Tyrant of the Ruined Sun

The rest of the ride back to camp was a silent one, only disrupted by the heaving chests and incessant beating of our galloping horse's hooves upon the scorching yellow sand below. Yet the instant we returned, all that quiet contemplation was forgotten under a hail of thunderous shouts and commands, lashing the men to their feet.

Especially the few hundred veteran scouts, expert cartographers and camp followers, that were loaded with only the essentials, and ordered to set off eastwards ahead of the army under the leadership of my uncle, who instantly volunteered for the position, which I was slightly apprehensive about, considering his current mental state. But I eventually relented, for two simple reasons; the first is deciding to trust the man who stood by my side till death prematurely claimed him in my past life.

While the other is the actuality that we were now in a desperate marathon against Maximillian and his forces, where time was our most treasured currency. For the one who reaches the battle board first would naturally know it better, and this statement held doubly so in the Anazoi Canyon, where communication and visibility were clearly going to be the first issue we would need to overcome.

And considering the fact that the location was suggested by Maximillian himself, we can be safe to assume that he had already, at the very least done some basic surveillance work on the region to determine the feasibility and more importantly for him, the enjoyability of the coming game. So time lavishly spent not in the mountain pass, studying, preparing or planning for the coming blood bath was a luxury we could not afford.

Fortunately for us, the Anazoi Canyon was still a part of the Eclipse Empire, meaning that I wasn't completely unaware of the terrain, since many maps and detailed records of bold explorers still reside in both the Imperial Palace and the Alcazar Archive. Records I instantly demanded to be brought from the capital without even a moments delay.

Thankfully, and only for the cost of two chimeras and four stallions losing their lives to exhaustion, those most vital jewels of ancient parchment and faded ink reached my impatient hands, as I began to ravenously devour all that their creators had to say about that daedal corridor.

So I completely devoted myself to it, as I continuously read, memorized and schemed in a haze of possessed obsession and deranged ravings, until ultimately; after an equal parts torturous and miraculous eight days of forced night marches that peeled away the strength and morale of my men like carrion strip the rotting flesh off a corpse's bones, we had finally reached our destination.

The men, broken by the desert and the unending march finally breathed a sigh of near euphoric relief, as they silently consoled themselves by dreams of rest and proper food, yet before they could savor even that small comfort, their officers' words like cracking whips flogged their already battered spirits, yelling "All units, begin immediate construction of the camp!"

The Imperial Army of the Eclipse Empire, the finest force of the nation, comprised solely from it's most capable and formidable warriors audibly groaned, like a rusted machine grinding to halt after an excessive time of overuse. Yet even so they still dutifully dragged their aching legs and began their work silently, especially those among them who previously followed me in the last war. But even they moved with reluctance and grievance in their every action.

"We might have pushed the men too far this time, my liege." Horus remarked.

"It couldn't be helped." I emotionlessly said, glancing back at the carriage behind me that carried my two exhausted siblings.

"How about you retire as well, sire. I can have the men ready your tent in but a few minutes if you so wish." Horus said, his concerned gaze glancing at my red rimmed eyes and the black circles forming beneath them.

Casting a sweeping look at all the faces of those around me, I noticed that they too looked at me in a similar manner, as though I was about to collapse at any minute now. So without hesitation my own pupils took on their silverish white hue as my sclera blackened, while my hair elongated and my skin began to crawl with all manner of indecipherable black marks, proclaiming with a might only divinity can possess "I can rest when this mess is done with. Now, where is my uncle?" I finished with a question, as my power receded.

Hearing this a man who looked no older than in his early thirties, with light brown hair and eyes, wearing a mixture of brown leather armor and green cloth beneath, approached me, fell to one knee and loudly gulped, before saying aloud "Hail to the Emperor. I am Ain Kaff, third born son of count Asogo Kaff, the scout captain of the third Scout regiment and the temporary leader of the encampment in Lord Haytham's absence. It is an honor to meet you, sire."

Turning to look at the man, I quickly questioned "Absence? Why would my uncle not be present?"

I asked for the fear that the slim chance of my uncle having let his emotions triumph over his reason had occurred, and that he might be about to do something born out of sheer suicidal madness. After all, a man doesn't earn a title such as the Blood Tide of the South without possessing a shard of true insanity within him.

Thankfully the man's coming words eased my worry "His lordship the Archduke left this morning with the latest scouting parties up the canyon. They should be back in an hour or so."

"...Very well then. Notify me as soon as they return." I commanded with relief, before leading my horse into the rapidly rising encampment.

"Of course, sire." Ain replied.

Immediately afterward, I headed to my near finished tent as my still half asleep brothers were taken to their own temporary abodes for the coming few weeks, which were directly next to mine.

"Send for the physicians and priests to check on my brothers as soon as they wake up." I said seeing this.

"Of course, sire. I shall also have the men prepare them a warm bath and prioritize them food that aids in recovery." Isaac assured, quickly wanting to ease my brothers' hardships.

"There's no need for all that. Just give them what I and my officers will be having, along with a simple clean rag and a bucket of warm water just like the rest of us, or else we rink defeating the purpose for their presence here in the first place. So don't overly coddle them. They mustn't be spared all the struggles of war." I quickly corrected him.

Though I was and still am against the idea of my brothers being here, now that it's come to this I will make the most out of this situation.

"Understood." Isaac replied with a slight bow, that hid his surprised look with my decision.

I then entered my own tent, and swiftly said "Leonid, issue the order that the next three days will be considered as pseudo leave days for the soldiers, so they may do without the tiring military routines and traditions, but make sure that they maintain some basic level of discipline; we're still in the middle of a campaign after all."

"Anything else, sire?" He replied, while saluting.

"Allow the men to sleep in tomorrow and have the cooks prepare them a hearty meal to refill their strength. Also give them two cups of wine if they so wish it in the evening during dinner." I answered.

"Right away." He said as he vanished from my side.

"Any orders for us, my liege?" The other generals asked.

"No you're all dismissed for now. We can continue our talks to tomorrow." And with that the left along with the last few workers who had just finished their work, leaving me alone for the first in almost a month; since the start of this campaign.

And though I could almost hear the siren's call of my bed, tempting me to sleep, I shook my head to dispel it's charm and engrossed myself in an old sheep skin and journal, depicting the Anazoi Canyon.

Yet as the minutes trickled by and the sun dove deeper and deeper into the horizon, I found my eyelids suddenly start to betray me, growing heavier than lead bricks.

But before their treachery could come to fruition, the voice of one of my Palace Guards sounded out from outside the tent "My emperor. The scouts have returned."

I did not answer, but instead leapt from my seat, before charging out into the serenely still camp, where many of the soldiers slumbered like the fallen dead after a gruesome war in the crimson light of the setting sun. Their armor still donned and their weapons still braced by their side, even while their tents stood no more than a stone's throw away they cared not; and neither did I fault them for it after the agony that was the last eight days.

Gliding through the ranks of the snoring legions, with Horus, Isaac and Abraham at my back, I quickly reached the camp's edge where my uncle stood with burlap sack hoisted over his shoulder, while being surrounded by over a hundred scouts.

"Your majesty! I didn't expect you to arrive so soon." He exclaimed, as he saw me.

"Well I didn't want to keep you waiting, uncle." I jokingly replied, before continuing "So how goes the scouting expeditions?"

"Marvelously." He answered, as he reached into his burlap sack and pulled a jumbled mess of newly drawn maps."

Quickly returning to my tent, we laid them out on the table, as several cartographers began to examine them and then use them to update the maps we previously held.

All the while, my uncle and I were immersed in talks of his experiences in the last few recent days, which quickly lead us to a single consensus on the future of this battle.

"Maneuverability."