[Kara] Chapter 37: Destination (Patreon)

The events of last night came and went almost like a dream. When Caius woke up, he hadn’t been sure if he had imagined it all in his sleep. But when he donned the Helmet of Alyona once more, he knew it was all reality.

He had become the Dark Lord of Alyona.

As a child, Caius had been told by his father that it would take hundreds of years before he had the opportunity to take over the mantle as Dark Lord of Catherine. So he hadn’t been trained on the etiquette and the qualities necessary to be the ruler of a Sanctuary City. To him, it was always a far-off dream.

But perhaps a small part of him had always desired this— to take over his father and rule Catherine throughout the millennia, etching his name in history as one of the greatest Dark Lords to ever live.

Unfortunately, that was never going to be a possibility now that Catherine was dead. And Caius had resigned himself to never becoming a Dark Lord. Especially when it was his own father who had brought about the destruction of his Sanctuary City.

When Caius had been found by the Dark Lords and Dark Ladies of the other Sanctuary Cities, he had expected to be killed on the spot for what his father did. But for whatever reason, they had spared him. Even if most of them scorned him.

Even if most of them feared him.

And yet, the elf was welcomed by Koros with open arms. Even though Caius hadn’t realized it back then, he now knew that he was being taught how to be a Dark Lord. Or at the very least, that was what it felt like to him.

Perhaps he was reading too far into it. He might just be lying to himself— trying to convince himself that he was meant to be the Dark Lord. But Koros was also someone who was hard to read, always careful in everything he did, making sure there were a plethora of reasons for his actions.

Regardless, whether or not Koros had meant for Caius to become the Dark Lord of Alyona, nothing would change. Caius was now already the Dark Lord of Alyona, and he had duties to attend to, even if he felt tired and wanted to go back to sleep.

He forced himself out of his tent, taking in the encampment. The sun hadn’t risen yet. Darkness still shrouded his surroundings, accompanied by a thin layer of haze. Most of the survivors of Alyona weren’t awake yet.

But Caius still made his way to a large tent near the center of the camp. He saw Hayder arriving at the same time as him. The two of them nodded at each other, before entering the inside of the tent. It was a meeting room of sorts— a place for the captains to gather for a briefing every morning.

The fact that Hayder did this every morning, with maybe three hours of sleep a night, was quite admirable. Caius wondered if Hayder had gained some sort of Manacore Ability that helped him stay awake or lessened his need for sleep.

The elf knew that such things existed. There were also potions that helped with staying awake for longer, but those always came with a side effect, unless the alchemist was skilled enough in his craft. But Alyona was not a Sanctuary City known for its alchemy. 

So Caius did find Hayder’s grit to be quite impressive. 

The two of them remained in silence, neither one saying a word to each other for a long moment. They never were really close, even if Hayder hadn’t rejected the elf, unlike some of the other captains. In fact, Caius and Hayder’s relationship had mostly remained the same throughout the last ten years— the elf would get into trouble, and the captain would be the first to arrive on the scene to clean up his mess.

Now, Hayder was working under Caius. And the latter found it to be quite awkward. Finally, after a long moment of silence, the elf spoke up.

“So… I never expected this…”

Hayder looked up, raising a brow quizzically. But he didn’t say a word.

Caius chuckled to himself, although the Helmet of Alyona made it come out like a garbled sound. “I mean, me of all people as a Dark Lord? I never would’ve imagined it myself.”

That wasn’t exactly the truth, but the elf was just trying to strike up a casual conversation. Although… he had never seen Koros and Hayder ever speak about anything ordinary. It was always some important matter they discussed.

Perhaps I’m making things more awkward by doing this, Caius thought as he chewed on his lower lip.

But Hayder eventually replied, “Most Dark Lords and Dark Ladies would have a successor in mind, whether it be their children, or someone else. However, Dark Lord Koros never appointed a successor. Even though I had asked him about it many times, he told me that I would know his successor when the time was right.”

There was a pause. Hayder shrugged and looked towards a figure approaching the tent. It was Tashia, and she was yawning as she made her way towards the meeting room.

“I guess I finally know who this successor is supposed to be,” Hayder finished, looking back at the elf.

Caius’s eyes widened when he heard that. He looked down at himself before his lips spread into a smile. He was glad he was wearing the Helmet of Alyona right now, because he was beaming from ear-to-ear, almost like a child.

And he couldn’t show such an expression as the Dark Lord of Alyona.

So he steeled himself as Tashia arrived, and the three of them waited for the other captains to trickle in. Half an hour passed before everyone who needed to be there was there. The new Dark Lord of Alyona cleared his throat, addressing the captains seriously.

“First things first,” he said as he swept his gaze over the captains, “I believe we need to make some changes to our command structure.”

Tashia frowned at that. “What are you suggesting, Dark Lord?”

It was still a strange thing, being called the Dark Lord of Alyona. But Caius didn’t waste any time relishing in those words, instead choosing to explain what he meant.

“There are only eight captains left, but there are enough soldiers for nine and a half companies. The first thing I propose is finding two individuals who are suitable enough to become a captain to take charge of the remaining soldiers to lessen your workloads. I would also suggest beginning recruitment so that we would have at least ten companies worth of soldiers in total. However, doing this is going to result in quite a few… changes.”

Caius took in a deep breath as he looked around the room. He saw the confusion in the faces of the various captains. Some of them understood the implication of what he meant, but others, like Bushra, weren’t able to follow fully yet.

“Right now, we are still working no differently than we had been before…” Caius trailed off, before continuing as he faced the troll. “For example, Captain Bushra, you are still the Captain of the Twentieth Company. And I fully believe you should remain in charge of your men, because most of them are still alive. But with the Fifteenth to Nineteenth Companies gone, there is no reason to call your company the Twentieth Company any longer.”

Bushra furrowed his brow as he heard that. “I do not understand, Dark Lord. What becomes of my company?”

“We are simply changing the name of your company. Because as it is right now, keeping things as they were before is incredibly inefficient. Another example is Captain Sharn.”

Caius faced the only female orc in the room. She blinked, pointing at herself. And the elf nodded.

“You are the Captain of the Eight Company, however most of the soldiers you oversee are the remains of the Seventh Company and the Tenth Company.”

Sharn lowered her head as he spoke. Even though he hadn’t meant to offend her or upset her, he had reminded her that most of her soldiers were gone, and now, she was in charge of those who barely even knew her.

Taking a deep breath, the elf explained, “So we will be reordering you based on the remaining number of companies that are left. Captain Hayder and Captain Tashia, the both of you will continue to be the Captains of the First and Second Companies respectively. But for the rest of you…”

Caius turned to the remaining captains. And he began to list out the new arrangement for all of the captains gathered here. Some of them looked unhappy with the result, but none of them complained. They all accepted their brand new responsibilities and roles. 

“Captain Hayder of the First Company, Captain Tashia of the Second Company, Captain Khaldun of the Third Company, Captain Malik of the Fourth Company, Captain Sharn of the Fifth Company, Captain Yar of the Sixth Company, Captain Burul of the Seventh Company, and Captain Bushra of the Tenth Company.”

The Dark Lord addressed his captains by their new titles and roles. Bushra had insisted that he be the last company in the roster once again. While Caius didn’t understand the reasoning behind it, the troll had been insistent, and so Caius complied.

“I look forward to working with all of you— I truly hope that I can live up to your expectations as the new Dark Lord of Alyona.” The elf bowed his head at them, and they saluted him in return.

While the captains were mostly still in charge of their soldiers from before, they had all absorbed the leftover soldiers from the remaining companies without captains, to create their brand new companies. For now, the remaining soldiers that should make up the brand new Eight and Ninth Companies were under Caius’s direct supervision to ease the burden of the captains.

At least, until two brand new captains were chosen, just as they had all discussed. 

They would postpone choosing the new captains until after they left the Ashfields. For now, they had to discuss a course of action.

“We will make it through the rest of the Ashfields in only a few days,” Hayder said as he placed a map onto the table before them. “However, we still have no destination once we make it out the other side.”

Tashia nodded, sliding her hands across the map to pinpoint their possible destinations. “The other Sanctuary Cities are our best bet as of right now, but without High Magus Xhrkr around, we have no way to communicate with them, and we do not even know if they are standing. Aside from them, there is the Mountain Fort of Staz, but Warlord Varher is not known for taking in anyone but his fellow dwarves.”

“That is not to mention that reaching the Mountain Fort of Staz requires scaling up Mount Staz, “ Captain Sharn of the Fifth Company added. “It will not be an easy trek for over a hundred thousand people.”

“What about Efim the Underground City?” Captain Khaldun of the Third Company suggested. “It is located by the Thoryn River which is only located a week away from the Ashfields. Perhaps they will give us shelter.”

It was Bushra who shook his head. “Hmph, Efim barely has enough space to hold its current inhabitants. They would not allow such a large number of refugees to enter its borders.”

“There aren’t many places left for us to turn to,” Tashia said with pursed lips. “The Caldera Enclave of Pavel is destroyed, and Anton the Cave Grave has gone into lockdown. Savin the Wandering City has also completely vanished— and I don’t know if that’s because the Dreamers found them, or if they have simply gone into hiding.”

As she spoke, a heavy silence fell over the group. Caius stared at the map, seeing the various locations that had been crossed out. Whether it was because they were destroyed, or they had gone into lockdown, it didn’t make a difference. 

There were simply very few options left for the survivors of Alyona.

“What about Iov the Cloud Oasis?” Captain Malik of the Fourth Company asked, scratching his cheek. “I heard it is located above the ruins of an ancient city, deep in the Xor-In Mountains.”

“That’s not a real place, Malik,” Sharn snorted. “It’s a children’s tale. There is no such thing as a city in the clouds.”

“But my grandpa told me—” Malik started.

And Hayder spoke briskly. “Our focus should lie on only the Sanctuary Cities of Tatania and Yulia. All the others are non-options.”

“Hayder is right,” Caius agreed with a nod, before correcting himself. “I mean— Captain Hayder is right. Our Sanctuary Cities earned their titles for a reason. None of the other settlements in the Xor-In Mountains offer protection as freely as we do, even during ordinary times. And right now?”

The Dark Lord of Alyona closed his eyes. He remembered the nightmares shredding their way through the streets of both his homes. He saw the callous face of his father, surrounded by flames.

And the elf continued, “Times are more difficult than ever. With the threat of the Dreamers being ever present, none of these cities will ever open up their borders to us. So we have to choose: either we make our way to Tatania, or we make our way to Yulia.”

That narrowed down their options in an instant. But the captains shifted their feet, making their hesitation about both their remaining potential destinations clear. 

Caius faced them, waiting expectantly for their thoughts on either Sanctuary Cities. And finally, Tashia spoke up as she placed her hand on the other side of the map.

“The Sanctuary City of Tatania is located at the northern tip of the Xor-In Mountains. It will take at least three months for us to reach them by cutting straight to them, but it would be too dangerous. There is no telling what kinds of threats we could run into on our journey there, so deep within the Xor-In Mountains. If instead, we try skirting the edges, we could safely make our way to them, but it would take up to six months.”

“That is true…” Caius placed a hand on his helmet’s chin. “And at that point, the Dreamers could have reached Tatania first.”

“But while Yulia is far closer— only two weeks away at most— it is already overcrowded with the refugees from Vera, and it is probably going to be the next target of the Dreamers,” Tashia said, looking towards a relatively flat section of the Xor-In Mountains on the map.

“And isn’t the Dark Lady of Yulia supposed to be… insane?” Sharn crossed her arms.

Bushra furrowed his brows at that. “I have heard the same thing.”

And the other captains nodded in agreement. For a moment, no one else said a word. It seemed almost like there was no right decision to make. However, Hayder considered this, before turning to Caius.

“What do you think of our options, Dark Lord?” the Captain of the First Company asked. “After all, you have lived in Yulia before, have you not?”

That took some of the newer captains by surprise. Particularly, Bushra and Sharn. 

“That is correct,” Caius said as he stared at the outline of Yulia on the map. “I lived in Yulia for ten years before I came to Alyona. I have also been to Tatania once before, when I was only a five year old child, so I do not remember much about it. So I can only offer my perspective on Yulia.”

After Catherine was destroyed, Caius was rejected by all the other Sanctuary Cities— their leaders at the time weren’t willing to risk having him within their borders, after what Adam had done. Except for Yulia.

Their Dark Lady had taken the elf in. And while it almost seemed like an act of kindness at first, it was anything but that. She had simply seen the utility in his existence. So she made him work for her— to become one of her infamous Xora Hunters. He had undergone harsh training, which was how he had advanced in manacore tiers so quickly, despite being mostly a noncombatant before that. 

But he had failed to qualify for the Xora Hunters, even after ten years. Mostly because he constantly skimped out on training. 

Because of that, the Dark Lady of Yulia had cast him out. And Dark Lord Koros took him in afterwards. Caius had been glad to leave the Sanctuary City of Yulia. He had vowed to never come back. If it were up to him, he would never step foot into Yulia ever again.

That was a purely selfish reason. However, he couldn’t be selfish any longer. Not as the new Dark Lord of Alyona.

“I know the Dark Lady of Yulia,” Caius said as he closed his eyes. “Many of her actions may be extreme, but she is also a pragmatist. She understands that she will be able to bolster her defenses against the Dreamers if she accepts us into her city. So she will not turn us away. But the same cannot be said for Tatania.”

Tashia exchanged a glance with the other captains. “Dark Lord, does that mean…?”

“That’s right.”

The elf drew back as he spotted the hint of an orange glare washing over the horizon.

“We’re heading to Yulia.”

—--

Kara and Angel both woke up at the brink of dawn once again. They heard the soft hubbub of the camp as the morning rush began to take hold, and folks of all backgrounds began to dismantle their tents or share their rations with each other. 

As expected, the utlas bear was drawn out of the tent by the smell of food, which also attracted her slowly behind him. They found a dark elf woman and a dwarf sitting by a small pot and passing out bowls of lizard soup. 

It was Arjin and Dammir. The two of them would help out where they could in the camp. Even though the former was a prostitute-turned-fighter, and the latter was a blacksmith and an innkeeper, they could still help out in other ways. 

They were also Kara’s friends. So she made her way towards them.

Arjin saw Angel approaching from afar, and she prepared him two steaming bowls, which he gratefully slurped down in an instant. Kara came to a halt next to the group as Dammir spoke up.

“Mornin’.” He waved at her, slowly sipping on his soup.

“Good morning,” she greeted them in return.

“Here,” Arjin said as she handed the human a bowl too. “Unfortunately, we don’t have much more to share.”

Angel whined at that, but Kara rolled her eyes.

“You had enough to eat last night, alright? We have to share with others, so we can’t hog all the food.”

“Well, ye could have done that,” Dammir piped up with a grin. “If ye accepted the position as Dark Lady of Alyona.”

Arjin nodded eagerly as she looked up from the pot. “That’s right— Ms Kara, why did you turn down the chance to be the Dark Lady? You’re so strong now! You’re probably almost as strong as even Dark Lord Koros!”

Kara blinked a few times. And then she scoffed. “I’m not anywhere near his level yet. Trust me, he is incredibly strong.”

She remembered seeing the clash between Adam and Koros. It was like nothing she had ever seen ever before. If she could beat anyone in a fight, she thought maybe she stood a chance against High Magus Xhrkr. However, certainly not either Adam or Koros.

“That’s true,” Arjin said. “But still, you’re much stronger than you were only a few months ago.” 

“As that elf had said—” Dammir started, before catching himself. “Errr… as the new Dark Lord of Alyona had said, yer the strongest in the camp right now. Ye coulda become a Dark Lady if you had just said yes.”

“Firstly, you’ve already said that. Secondly, I know could’ve become the Dark Lady of Alyona. But that’s not what I want.” Kara crossed her arms as she spoke simply.

As Arjin and Dammir stared at her, Angel sneakily poured himself another bowl of lizard soup.

“Why not? By Kozli’s beard, think of all the benefits!” Dammir exclaimed.

“That would be an abuse of power,” Kara said flatly. “I’m not going to be a corrupt politician. Also, I don’t want to deal with the responsibilities of being a leader.”

The dwarf huffed and continued sipping from his soup. “That’s so lame…”

“I do get where you’re coming from, Ms Kara,” Arjin spoke up as she handed a few more bowls to the passing dark elves. “I didn’t think you’d make a good Dark Lady at all, either.”

“Uh, that’s not what I said—” Kara started.

And Arjin continued, “Honestly, I think you’d probably get us all killed if you were the Dark Lady of Alyona. You’d make too many risky decisions for us all. So I’m glad that Mr Caius was the one who became our Dark Lord.”

Kara opened her mouth. “I…”

And she just sighed. 

“I think you’re probably right about that.”

The four of them continued their casual chat as Arjin continued handing out bowls of lizard soup to anyone who approached. Eventually, the pot was emptied, and the former prostitute began to pack up. But before she could finish, a rather large figure approached them.

At the very least, larger than a dark elf or a human. Arjin saw the shadow approaching, and Kara looked up, recognizing who it was.

“That’s…?” the blonde girl started, but she didn’t have time to speak.

“Sorry,” Arjin started as she turned around. “We’re out of—”

And her eyes went wide when she saw the green-skinned man looming over her. It was an orc, and his arms were folded across his chest. He took another step forward as Arjin dropped the pot and nearly stumbled back.

But she managed to steel herself and struck out with a fist. 

“Get away from me!”

The orc blinked, not expecting the sudden attack. He recoiled as she punched him hard in the stomach. He stumbled back and wheezed as she drew her silver dagger. He raised a hand, and she was about to strike out.

But Kara moved and stopped the former prostitute. “Arjin, what the fuck are you doing?”

Blinking, Arjin stared at the orc as he clutched onto his stomach. She looked puzzled, clearly not recognizing who it was supposed to be. Dammir and Angel rushed over when they noticed the commotion, and they were just staring in shock at what had happened.

Kara pursed her lips and explained, “That’s Kurg— the Elder of the Swordtooth Clan. Why are you attacking him?”

“W-what…?” Arjin’s eyes grew wide. 

She looked over at the orc as he straightened. He faced Kara as he rubbed at his abdomen.

“K-Kara, is this your friend?”

And Kara sighed, “This is Arjin, and she’s my friend. As for why she attacked you? I, uh, don’t know.”

Author's Notes:

3.9k words. I think this is the first below 4k word chapter.

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