Chaos

Chapter 4 : Plans and Preparation

"-ridiculous. Eggs!?"

"I'm down for bacon anyday. Eggs is a different matter" Darius grunted, half asleep on the middle of the stairs.

"Rise and shine sleepy head. I'm talking about dragon eggs here. The kind you're not supposed to cook and eat?" Raidan shouted out from the kitchen, annoyance clear in his voice. "Sure is more idiotic when he's drowsy" he muttered under his breath.

Darius looked confused and drew his eyebrows together. "Sir, we have received the details of the first task. It will be starting three days from now. Each kingdom is required to secure and protect an egg um..supposedly in a cave situated on the other side of the territory, half a day trip from here. The eggs are said to be protected so we'll have to steal it as eliminating the guardian is forbidden according to the task rules. The time limit is...until they hatch, sir" a wolf reported from the pack mind link.

He didn't reply for a few more minutes, trying to process the news in his not yet fully awake state. "Got it. I'll come down in a couple hours to plan things out" he replied in his head and continued his way down the stairs to sleep again on the living room couch.

Blaze came out of the kitchen at that moment, balancing four plates on his hands, followed by Raidan carrying a tray with 4 glasses full of milk. Darius sat back up in an instant eyeing the plate with the most food piled on it. His stomach growled as the savory smell of breakfast drifted in the air, tugging at his senses.

"Beef" he whispered in a cheer, wide awake.

"I'm surprised your vampire half could handle beef as breakfast" Raidan scoffed. "I'll excuse myself. I feel already full watching him gobbling down like a starved puppy" he smiled as if he didn't insult someone. Darius watched him from behind as he left the manor, knowing he did that to avoid eating the food.

"Seconds for me then" he murmured and emptied Raidan's portion onto his plate. Blaze was left chuckling nervously, not knowing what to do or say on the topic.

"Right. Um.Is Thalassa still sleeping?" he questioned.

"Hwer? She yweft" Darius answered, his voice muffled with food.

"She left? Where?" he said, perplexed. "But, I didn't hear or see her leave through the door".

"Omph yea. Jwumped off da swecond flwoor saying somphthing about stupid enwough to sell ywour soul to a demon" he replied, still focused on the beef in his plate.

Blaze shivered, thinking why she kept talking about souls.

"I'll be heading out now. Got plans to make for the upcoming task. You better get going too" Darius patted the boy's arm. "Stay alive out there. I might spare you for the meals but no one knows what's going through those heads of those two" he chugged down the glass of milk and jogged out the front door.

The whole manor fell silent with only Blaze left behind with a pile of plates. He sat there for a while and sighed before picking up the mess to do the dishes.

"Sorry I'm late" the raven haired boy said without any strength in his voice as he entered one of the longhouses filled with approximately 30 people standing around a table and closed the door behind him with a click.

"Blaze" a brunette, with a tint of red popped her head out from the middle of the crowd, rushly gave some random orders to the soldiers and dragged him to a corner. "You weren't actually thinking of pulling that stunt are you?" she whisper-shouted, shaking his shoulders

"I'm already trying to do it Ladia. You know if I could just....pull it off somehow, we could end this whole thing. All of this. Once and forever" he replied, determination in those blue eyes of his as she stared straight at them, searching for any sign of hesitation. She breathed out heavily, giving up talking sense into him.

"Ay ay captain. C'mon then. The others are waiting for you. We ain't got all day" she slapped her hand on his back quite hard, absent-mindedly.

"Don't call me that" Blaze laughed, playfully punching her on the arm. "Is that the map on the table?" he said, tilting his head, gesturing to the parchment spreaded out.

"Yep. Came in this morning" Ladia nodded. They walked to the center of the group and Ladia hopped on to sit on the table. She knocked twice on the wooden surface with her knuckles and cleared her throat. "Ladies and gents. Since our captain's here" she clapped her hands together, "Let's get the presentation started" she grinned.

"Ay ay captain!" the crowd erupted into laughter as Blaze's face twisted into a pained expression.

"Could you guys stop doing that? It was just that one time! I was young and dumb" he exclaimed and joined in on the laughing, unable to help himself.

"No can do captain"

"Not even a storm could do that"

"And he did not use a dragon to create that mess ya hear me lads?"

"She was such a beauty too"

Blaze's cheeks turned bright pink in embarrassment from the comments. When he was around 20 or so, he was really into ships as a kid. He sneaked onto one of the ships anchored at the dock to explore and satisfy his inquisitiveness when he accidentally blew it up inside out somehow. The nickname stuck with him since then, mostly known by the elder soldiers who were there to witness the end product, thinking there was an enemy attack.

"Stop the chatterings now. Back to business" a hand slammed down hard on a workbench where another similar copy of the map for the task lay on. All voices fell shut unable to resist the authority of the voice. Malcontent faces glimpsing at the head figure with distrust, clenching their teeth and questioning his authority.

Darius stood his ground, unwavering at the center of it all, paying no heed to the disdain against him. "We have the upper hand on locating the enemy. Our nose" he said, not looking up from the map "Then again, we can't rule out the possibility that sorcerers will use spells to cover up their scents. But as long as we stay out of sight, no one will be able to pinpoint us. Still, we don't know if sorcerers are capable of such spells or not. Stay on your guards"

The tension grew stronger as time went by, making the room almost suffocating to stay in. Even when all Darius received was scorn and abhorrence, he still held complete dominance over the whole room. Growing up as the only hybrid was not easy amongst the envy of the power he holds and the misconception of him looking down upon all others from his high horse. There were only a few who respected and were loyal to him. Far too few.

"The dragons can be dangerous and hold the highest chance of completing this task without fail. The tamers will use dragons for transporting to the cave and back. As they can fly through the mountains from above, they'll go straight" he traced a line with his finger on the map connecting the area from the clearing they were now at to the red cross marking, their destination. "They'll make it there first. Speed is crucial here. We need a counter" he declared, folding his arms.

"Another thing. The demons. We have knowledge on them but not many of us have experience fighting them since they're rarely seen coming up to the surface nowadays, since the reign of the new king, Zaagan. And if they do, they do it in disguise. They've disappeared off the battlefield for quite a few several centuries. Yet, step foot in their territory and they know" Darius gave direct eye contact to a number of his soldiers as a warning not to underestimate the enemy.

"Sir, the other day at the brawl. Very few of them step up but from what we experienced, some were not even as fast as us and their strength is not too noticeable as well" someone spoke up.

"Romulus, right?" Darius asked in a menacing voice.

"Yes, sir" the poor kid went rigid.

"From what I read, werewolf, top of the class in almost all physical aspects. Academics, bottom low that you're gonna reach hell soon yourself" he said looking at the kid whose face was heated up with embarrassment and is giving him occasional glances. "Don't look at me like that. I have all your files checked" he sighed.

"The books you received back at the academy are not for you to use as a pillow. What do you know about them demons?" Darius asked.

"T-they live underground. C-can t-transport to certain areas? And fly?" Romulus answered with uncertainty.

"Just enough to pass the test" he rubbed his hand down his face and rested it covering his mouth, a headache creeping up his temple. "No. Hell is in another dimension. Their territory on Earth is just a place they chose to take as a win. We don't know their motive. As far as we do they're just messing around for fun. Agility and strength?" Darius scoffed at what the boy had said earlier "They're practically invisible. Full fledged killers and they get the job done. Excellent assassins. The type to kill first and ask questions later. The brawl yesterday was no more than a playdate for them. They'll manipulate you into thinking you're better, then stab you in the back. That's their job. Manipulating people"

"We'll come up with a plan and finalise it the day after tomorrow. For now, dismissed. Adrian and Max, I'll leave it to you two to infiltrate into the capital. I got hands on the map for the city and blueprints of the palace. Think up something for today. We'll go over it the following day" Darius commanded and dispersed the group before he himself walked out the room, away from the seething glares of his own people.

Raidan exited from one of the buildings not a moment after and strided up to where Darius stood, a good few meters apart from the premises.

"We've got intel on the demons. Just thought you might be interested" Raidan took off his glasses and wiped them with his shirt.

"You- you were spying on us" Darius grabbed his collar with rage, anger laced his voice.

"Maybe I was. Maybe I wasn't. Does it matter?" he smirked, watching Darius with blurred vision, his spectacles hanging on the tip of his fingers which were relaxed by his side despite the situation.

"What?" Darius hissed, his anger rising.

"I'm offering a deal here. As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. So, join my hand just for the first task"

"What if I refuse?" he loosen his grip and pushed Raidan a few steps back.

"It's your choice to make. But what have you to lose? Annihilate a kingdom. One less threat to worry about" Raidan adjusted his specs back on and dusted off where the hybrid tousled his shirt.

"You know you'd make a great demon" Darius chuckled darkly.

"So, what do you say? Work with me?" he smiled, a taunting glint in his eyes.

"Pass. Too bad you're on the very top of my kill list"

"Hmm..too bad indeed. I was hoping I'd get to thrust that silver blade through your heart as soon as you let your guard down" Raidan's lips curved further upwards, a sadistic look growing on his face.

Darius stared at him looking unaffected but horrified at his sudden change in behaviour.

"Well then, I'll see you later" any hint of ill intent was gone from his face in an instant as he casually said his goodbye.

"The spell you use to eavesdrop. I didn't know sorcerers were capable of that" Darius questioned out of nowhere, trying to pry information from him as the other person walked past him.

"What can I say? I learned from the best" Raidan replied in such a way, leaving an unnerving feeling in the pit of Darius's stomach.

The arrival of the morning, signalling the start of the bloodbath came shortly after. Just like any other dawn with birds chirping as they leave their nest for food and the gentle breeze that swept through every so often.

The only difference was the flapping sound of wings growing louder with time as they descend from above the clouds. The ground shook thrice as heavy footsteps fell upon the grass field disrupting the peaceful flow of the wind with its own harsh gale hitting against the surrounding people.

Hard, metal-like shiny scales coat the surface of the majestic creatures towering above all except the mountains. Protective armours made from the strongest ores were fastened over several parts of their bodies, just in the right places not to limit their movement, making their defense impenetrable. Claws, finer than the sharpest blades ever forged extended out from their paws, unconcealed and pointy white teeth peek out from their mouth which hang threateningly, ready to chomp through the toughest materials. Their eyes hold wisdom and intelligence bypassing all living souls and gentleness on which one would take notice of when they would see the dragons for what they really are instead of war weapons.

The starting line was divided into four points to ensure that there would be no engagement between the races as soon as it began. The dragons took the opening as they required space for departure and landing while the remaining were stationed at the east and west forests around them.

"Adrian. Max. You two are the best scout we have. Stay out of the radar and do not enter the palace at all costs. I'll catch up if things go according to plan at our side. Retreat back to the manor if I don't appear by the fourth day" Darius stood at the front of two dozen and six warriors of the shapeshifter army. The soldiers Darius called the names of bow at him in acceptance of their mission and left, disappearing into the woods.

"It's time. The priority comes first. As much as I'd like to join in with that, I've got a task to complete" Raidan grinned, giving out the impression of a basilisk baring its fangs. He casted the spell to adjust his sight as the spectacles had to come off. "Let the hunting begin" he announced just as the blare of a horn drew out and the rustling of leaves emerged from unknown directions indicating that all had started moving.