"How dare you take me away like this! Once I talk to lord Ortus, I'll have your heads roll. Let me go at once! Otherwise, your end wouldn't end with just you!" Halvar screamed at the top of his lungs.
He feared the worst. If Ortus actually found out about Morpheus and talked to him, then it would be the end right there.
Right now, he seemed to be transported somewhere. Dozens of hooves accompanied the rocking carriage prison.
Almost no light except the barred window made it impossible to see where he was going. His fear grew each hour he spent on his travels.
Going further away meant one possibility. Ortus actually met Morpheus. Whatever they negotiated, or if he just wanted information in order to 'tame' Morpheus, it didn't matter.
He sighed to himself and sat down, defeated. The escorts didn't even make a sound during the hours and except some food delivered from above; he hasn't even seen their faces.
As the clouds rolled by. He began to daydream, from the riches and power he could wield all the way to the past.
The old tribe with his mother and father. His sister sitting there without looking at that damned Ortus at all times.
Clean and honest, everything remained so simple. A silent tear rolled down his cheeks as he readied himself for the worst.
Then the calm horses began to panic. The carriage stopped and soon he could hear clashes of metal and a few loud shots every moment.
'Who could it be?' He thought in anticipation. His rescuer must be someone who had a lot of manpower and he didn't know many people that had it.
Grunts of death and many more shots suddenly grew silent before he could hear someone ripping apart the iron bars at the top.
"Hoh! Who would have thought they'd be escorting one of their most prized possessions. Did you woo Ortus' lover or mother for this to happen? Huh? Hahaha." said a man from above with a face half covered by a helmet.
Nevertheless, Halvar could recognise that face anywhere. The general of the second life army and one of the most feared people alive.
Although he failed to capture a vital city, giving the rise to the famous Ortus. He was a force that couldn't be reasoned with.
Even outnumbered 7 to 1, he managed to save half his brothers whilst taking thousands of lives.
To the surprise of many, Athánatos didn't punish the general and even commended him for being able to escape from such a situation.
Since then, he vowed to take revenge on Ortus and thus remained near the frontlines with his army.
The huge movement of the enemy naturally aroused his interest. And so, he decided to take a 400 of his most elite men and see what caused such a commotion.
Seeing the so-called greatest genius in history being jailed up tightly by Ortus' personal guard brought him immense joy.
Halvar stared at the general and said.
"I can work for your leader." The general looked at him for a few moments before he smiled even more and laughed.
"Good! Good! Great even! With you, we'll catch up to them in no time! Come on, squirt, tell me your grievances. I, Adir, promise you to let you torture Ortus after I am done with him!" He said and teared open the last remaining bars before he grabbed Halvar and threw him out.
The sheer strength surprised him. As he got up, he saw something blocking the sun. Before him, a 2 meter mountain giant stood in heavy armor.
Adir the Mighty was standing before him.
...
A day later as Ortus watched the clear starry sky, admiring the various stars. Through time, their ancestors made various legends and myths in their honour.
"The Golden Bull constellation is just beautiful..." He said in amazement. Not many people knew of his obsession with the stars and what hid further away.
With Halvar establishing the Universe theory and that stars were like the Sun, although much further away. Various objections were made, but they refuted many.
The lack of main religion didn't limit the inhabitants too much, though that might change with the presence of Athánatos and his Church of Life.
While not a real 'church', the concepts were already planted. Tales of the Sea of Life were plenty, and many in his territory began to accept the story about the creation of humans.
With these two clashing ideals. More differences ensured that they would remain life and death enemies, unless one of them would choose to yield.
Ortus watched for a few more minutes before he heard rustling sounds.
"What is it?" He asked as one of the scouts appeared.
"Lord, the envoy escorting Halvar was ambushed and out of 100 most elite guard. No one managed to escape! A travelling wanderer happened to see the carnage and reported it to the nearest village." He said, a bit out of breath.
He turned around and silently grasped the star in his vision.
"Lord?" the subordinate asked cautiously.
"Go back. I want the total mobilization of our army. Ensure our granaries are full and notify them that I agree to the deal from the western Sea of Life alliance." Ortus said without looking back.
"I understand." The scout said and vanished in the dark night.
'Even if you erased every piece of your presence. There is only one force in the world who can slaughter 100 of my men in my own territory. Foolish.' Ortus thought to himself as he shook his head and walked back.
The entire time, Morpheus watched and heard everything. Yet Ortus didn't say anything.
'Perhaps he is the real deal.' Morpheus thought as he felt his connection weaken. If he staged all of this just for a small part of information, then he'd give up on humans in this era.
'Don't make me give up on humanity, Ortus...'
...
The sun shone as hundreds were dying under its gaze. A man stood watching from above as he coordinated the carnage below him.
An outnumbered and undeveloped army couldn't withstand the terror Athánatos brought with him.
"Numbers?" He asked in indifference.
"33 dead and 402 injured men on our side. The enemy has lost around 1000 and their defeat is near, sire." Said a man by his side.
"Not bad." He said as he walked back. Out of nowhere, a falcon like bird appeared in the skies before landing on Athánatos' arm.
It squirmed a bit before Athánatos gave it some beef jerky. Patting it, he took out the note on its leg as it enjoyed its hard made snack.
As he kept reading, his eyes shone with a hidden fire inside.
"Relocate the newly built army to Adir. And prepare for a war on two fronts, expand the farms and grant some land to men not willing to join the army, but are willing to farm." He said as the battle came to a close.
"I understand, sire." The man beside him nodded. After he scribbled something down, he forwarded it to Athánatos.
With his signature. The man patted the falcon and gave him some more jerky before tying a new letter to its legs.
It finished its meal with gusto as it took off, disappearing into the clouds. Athánatos walked down from the above as his army had already reorganized.
"We'll rest in the nearest village! Do not plunder or engage in any activities that would shame the Sea of Life!" He said in a loud voice that shook the surroundings.
"For the Sea of Life!" The men roared as they began their march. This battle didn't tire out them too much.
The opposition lacked everything. At most, they proved to be training dummies for his army full of bloodthirsty wolves.
Why wouldn't they be happy to see free prey? After all, once they returned, glory remained in the story for them. Even being in the first army proved to be a glorious feat!
The army reached the village and conquered it peacefully in that very day. Right now, they already pushed 2 territories deep with overwhelming victories.
They did not need supplies as they lived off land and even then he had a steady stream ready in case of an emergency.
His fame grew to a point where even the village he just conquered took him as the apostle of the Sea of Life.
It already began to spread outside his territories. No one could predict what it would be like in a decade or even a century.
Meanwhile, the tribes that were on the western side. Created the Western Sea Alliance in order to combat the unstoppable Athánatos.
Almost a hundred tribes united just to be defeated. At first, they sent a minimum amount of soldiers and some none.
But each successive defeat proved how of a grave mistake they made. Even then, the great numbers didn't mean they had a general to lead them.
No one had led an army of such scale. Communication proved to be a problem and copying the Barford family style of command couldn't be implemented out of thin air.
In the end, they lacked discipline and training...
The first army crushed them directly and with the naval force blocking their trade routes. They were at their last straws.
And with the third and fourth army crushing them from the sides. Their only way of survival turned out to be surrender or the saving grace of the Barford family.
Much to their relief. A message lifted up their spirits as one of the seasoned generals of the Barford family would take charge.
A storm was soon about to erupt...