Chapter 1

The city of Ralk in the kingdom of Ralketh was silent in the early hours of the morning. While there was a city watch ... though the city was far too aggrandising a term for what essentially was only a medium-sized town, they were noticeable by their absence on the dark, chilly night. Yet there was activity as a tall, well-built man methodically hunted down a gang of thieves trying to scatter and run from the nightmare he had become to them.

“Pest eradication,” Darras sighed. “Where have the shadows gone?”

‘I don’t know, my love, ’ Erren replied. ‘But these thieves are little more than a pack of murderers, and they killed one of my priests and her acolyte whilst ransacking and desecrating one of my temples.’

“And for that, they will pay,” Darras nodded, heading down an alley to confront another thief who had thought himself concealed.

Two hours earlier, the thieves had been celebrating in a tavern they owned, having sold off the goods stolen from the temple of Erren after murdering the priest and acolyte. This celebration had ended suddenly when the severed head of the ‘fence’ they’d used had come crashing through the paned window of the tavern to land seemingly miraculously in the lap of the leader, facing directly at the startled man. The situation then deteriorated as the body of their watchman flew through the shattering door of the tavern to bowl over several of the thieves who had been standing near it.

Though outnumbered, Darras had strode into the tavern, immediately despatching the closet thief whose skull was smashed by Darras’s mithril-bossed staff before he had time to react. The thieves’ leader was next, his head severed neatly by Darras’s long mithril knife as, finally, the thieves attempted to attack the man attacking them. This was a major mistake on their part, as Darras was stronger, faster, and better protected by his mithril-lined leathers. The first to attack going down to a deadly slash to his throat, and the second to a blow to the face from Darras’s staff that drove the bone in his nose into his brain. Several more attacks came as the thieves tried to mob Darras, only to find they had neither the strength nor the numbers to do so.

And so, they scattered, hoping to escape the masked demon, which had taken it upon itself to avenge their impiety. This had but delayed the inevitable, as this demon seemingly knew where they were and relentlessly pursued them through the rubbish-strewn streets and alleys, cutting them down one after another despite the attempts by some to ambush Darras or beg for mercy. It was finally done as dawn was breaking, and the last of the thieves lay dead at Darras’s feet, his skull crushed by Darras’s staff as he’d thought himself safe hidden inside a box.

Darras made his way to the river to the north of Ralk’s walls and cleaned himself down as best he could. He then re-entered Ralk and went to the gateway house, showed his bounty hunter credentials, paid a fifty silver ‘ask no questions’ bribe, and stepped through into Erren’s domain.

“Welcome back, my love and thank you,” Erren greeted Darras with a hug.

“A nasty business,” Darras acknowledged. “Still, it will give a warning to those who would attempt something similar.”

“Yes, there are already rumours spreading that killing a priest of mine will unleash a wrathful demon upon the killer,” Erren replied in satisfaction. “The authorities have also noted what happened and are moving to crack down on the various criminals infesting the slums.”

“I suspect finding the headless body of the senior noble councillor surrounded by the temple treasures and a note held by a knife denouncing his crimes in your name will have ‘encouraged’ that action,” Darras chuckled grimly.

“Yes, they no longer believe they are untouchable,” Erren nodded. “Now come and bathe, as I suspect we’ll be getting a visit from Serulon.”

“Probably, though I doubt it will be little more than a check on my actions,” Darras nodded, undressing, and joining a naked Erren in the pool.

“Most likely, though the thieves were all irredeemable,” Erren replied as she began washing Darras down. “I suspect she’ll just want to relax and enjoy a drink.”

“Probably,” Darras smiled, as Serulon had changed after being told by the Allfather to be firmer with the litany of complaints that had stressed her out over Darras’s actions.

Erren was correct. Serulon appeared on the lawn that was Erren’s gateway and strolled to the bathing area, picking up a goblet of wine that appeared on a table before her clothes vanished and she slipped into the pool.

“Twenty-three dead, but all irredeemable,” Serulon broke the silence. “Your wrath is impressive, sister.”

“Kanli, my priest, was a beautiful soul who did so much for the unfortunates in the slums, as was Bregart, my acolyte who had only been assigned there a few days and died bravely trying to protect her,” Erren replied. “Replacing her will not be easy, and I felt a lesson by way of warning was warranted.”

“Understandable,” Serulon nodded. “It has stopped the growth of impiety in Ralketh in its tracks.”

“Whilst welcome, my motives were simply that of judgement and justice,” Erren replied. “What they did was an abomination, and I was determined to make them pay for that sin.”

“I’ll inform the Allfather of that,” Serulon nodded. “He will be pleased that you did not try to add justifications to the actions of Darras.”

“Have there been any complaints?” Darras asked.

“No, none of the thieves had any allegiance to any god, though their actions aligned them with the Dark Lord,” Serulon replied. “And why the hell won’t our stupid brother take a name? Dark Lord symbolises far more gravitas than the fool deserves!”

“He thinks names are beneath him,” Erren shrugged as Doriel and Hallis appeared.

“I know, I know, I’m just venting here,” Serulon sighed.

“Well done, Darras,” Hallis said as the two goddesses slipped into the pool, Doriel sighing in satisfaction.

“They had it coming,” Darras nodded.

“They did indeed; they’d also murdered several other innocents, including one of my healers.”

“I at least could deal with them,” Darras shrugged. “Mirion would not be a good choice as an instrument of justice.”

“True, plus she’d be unwelcome in Ralk, Ralketh being a Human kingdom and not open to other races.”

“Can you give us any information on what our brother is up to?” Doriel asked Serulon.

“I’m afraid I cannot, as he’s currently reconsolidating his faction,” Serulon replied. “You’ll know soon enough, though.”

“About what I thought,” Doriel nodded.

“Nor would I inform him of any discussions here,” Serulon added.

“The wine and food are better,” Darras chuckled. “You can inform him of that.”

“It is; I’ve spoken to Bolgasa to source some decent vintages for this avatar when I’m dealing with my brother and his allies as I insist they have to come to my demesne, not have me talk to them in the void.”

“Oh, that’s right, you have them come to your office,” Doriel smiled.

“I do; they must stand before a desk and justify their complaint, not hector me in the void,” Serulon replied. “I’ve also made it clear that I can and will summon them there if necessary.”

“Whilst you sit in comfort and, if necessary, wait them out,” Hallis chuckled.

“Indeed so, sister,” Serulon smiled. “But only to those who irritate me or have unpleasant domains for their avatars.”

“Colanthus,” Erren guessed.

“Him, Bimmlat and Epelmos,” Serulon confirmed. “They got the idea from you, but frankly, their taste is appalling and matches their psyche. I don’t need experiences like that in my avatar form.”

“So, our brother doesn’t have a demesne?”

“He does, though he always approaches me; I suspect it’s just a space he keeps his avatar in.”

“So, what is your take on this idiotic war?” Darras asked, changing the subject.

“I don’t really have an opinion; I just make sure rules are kept ... not an easy task at times,” Serulon replied.

“Ah yes, I suppose my activities must sometimes cause a litany of complaints,” Darras nodded.

“At times, I still keep a close eye upon you, nor does my sister tend to complain about the actions of my brother’s scales and followers.”

“I can’t recall ever complaining,” Erren mused. “I tend to take action, not complain.”

“The last complaint I made was about Colanthus’s actions in Saltion,” Doriel shrugged. “Can’t recall the time before, though.”

“He broke your lore,” Serulon replied, looking very relaxed. “Then tried to fob it off as a minor matter, and your demand excessive.”

“It was primarily to remove him from influencing the war in Rachtelin,” Doriel replied. “That and his obsession with bloodbaths is tiresome.”

“True,” Erren and Hallis agreed.

“It’s his ‘so-called’ nature,” Serulon shrugged. “Though, honestly, it hasn’t changed much in aeons, he still gets off on watching ant colonies fight to the death.”

“Doesn’t his attire stink up your office?” Hallis giggled.

“Just a bit, though fortunately, my powers deal with the smell of blood and rust when he leaves,” Serulon smiled. “His last visit was when he finally figured Darras had dealt with his champions in the gold mountains.”

“How long did that take?” Erren asked. “Only you never came to me with it.”

“Last week,” Serulon smirked. “It took him nearly five months to figure it out, and then he got annoyed when I sent him away for empowering sadistic child abusers.”

“Ah, yes,” Doriel nodded. “He has a blind spot for choosing champions of good character as he can’t seem to get past the ‘good with a sword’ part whilst ignoring the psychopath bit.”

“Very true, it trips him up constantly, that and not constantly monitoring his champions ... though unlike your agents, these are more like puppets,” Serulon agreed.

“A puppet would be useless to us,” Erren nodded, with both Hallis and Doriel agreeing, too. “What tasks we set our agents require us to monitor them constantly even as they are individually given a great deal of freedom in their decisions.”

“I’m always aware of Erren when on a mission,” Darras added. “She gives warnings and advice but leaves how I go about things in my hands. She knows she can trust me.”

“I’m sure that would be Colanthus’ rationale, too, apart from the fact that his champions are not to be trusted to keep to the laws of war against your people,” Serulon nodded. “And with that, I must be away, duty calls.”