“Shevannis, the truth is, being an immortal has robbed me of any empathy for life or death. I am little, if not better, than the demons I hold at bay. In the past, I was much worse than anything you can imagine. War is child’s play for me. It’s a way for me to pass the boredom of the day. After the battle with your nephew, I thought I would have time to recover and call the fires from the sky on what was at the time Uthman’s main force, now yours,” Clyden said. “What I did not anticipate was the amount of magic I would have to expend keeping Golduvan’s gate sealed. I want to release the seal because, as of now, only Sukkan is my enemy, and I have guarantees that only Sukkan will be sacrificed as long as I live. It seems Golduvan is willing to renegotiate with me to obtain access to this world. But I do not trust his promises because he is sly. Fortunately, I will live forever, so only Sukkan will face Golduvan’s perpetual wraith.”
“You can’t!” Shevannis said in a panicked voice. Clyden watched the Queen’s facial expression display a fear she could not hide, no matter how hard she attempted.
“You have King Danyais to thank for the mercy I now show,” Clyden said, waving his hand at his friend. “Now, about my plan. Mutual destruction can be a deterrent, and rumors will be our sword. Right now, there are five thousand Sukkanian sell swords we have captive, King Danyais.”
***
Over the next few weeks, the monarchs of Sukkan and Loudas, along with the stronger nobles of their respective camps, held multiple parleys. All the while, the armies of Sukkan and Loudas maintained a tensioned filled armistice. The Loudas’ soldiers lived in fear the Sukkan army would strike out using their numeric advantage at any time. On the other side of the field, the Sukkans knew they held a superior advantage. But they could not fathom why their Queen would not attack and would instead treat with the Loudasian king. The Sukkans’ nobles thought she was weak and still mourning the loss of her son. Only Shevannis, Danyais, and Clyden seemed uninfected because they already knew they had come to terms weeks ago.
Both sides would haggle over terms too extreme for either side to agree to, while the monarchs slipped in the ideas of the original terms they agreed upon in their first meeting. Danyais and Shevannis wanted to make the nobles on either side feel like they were taking part in the key decisions. The real reason for the extended talks was so the rumors of “the pact” Clyden made could have the time to spread among both Loudas and the five thousand prisoners they held. As a gesture of goodwill, Loudas released a batch of Sukkanian prisoners. It just so happened that the prisoners chosen had the most vivid memories of the cliff opening and fire spewing from the gate. Extra consideration was made for those that remembered Clyden on the battlefield.
The released prisoners all went back telling the tales of conjured warriors and hazy entities blocked by a gate of fire. Each newly freed prisoner seemed to increase the numbers of the summoned horde until it swelled to over a hundred thousand. They talked about how at night, the mad magus talked to Golduvan, telling the God the realm would be safe. How Clyden would not allow the demons to run rampant across Sukkan in search of newborn flesh or succulent daughters. Rumors of how the souls of their fallen Sukkan comrades now guarded Clyden because they fought to keep Golduvan’s Maw closed to protect all Sukkan. Golduvan’s Maw, the name given to the blackened cliff now. The nobles who thought Queen Shevannis was weak for not attacking. They now applauded her foresight and restraint as the rumors took fearful root in their minds. Soon after the trio of cohorts judged the rumors did the job needed, they proceeded with the actual plan.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
***
From the moment Clyden entered the Sukkan war camp, he knew the rumors feasted on their fear. Words are a powerful thing and the selected words they planted as rumors among Shevannis’ people took root like fester grass, a tall bluish green grass that once it sprouts is nearly impossible to get rid of. You would almost have to dig up the entire ground and salt the earth to prevent its spread. Not one person would make eye contact with him. Even the stable boy who took his horse when he first arrived at the Sukkan camp barely looked at his horse, viewing the animal as some sort of spawn from the underworld that would reveal fangs and lash out at him at any point. The lad shook so much when Clyden handed him the leather reins that Clyden thought he would rather be handling poisonous snakes instead of the leather straps.
Soon Clyden stood before the gathered nobles and high-ranking officers of the Kingdom of Sukkan in their camp. For many of them, it was their first time seeing the magus. He heard them whisper about him and Witch Devil he had in hand, some exaggerated about how they could feel the ghosts of the dead soldiers around him. Clyden glared at the nobles, trying to appear unending, insane, with random subtle twitches, and murderous. Those who made eye contact with him quickly looked away, intimidated. If he did not have to keep the aura of the ‘ruthless magus,’ he would have laughed at these people’s reactions. Good, the rumors are working.
“First off, I congratulate you all on a well-fought war these past two years. Second, I am ecstatic that Loudas and Sukkan have come to favorable terms and that you all agreed to it. You are all truly blessed and fortunate to follow the wisdom of your queen. May she always guide Sukkan with such foresight. I hope you all will treasure her the gift she has afforded you,” Clyden said with a smile that made him look cynical as he pointed Witch Devil at Shevannis.
Having a weapon pointed at their queen angered the nobles and her queen’s guard. One of her guards grabbed his sword hilt, ready to draw it in a foolish attempt to slay Clyden, but Shevannis raised her hand to quiet everyone gathered around. Pointing his weapon at Shevannis was all calculated by Clyden to show how powerful he was because if Shevannis would not retaliate against him, then who would? When the murmurs settled, he continued, “When King Danyais departs from here, I will be going to Sukkan with you all.”
Many of the nobles were nervous and afraid at the thought of the magus coming with them. Even though Shevannis knew Clyden was coming along with Ryghton to Sukkan. If someone assassinated him, then Golduvan’s wrath would be unleashed on Sukkan, an outcome she feared because she did not know Clyden’s entire plan was a ruse. So many of the rumors about Clyden and his endeavors were absurd that she did not know what to believe. She thought some rumors were just truths Clyden revealed. Even leading her to believe in some of the tales they did not orchestrate together were true. If anyone chose not to believe or think the rumors might be false, all they had to do was visit the cliff face to see the ‘maw.’ To Clyden, Shevannis’ beliefs and fears were tools for him to use and enforce the lies in the minds of the nobles of Sukkan.
“In two weeks, we all shall travel together,” Clyden said, slowly turning around and making eye contact with as many of the nobles and servants as possible. “We await the arrival of Prince Ryghton Varoosh Servan Loudas. I will act as his escort and teacher while he is a guest in your kingdom. Should anything detrimental happen to Prince Ryghton or to me. Just know at any moment, I have the power and will to destroy all Sukkan, even down to the livestock. Even now, I have the approval of someone far greater than me that is wishing for you all to fail.” Many of the nobles’ eyes bulged, and the color seemed to drain from their faces. Good, the rumors have served their purpose.
The following day, Shevannis sent over ninety-thousand men away to ease the tension between both armies. In truth, she sent them home so they could rush ahead. Queen Shevannis needed the legend of Clyden to spread so she could secure her throne before she arrived in the capital city of Mesopultheon.
***
