A Time for Revenge
Chapter 9

Rubious stumbled in his exhaustion, but his heart was overjoyed at what he was witnessing before him. His strength of Power had grown considerably over the last six months without that wretched shade. And now that he was putting the energy where he wanted it to go, he had gained far more than he had dreamed possible.

This was his fifth trip to this area, this desert of Hell’s Fire. Though once a proud Empire in the past, its population had been smothered by burning sand in a single massive spell joining unlike anything the world had ever seen. Within a night, the entire country had been covered in sand, its citizens and cities buried alive. That sudden burial had meant easy work for him. His newly found Powers and the spells from the Book of Black together have allowed him to create an army from those long buried corpses, bringing to new life into those that had passed on centuries ago.

They were all perfect soldiers, each and every one of them. No emotion, no betrayal, no thoughts of their own. They obeyed him and him alone, and he would reward them with an Empire unlike anything they could imagine. Well, if they had an imagination. It was a dark thought that crossed his mind and he smiled cruelly at it. These constructs had only one thought, follow orders. His orders.

He was unsure of how large his army was now, but he knew one thing. The pale numbers he had before were nothing compared to what he had now. With his constructs building his Empire ever larger as each day went by, there would be no end to what he could create. “Captain, it is time we returned home.” He turned to the man that he had appointed his new Captain, recently promoted from lieutenant. Since the death of his last one at the hands of that child, he had needed to replace a replacement. This man was one of the constructs, true enough. But he had shown an adept ability at leadership. It was possible that he had been someone in a command position at some point.

“Yes Sire, we will load the men immediately.” With a salute and a bow, his Captain marched off issuing orders as if he were truly in charge of the army. There will be rewards for him if he does this job well.

Rubious walked away, heading for the coast. The heat here was unbearable and though he prided himself on his ability to adapt to any situation, this was one that he did not care to get used to. With a nod to the row man, he climbed into the longboat and was on his way back to his ship. The sight of his army lining up along the beach, readying for departure was a sight to behold. Soon they would be loaded onto the ships and they would set sail. Not long afterward, they would all begin their training and he would see who would excel into soldiers and who would become the elites. He had special use for the elites and he had every intention of using their advanced abilities.

The moment the long boat came alongside his ship, he climbed out and up the side ladder, leaving the row man to return to the coast to fetch the soldiers. He would be resting and preparing himself for what came next. As he passed his men they stopped and saluted, as was proper. He would not have it any other way. These creatures were here because of him, if anything, they should be down on their knees bowing to him instead of saluting. But that would take too long and they had their tasks to do. It was better to give respect quickly and return to work than to spend all day bowing.

In his private chambers he found his map, a replacement for the one that he had lost when his personal ship had been stolen more than a year ago. As he looked over the details of the map, absentmindedly reaching for the food that had been left for him, he planned out his next location.

He would need to rest first, so returning home would be the next stop. His new recruits would need to begin their training, again, they would need to return home for that. But after, that was what he needed to decide. His army was large enough that he could make another advance on Gehnith. This time he could take the capital. He closed his eyes and focused, he could feel the Power of that orb in the sky, its Power just waiting to be unlocked. If he could just tap into one of them, he would be able to conquer so much with that alone. Hidden within the texts and tomes of his library may be a clue on how to do just that. That was where he had found the information on the Stones that had originally sent him out looking for them more than ten years ago. But was it worth taking Gehnith now, or should he continue to build his forces until his might was massive enough that there would be nothing that they could do but cower beneath him as he marched over the land?

Did it really matter which path he took? At this point in time, it most likely did not. But it would be prudent to increase his collection of constructs before moving on with his plans of expansion. After all, the lands he had begun to build his Empire on were empty save for what he put there. All he needed was time enough to accomplish his goals. Perhaps that will be my next step. He thought darkly. That Book had any number of spells within its pages, perhaps there was something within those aged bindings that would extend his life. Make him immortal. He smiled at the thought of that. Immortality had never been something he would have thought possible. But neither had becoming a Mage. All this Power he was using, creating and reusing, it opened a lot in his path to build his Empire. Perhaps it will bring me far more than an Empire.

He closed his eyes to the idea of becoming the ultimate Power in this world and grinned. Oh the idea was ever so sweet in his mind. The whole of the world bowing before him, Emperor Rubious, Ruler of All. It had been a fantasy of his ever since he had been a child. More than twenty years now, he had dreamed of gaining the kind of Power that men would fear. Now he was living that dream, building his own Empire that would one day be the envy of anything history would remember. And I will rewrite history. By the time I am done, only what I have done will be remembered. All else will be forgotten.

For now, he would return home and rest. He would decide where to go later. He had warriors to train and an Empire to oversee. That would be enough. For now.