Ivan Kal - Onslaught

“But they were the Elders!” Tarrasi said. “We owe them allegiance. They must’ve had some plans!”

“The only plan they had was to satisfy their greed for power,” Anessa said, leaning forward. “They were weak; most didn’t even attempt to defend against me. They were not true Shara Daim; they were only pretenders who had committed many crimes against their own people.”

She took a deep breath and stood up. The guard and some of her own Va Sun took a step backwards in fear as she looked at them. She realized that she was still holding the Sha. She took a step forward.

“The Elders doctored history, lied to us about our origins. But that stops now. From today onwards, there will be no secrets among the Shara Daim. From this day forward, the Shara Daim will never again bow to weak leaders.”

Her eyes hardened as she looked at the guard leader. “I was a Dai Sha, the first and strongest of Shara Daim. From this point on, I am a Dai Sha no more; from this day forward, I am taking the reign of the Shara Daim by the right of strength, by blood and death. Just like our ancestors did before we left our homeworld, in a time when strength and blood and death meant more than anything, so do I now take the title of the Kar Daim—the ruler of all. Let any who disagree come and challenge my rule with combat, and all others bow down before me.” Her voice boomed through the room.

Arisak kneeled first, followed by her Va Sun. Most of the honor guards took only a second to decide to kneel, but Jar Sun Tarrasi kept standing and looking at her. Anessa didn’t speak or move; she matched his look, keeping her eyes on him. Then, Jar Sun Tarrasi knelt, as she had known that he would, because even though she had just done something unthinkable, even though he had been taught to obey the Elders, a sliver of who Shara Daim were before the Elders had taken power still remained, and they still followed strength.

“Now, before we tell the new state of things to the Shara Daim, we have a lot of work to do.”

One day later — Shara Radum

Anessa walked up to the chair in what had once been the sanctum of the Elders and was now her throne room. The room was now brightly lit. All but one chair had been removed, along with any sign of what had happened a day before. The room was filled with people, high officials of Shara Radum, the chosen few that had been informed of the events of yesterday. No one outside of the former Elder compound knew anything, except for Anessa’s people and the honor guard.

Last night, after her proclamation, she had had Jar Sun Tarrasi inform the rest of the guard, with the orders to keep it within, which wasn’t really hard as no information left the compound without their approval. She had given all the proof that Garaam’s group had accumulated over the years to Jar Sun and the rest of the guard, cementing their decision to follow her, at least until they found more proof. Then she had taken Do Sun Arisak and Jar Sun Tarrasi to the Elder palace.

No one had been allowed there for centuries; the guard was responsible for keeping all save for the Elders out, and to not allow anyone to leave. They themselves had never entered, as the palace supposedly had its own guard. The palace was staffed with families that had been living there for generations. At least, that had been the rumor.

When Anessa and her people had entered without the Elders, they had been met with attendants, servants, and even guards. However, none of them were like the rest of the Shara Daim. They had no Sha, no concept of the outside world. They had been bred to serve the Elders. Families, living in the palace almost since it had been built, always serving. The things they had found there had made her repulsed, and had convinced her that what she had done was right.

In the chamber of one of the Elders they had found a dungeon with three children chained to the walls, used and abused for who knew how long. She had cursed herself for giving that Elder such an easy death the night before by ripping his throat out; he’d deserved a much harsher death. And once the children had been returned to the families, they didn’t want them, fearing the wrath of their gods. That was what they’d thought the Elders were—gods who never aged and protected them from the outside world. To them, Anessa and her people were the heretics that would be punished by their gods.

If any of the guard had doubted Anessa before, they didn’t now. They had found the Elders’ private records, their archives, and there was the truth. Garaam’s people were right, the Dai Sha that were supposed to become Elders never did; they had always been poisoned and killed, the illusion of the Elders changing maintained.

But the most important thing that Anessa had found was the origin of the Elders. They had been there during the war with the Nazaari. They were scientists that had been working on the device, from a time when not everyone was a warrior in addition to their calling. Her people had found the records from the device, which matched what Adrian had given her. He had been right all along.

There were more of the ‘Elders’ in the beginning, but over time the nine had killed them. They had taken power slowly, over several centuries. They had had the knowledge from the device; it had been easy for them to manipulate.

They were also once part of a group advocating the total destruction of the Nazaari. According to the records, the war had started after they had received the Sha, and the device. The leaders of the time had wanted more resources, and had provoked the Nazaari, starting the war that they’d known they would win. With the knowledge from the device, it had been easy, but the Nazaari had surprised them and managed to destroy the device before they were wiped out. The group that was in power then slowly doctored the events, and the ‘Elders’ took over power with the help of the data they controlled. They had poisoned the Shara Daim against other races, perverted what they once were.

The Shara Daim had always been warriors, but once they had lived in peace with Nazaari—they had even trained together, helped each other. According to the old records that they’d found, there were once even yearly contests organized where both Shara Daim and Nazaari competed. Anessa had found the proof she needed to convince the rest of the Shara Daim that what she had done was necessary. And with it, she would change the Shara Daim, forge them into something better.

Now Anessa looked over the people assembled in the ‘throne’ room. They had been given the data after her people found it, and then they had been brought to the Hall of Ages and told about the change in leadership. She had given them time to study the data, and now they would decide whether they wanted to bow to her or challenge her.

She waited for the Vallar Havasse to speak, as she had been chosen as the voice of the leadership of Shara Radum. She was an old woman, age clearly seen on her face. A stoic and great speaker, she struck the visage of a true Shara Daim lady. Like all Shara Daim, she was trained as a warrior. Not on the level of a Dai Sha, but still, she understood strength. If Anessa had the support of Shara Radum, she would have a much easier time of convincing the ordinary people to support her, who might resist even with all the proof she planned to release to the public.

“We have reviewed the data you supplied, Dai Sha,” Havasse said.

“Kar Daim,” Anessa corrected. She did not intend to give any ground. The Shara Daim would be hers, one way or another. Protecting her people was the only thing she cared about. As long as she lived, she would not allow anyone weaker than her to lead.

Havasse gave her a look filled with steel, her face as unmoving as Anessa’s own. Then, Havasse looked away and sighed; she turned and looked around at the faces behind her. A great majority of them were scared, of Anessa, presumably. Anessa understood their fear.