to improve our defenses, our warlocks kept inside the walls and living like kings rather than being sent into the battlefield to hone their skills.”

King Alexus blanched at his words but he could not find anything to say to counter his points. "Being on the defense is no longer making the cut, it's time we raise our weapons." King Ulysses scanned the room, each looking at the disbelieving expressions from the Kings. "Whether we stay inside or wage war, it will still have the same outcome: we will die. And if you were to ask me, I'd rather die with a sword in hand than cowering in the corner for the rest of my days."

"If we continue as we are, we will be written in history as idle kings who let their kingdom die. If someone lives to tell the tale." King Ulysses braced himself for the onslaught of other opposing kings, but it seemed that his words held merit. They remained silent, their brains working as they frowned.

“I will admit,” King Xerxes suddenly spoke, making all heads turn to him. His face has now calmed, his disapproving expression now contemplating.  ”There is truth in their words. Many will still die no matter what path we choose, but if we find ways to fight back, improve our offense, we might actually be able to overcome this. I suggest that we continue our research about demons, send off powerful witches and warlocks outside the walls to capture evolved demons, one from each kind for studies. This way, we will no longer be clueless and we might find new weaknesses we can exploit.”

“Send men outside weeks before a blood moon? Preposterous!” King Harold exclaimed. King Michael shrunk on his seat.

“They won’t have to stray too far, the blood moon is coming closer, and the borders will be thick with these creatures. We can post archers on top of the walls for further protection.” At this, all the other royals could no longer find anything to say to contradict them. Deep down they knew, they were just scared of fighting back.

King Michael wandered his eyes around the room, mortified as he saw the royals’ expression changed, appearing to be convinced by King Ulysses’ and King Xanadu’s words. Rage bubbled inside his and his grip on his cane tightened, denting the surface of the wood. Beside him, Captain Williams wore an expression of surprise. After years of assemblies, this is the first court to ever decide to fight. His eyes drifted towards King Xanadu and he stood there, wearing a expression of pride on his face. He was about to let them experience what it is like to have their life at risk.

*****

"What do you mean?" Augustus' face paled, his mind struggling to grasp her words.

"I am not saying that the priests that raised you are evil, I am merely saying that they are not completely holy. Humans are humans, whether they wear a robe or not." Luna clarified.

"The church has no political power now, in fact, we're being harassed by the royals." Augustus tried to argue, but it felt weak.

"That is true, but years ago, this wasn't the case. The church was powerful because only the priests are able to protect the palace, but now, witches and warlocks have increased in numbers. When demons became stronger, the emperor's warriors became more powerful."

Augustus felt a sinking feeling in his chest. He knew of the time when the church held dominion over the continent, burning witches at the stake and now relying on them. He knew of the hypocrisy, but he grew up in the church and some part of his was biased. He had hope that despite all that happened, maybe there was one thing that the old church hadn’t caused, and he was wrong to have it. But he was no fool, he could recognize a fault and not turn a blind eye to it.

"They're also not completely at fault for not telling you, people in power rewrite history as one suits them, they may not also know this themselves. Those who lived during the days of the purging of their kind is aware of their history. Vaga herself told me." At the mention of Vaga's name, Legosi's head turned.

"If they were oppressed, how was King Xavier able to secure his throne and reclaim their land?" Augustus asked, remembering the warrior king. "He was also given a Christian name."

"He forced their hand." A small smirk appeared on Luna's lips as she settled herself down on the chair near the bed. "He rallied all that was left of the free baganis and started rescuing those who were sent off to kill demons outside the walls. When confronted by knights, they proved themselves to be very formidable. In the end, the kings and the church decided to give him what he wants instead of sending their precious knights towards sure death. The name given by the church is an attempt to show they were in charge, as if he follows them, passing off the coronation as a charitable work, not born out of desperation. If people knew the church and the royalty was outwitted and overpowered by the same people they exploited, it would leave a bad impression."

"Damn," Augustus laughed bitterly. "I thought I was the one who was going to give information, not receive them."

"There are lots of things we do not know in concerns with the kingdom, but we may know things they refuse to tell you about." Legosi replied.

On the bed, the little girl shifted, grunting as she hugged the covers closer to her small body. They went silent, afraid to rouse her from her sleep. Then came a knock on the door.

"I'll get it." Luna stood up from the bed and went downstairs, leaving both of the men behind.

When she opened the door, she came face to face with a pale Fabius. "Luna."

She raised her brow at him, looking at his disheveled form. "What happened to you?"

He drew in a sharp breath, nose flaring as he tried to calm his nerves. “The villagers, we’ve caught a demon.”

Luna’s eyes widened at his words and she ran upstairs, forcefully opening the door. Legosi and Augustus looked over to her and tensed at the stern expression on her face. “Augustus, come with me to the market.”

 Without questions, he stood from his seat, picking up his sword and placing it around his waist. “Where are you going?” Legosi asked, on his way to reach for a weapon.

“No, you stay here and guard the child. The village people has caught a demon in one of their traps, Augustus and I will handle it for now.” With that, she turned her back and ran downstairs, Augustus following closely behind. Legosi could only clench his fist.  On the bed, the child grunted, her brows furrowing. She seems to be having a nightmare. Gently, Legosi sat himself beside the child, caressing her small head. Slowly, her breathing calmed and her face relaxed. “You are safe here.”

Luna and Augustus rode on Rigel’s back while Fabius followed in horseback. They could hear the sharp commands as they came closer to the market, the grunts and screams from the men and women of the village were also audible. “Faster, Rigel.”

When the houses cleared and the market came to view, Augustus gasped. There on the center, surrounded by carts of vegetables and an angry mob stood a six foot demon. Fifteen men circle him, each holding the end of a rope which was wrapped around the demon’s body. Its scaly arms were held tight against its body, his claws itching to claw at the people. “But it’s day time.” Augustus stuttered.

“We planned to kill it by ourselves but showed no signs of weakening, we’ve been holding him like that for thirty minutes now, and the men are getting tired.” Fabius pointed at the bodies of the men, drenched in sweat, their hands bleeding from the roughness of the rope.

“Get the women and children out of here, Fabius. We will handle this.” Fabius quickly got down from his horse, guiding the wives and children including some of the men away. Seeing that it was the son of the Chief guiding them, they weren’t able to protest. The market cleared and Luna prepared to strike. She unsheathed her blade and so did Augustus.

“I’ll go for his feet, you cut his neck.” She said to him. Augustus nodded and she started bending low, like a four-legged animal about to pounce. Luna lunged, her head bent low. She darted past the men agilely, going around the monster. Augustus quickly followed suit, aiming high. He said a quick prayer, running two fingers down his sword until it glowed.

Luna swiftly struck the both tendons at the back of its feet simultaneously, making it kneel. It let out a deafening roar, echoing around the mountain. Augustus braced his feet and jumped high, his sword raised and aiming at its neck. With one strong swing, his blade cut through its thick skin an across his neck, sending its hideous head tumbling down. The men immediately let go of the ropes, backing away from the demon’s large body as it slumped heavily on the ground with a resounding thud.

Luna breathed heavily, her eyes scanning the dead creature. “How?” She asked. Not long ago she was able to kill a shape-shifter quite easily because of its weakened state under the sun.

‘Why was it not affected by the sun?” one of the men asked. Even Augustus looked confused.

“And who the hell are you?” One of them pointed at Augustus. “We have never seen you before?” Their scrutinizing eyes raked over him, especially the sword he was holding. “What’s your name?”

“Enough.” At the sound of the chief’s voice, the men parted, making way for Faramus. “Luna, bring your friend and come with me.”

Without waiting for an answer, he turned his back and walk away. Luna waved Augustus to come closer and they followed the chief. Upon arriving at the chief’s home, they went straight to his bedroom, ignoring the questioning look they received from Ataska. Luna only gave her a warm smile before getting inside the room.

“You put us in a very compromising situation, Luna!” He whispered sharply, gesturing at Augustus. “Why are you keeping a warlock from the place?”

“It was his decision to remain, Chief.” She said calmly.

“Does it matter? He looks like he is a noble, I recognize that crest in his sword. They will come back to search for him! We were supposed to keep Legosi’s existence a secret, weren’t we? If they send down a powerful witch or warlock, they will recognize him!”

Augustus realized the threat he had brought. If the palace catches sight of a warlock with such a strong innate power, he will be taken away. He looked down at his feet in his dismay. “We need him.” Luna lifted her eyes and looked straight into the Chief’s eyes.

“We both know that I don’t have enough knowledge about warlocks. He has been training him and he will also be a big help on the coming blood moon. By the time they come here to search for him, the concealing spells we will cast on the resting places we made you build will be fully manifested. They won’t search for Legosi, they will only be searching for one warlock and I’m pretty sure the decision to leave will be on Augustus himself, just like how he decided to stay here on his own will.”

“Even if you wanted him gone, it is too late. I am sure that you will not drive away a man in the middle of the blood moon phase. He won’t be able to reach home before he gets devoured.” Luna coaxed him and the Chief sighed exasperatedly.

“Next time you decided to do things, I must be informed. I am in charge of the welfare of my people and I am determined to keep you and Legosi here as long as I could. Hiding things from me is not going to help, do you understand me, lass?” Luna nodded.

“What’s name your name, son?” He was now, gently calling the young man. Tension left Augustus’ shoulder and he took a deep breath. “Sir Augustus from the House of Rayne, Chief.”

“So, I was right. You are a noble.” He sighed and slumped on the chair. “What made you decide to stay here?”

“I needed to know what was happening outside the walls, Chief. They were showing no signs of wanting to find a way to eradicate the demons entirely so I had to act. Also, I met Luna.” He said, truthfully. The Chief snapped into attention.

“Why? What is with her that made you stay here?”

“I…” He turned to Luna for permission and she gave him a nod, encouraging him to speak. “I think she’s a chimera, Chief. A special one at that.”

“A chimera?”

“A half-breed. Born from a human and a demon-“

He slammed a fist on the table near the bed, sending the candles flying. “My daughter is not a demon!”

Augustus quieted down. Luna placed a hand on the Chief’s shoulder. “By blood. Chief, I am.” The Chief drew in a sharp breath, his knees weakening. He held an unbelieving look on his face.

“But she is a rarity, Chief.” Augustus continued. “Chimeras usually do not have sanity, born to graze the land as bloodthirsty mutants. But Luna, she has the form of a human and the mind of one. I don’t know if it was by the way she was raised, but I am sure that how you raised her plays a big part on why she was able not to succumb to her bloodlust.” His face slackened and he took a deep breath. “I am too old to be surprised like this, Luna.”