The ground rumbled like the belly of a starving beast, as if the earth itself was saying it still wasn't sated, it wasn't enough, she wanted more! More mangled meat, more nourishing blood and more broken bones, so that it could nurture it's children and allow them to grow stronger and taller in this land, with branches to cover the sky and dye the earth in their emerald light.
A request Archon was more than happy to oblige, beginning to prepare a feast that would leave the soil so bloated by his carnage that it would not even be able to absorb any more if it, having no other choice than to abandon this precious crimson liquid to the river's current, as he and his men slammed into the Coalition army's flank and rear.
But unlike the Diomedes Knights, who slashed through their enemy's lines like a precise blade through unprotected flesh, the Demon Born crashed upon their foes like a hammer upon stone; a blunt instrument without finesse or elegance caving skulls and breaking bone.
They attacked mercilessly, each strike a killing blow, but not every killing was a swift and clean one. They tore open stomachs and let their insides spill out, like gutted fish; they severed arms and legs and then let their boots do the rest; they shattered shields, splintered spears and severed swords on the fragile bodies of the Murathicus men with seemingly no care other than how to to do it again.
They were brutality incarnate, sowing chaos and savagery, and reaping death and dread in it's stead; and very quickly their armour began to match the colour of their masks. Blood red with a sickening stench of slaughter to match it, garbs of honour proudly worn to prove themselves to both friend and foe alike.
And none wore more honour on that bloody day than Archon, the commander of the Demon Born, as he tore a red trench through the Murathicus ranks, opening a sanguinary causeway to the heart of the enemy formation, where he hunted down what's left of their high command like a brazen bull barrelling through a group of wicker scarecrows.
Which only served to excite the rest of the Demon Born even more, as they began to attack with endless seemingly stamina. Only when they had exhausted all their weaponry, even their nails and teethe, would they finally retreat to the back of the line, letting the others have a chance to wet their appetite, though it did little to ease the minds of the Murathicus warriors. Since all the Demon Born wore, acted, fought and even covered their faces with the same mask, they felt as if they were constantly facing the same man, over and over again, as if he were a ghost who wouldn't die no matter how many times they supposedly cut him down or saw him retreat backwards.
Yet all this chaos was a drop in the ocean in the minds of the various patriarchs, as they stared with despairing eyes on the catastrophic battlefield before them, but in actuality all said thoughts, worries and plans in their heads could all be narrowed down to a single word 'How?'
How could the enemy still keep such an elite force of martial artists in hiding all this time? How could they predict their movements so accurately that they played every move in perfect sequence to defeat them? But most importantly, how could these men arrive from the north when Tissiphina's own guard was standing guard to their? How? How? HOW?
They roared desperately in their minds, half in fruitless protest half in heart aching frustration, when suddenly a thought so virulent it turned their spit in their mouths sour and the air in their lungs toxic, as they almost absent mindedly turned their heads to the mighty Matriarch of the Enkada Clan, with eyes not of accusation or judgement but of shock and disbelief.
Only Amhain did not look, his head fixated in front of him, as if fearing to turn back now and gaze upon his beloved mother and discover something he did not wish to believe; yet before he could resolve this impossible quandary of his the decision made for him, as he suddenly felt a blow to the back of his head that knocked all these hurtful thoughts from his mind and covered the world in a soothing darkness, with the last words he heard being "I will explain all when you awake."
This all but certified what all the patriarchs thought and their eyes filled with despair before it distorted to a toxic mix of hate, staring at her with eyes that wish they could kill with their venomous gaze alone. But it couldn't, and before they could do anything else Tissiphina's deep amber aura erupted forth from her like a long dead spring that finally unleashed it's contents in an explosive guizer, dancing around her in mesmerizing patterns, akin to the dance of river water across the smooth bed rock, as she swung her whips creating a deafening cracking sound that echoed throughout the battlefield like a single clear note, overpowering all the other noise.
The patriarchs paled at the sheer overwhelming power of her aura, while the sound of battle momentarily paused as everyone focused on that single voice, before the violence resumed with double the intensity, as the Enkada Clan warriors who were moving towards the marshlands to assist in it's defence suddenly attacked, but not the Eclipse line. They struck the quickly dissolving lines of their former allies, firmly hammering the final nail in the Coalition's and this battle's casket.
"Why?" One patriarch asked, his head bowed and his voice hauntingly empty; but not empty in the way apathy is, where emotion is no where to be seen, but in the sense that emotions once resided there and were ruthlessly and systematically butchered one after another leaving none behind.
Hearing his question Tissiphina remembered the events that occurred less than a few hours ago.
In the camp of the Eclipse Empire, an hour after Tissiphina ushered away her son, Hamilcar was still wide awake pouring over various reports, the ink on the paper turning into thousands of men fighting in his mind, when a tall, cloaked figure silently entered his tent.
Looking up, he ineloquently but calmly said in the Murathicus language while setting down the paper he was reading "Finally finished with your moonlit walk through my camp? I was beginning to worry you would simply leave after all your skulking, and I would have to bring you back."
The hooded figure stiffened at his words, before the distinct voice of Tissiphina rang out as she removed her hood "I didn't know you spoke our tongue."
"I must if I wish to conquer your people." Hamilcar bluntly replied, his eyes scanning the beautiful yet cold looking woman before him.
"...I suppose so." Tissiphina replied, her face the same mask of indifference she always wore, showcasing nothing of her thoughts.
"Now tell me, what brings the honourable lady of the Enkada Clan here this late at night, on the eve of the most important battle of this war?" Hamilcar asked.
"Before I answer, I have two questions if you don't mind." Tissiphina earnestly said.
"...Alright then." Hamilcar agreed after a moment's thought, his curiosity peeked.
"Thank you." She began by offering her gratitude, before continuing in a clearly tactful way "I understand that you are the supreme military commander of this war Lord Hamilcar, but are you authorized to make peace as well?"
"What do you mean, my lady? Please speak freely." He asked, feeling as though she meant more than she spoke.
Realizing that he was not a man who would be easily insulted when questioned on his authority, she breathed a silent sigh of relief, and decided to be direct, as she bluntly asked "Will your master, the one you call emperor honour any deal you make here today?"
"Yes." Hamilcar answered without hesitation.
Sensing no dishonesty from him, Tissiphina again exhaled a breathe of relief and then asked her second question "How strong are you lord Hamilcar?"
Hamilcar looked at her with narrowed eyes, his brows stitched to each other as he tried to understand why she would ask such a question. He was obviously not afraid of her leaking this information, since most of the world already knew and he planned for the rest to be informed tomorrow.
He was also unconcerned if she were to threaten him with a martial master from the south, firstly because if that did in fact happen, Hamilcar would most likely thank her as he could finally have a good fight, and secondly because he knew that the southern clans of the Murathicus lands had erupted in civil war before anyone expected; something Hamilcar suspected that devil in the capital, Darius, to have a hand in doing.
But the main reason he was so concerned with this is because he saw hope for a peaceful resolution from Tissiphina's earlier words, and he didn't want to arbitrarily close such a door.
But while Hamilcar was taking a couple of seconds to better organize his thoughts, Tissiphina was growing increasingly anxious, though nothing showed on her cold exterior, so she quickly explained, she too fearing the failure of the discussions "Considering the fact that you were able to sense me enter your camp despite my best efforts to remain hidden, then that simply means you're power is greater than my own. So my question is only one meant to remove all doubt... and perhaps some guilt." She finished her words in a voice lower than that of a whisper, but for the ears of Hamilcar they were as clear as any word she had uttered so far.
Realizing that he was over complicating the issue, and not bothering with the those last few words of hers, Hamilcar answered honestly "The tenth rank of martial arts."
Yet instead of the reaction he expected of her body tensing up, she instead relaxed even more, as if the weight of the whole world had suddenly been lifted of her slender shoulders. Tissiphina then walked forward and elegantly took a seat in front of Hamilcar, her expression noticeably more at peace than when she first arrived.
Hamilcar gave her a second to collect her bearings, even though she didn't seem to require it before saying "I have answered all your questions Lady Tissiphina, now I believe it's your turn. Why have you come here this night?"
"That depends on the nature of our coming words." She said, and for the first time since a very long time, her facial muscles seemed to move as a subtle smirk played on the corner of her lips.
Amused by this, Hamilcar motioned for her to continue so she calmly stated "I offer the complete and total surrender of the Enkada Clan, in exchange for a few meaningless benefits I hope you will agree to. And as a gift to show our sincerity I also offer the heads of all the rebellious patriarchs of the Northern Coalition."
This time it was Hamilcar's turn to be shocked silent, not by her offer of surrender, as he'd expected that, but by the audacity of this woman to offer him as a gift of sincerity the heads of men he'd already practically taken as prisoners, as all he'd have to do is simply capture them tomorrow.
But he also understood that in a certain perspective she was also right, since she was the one who gathered all these dangerous enemies of the empire in one place, making it easy for him to get rid of them all, root and stem in one fell swoop. So he relented on this, nodded his head and asked "And what 'meaningless benefits' would entail such extravagant offers?"
"Your solemn word that no harm will befall any of my people whether rich or poor, man or woman, old or young; it does not matter all must be spared. I also require you to promise to absolve my people of every sin, crime or wrongdoing that they have committed against you and your people, especially my warriors. And finally that you do not transgress upon my authority and position in my clan and city, allowing us to retain some of autonomy." Tissiphina smoothly stated her conditions, who surprisingly enough were not too unreasonable.
As Hamilcar agreed to the first condition without any discussion. The second he haggled down to agreeing to absolve her men from their crimes, but they must a substantial some to the victim or the victim's families in return, with the sum changing depending on the offense commited. And finally her third condition was also easily accepted, since what she described was basically the same as any other noble in the empire who ruled their respective territories like petty kings, with the crown very rarely ever directly interfering in it's management, so he again readily agreed and even offered her the title of duchess.
The first duchess to be appointed in the Murathicus lands, as her strength fully entailed her to that right, but he did warn her that this might change depending on her performance in the coming months.
The two then spent the next few hours discussing the finer details of the future, especially tomorrow's battle plan which had to be completely changed now, before they finally bid each other farewell after a very productive discussion.
***Back to the present***
Tissiphina looked at the dispairing men before her and finally said in a matter of fact tone. "To defend that which is most important to me."