Steven Burke - The Dark Tide

“I doubt very much that you will succeed” interrupted a voice that was clearly full of rage. The king looked around for the source of voice and the person who had so rudely interrupted his thoughts.

“Who is there? Show yourself!” demanded King Edric loudly. He expected the guards to come in or to say something…they did not. Silence met his outburst.

The room darkened even though it was bright outside. The room began to fill with a mist that had a silver hue to it. The king’s hearing strained and everything started to sound muffled. He immediately clutched his heart as though his heart was failing him. He thought that he was being killed by some unseen force. Maybe this was the doing of that traitor Chad…he had sold the kingdom to those cursed elementals.

“Enough!” boomed a dark voice from somewhere in the mist. The voice was muffled, however it was still clear enough to be heard and it was most certainly felt.

“Who the hell is there? I say…” the king stuttered quietly and then was unable to finish speaking. Something had truly silenced him. His mouth hung opening uselessly as he struggled to speak.

“Your right to speak in my presence is forfeit. You do not command me and you no longer command the dwarves of Ennis. You are not worthy enough for me to reveal myself. You will remain silent from this time forward until you recognize your error in judgment. The question of your right to the throne is up to the people and I will not intercede” said the guardian in his magically altered voice. Each word caused Edric physical pain.

The king tried to retort and found that his voice had truly been silenced. He started to panic and tried to rise from his desk. He was unable to move or to do anything…he was truly trapped. Why me? What did I do?

“You put yourself first before all else. You were afraid and you let that fear guide your decisions. Death surrounds you and is now heading your way and you would have sat by and done nothing! In all my years I have never known a more inept and useless leader. You have truly fallen and shown that you were only tolerable as a maintenance monarch at best. You have no real leadership and I think that you need to realize what you have done!” blasted Adair loudly. The floor shook and an unseen force started to squeeze the dwarven monarch.

The king recoiled as though he was just punched and then sat upon. He was thrown on the bed and he lay looking up at the ceiling. It was as though he was now bound by invisible chains. You have no right to torture me like this! I am the rightful ruler of Ennis! You have no authority here! I demand that you release me at once! Edric remained defiant in the face of forces well outside his control or comprehension. He glared at the ceiling since he could not actually look anywhere else.

“Your rights to the throne were suspended by your own people and in keeping with your own laws and traditions. I do not care one bit what you think I can or cannot do…I will not let you harm your own people. I also will not allow you to interfere until this conflict has past. You can either stay here for the duration or I can move you elsewhere…your choice!” The chill in the guardian’s voice was deadly. It was clear he did not intend to tolerate much from the deposed monarch.

It is clear that I have no choice here. You will not even let me help you see the error… Silence. Now the king was unable to communicate telepathically.

“I am done here…I am moving you to the east where you will remain until these difficult times have passed. You are clearly not able to think outside yourself, so away with you!” With a loud crack the king disappeared.

“You can come in General Chad” Lord Adair said with some satisfaction.

“Thank you for your timely assistance my lord” replied the general as he entered the room. The entire interaction with the guardian had been in the king’s mind. He did actually disappear…he had been sent to a prison in the guardian’s homeland for the duration of the war.

“I hate to admit that that gave me a small measure of pleasure, however, he is truly delusional” Lord Adair said with a smirk.

“Do you know the status of the underground army?” queried the general. He was all about business now that the king was truly out of the way.

“Well, the drugars are much closer than they should be. They are definitely being aided by underworld powers which is giving them speed they do not naturally have. We have to assume that from this moment forward that the keeper has cast his lot in this grab for power.” There was a resounding boom that shook the entire room. All the finery clinked and clanked as the shaking continued for a few moments then nothing.

“What the ruddy hell was that?” The dwarven general was only stymied for a moment. He immediately rushed to the balcony that overlooked the mountain city. His eye sight was great; however, he could not see what was happening off in the distance.

“It looks like the drugars have arrived and they are not alone. They came up under the outlying villages and have already begun their attack. A wide variety of demons have joined their ranks.”

“What made that noise?” asked one of the guards who had entered the room.

“It matters little at this point, everyone to battle stations!” bellowed the general. He ran from the room barking orders left and right. With a loud crack, the guardian disappeared. A silvery mist hung in the air for several moments before vanishing.

***

The village of DuWarven had just received the news that King Edric had been deposed. There was no small amount of celebration had at this news. The king’s popularity had waned over the last several years. The decline was more like a free fall once news had reached them about their cousins in the south; the people had decided that the time was right for change. How could they sit by and not help their brethren? Many had started covert supply runs to the south. King Edric had not known of the extensive tunnels that connected all the dwarven kingdoms in Tuwa which allowed for this secret support to go unnoticed.

Along with the news that Edric was no longer in charge, it was made clear that the military was taking charge. This was not disturbing news to the people…the dwarves believed in strong leadership and was huge supporters of the military. Most people of Ennis did not care for Edric’s isolationist ideals. The people were firmly behind General Chad and were ready for action. Or so they thought.

Boom! The ground shook violently in the fields between the village and the western edge of the lake. It looked like a burning rock from the sky had hit the ground. That was the source of the boom; however the shaking was from the drugars appearing from below the ground. The hairy beasts shrieked loudly and rushed the stunned dwarves. Rising into the air above the hordes was Kana. She looked to be weaving spells or something. Many dwarves did not hear what she was summoning from the underworld.

As Kana looked to the dwarves, who had recovered and were preparing for the furry hordes of drugars, she did not see the danger she was in. A bolt of blue lightning hit her square in the chest and sent her flying into the field below. She hit the ground with a thud and did not move for a few moments. There was a blue web pinning her to the ground which she was struggling with as the guardian appeared next to her.

“What are you doing here? I thought this kind of fight was beneath the almighty guardian” spat Kana. She wrenched herself free and stood tall to face Adair.

“You do not know what you have started Kana…I will tell you this now so it is not a surprise to you later. You started this and I am going to finish this. There is no banishment, no way out…you have made your choice and the consequences of those choices will demand more than you are capable of.” Adair’s eyes turned an icy blue color as he stared her down.