Chapter 17 (Ben10987654321)
In the great castle at the centre of what many consider the cursed lands of Apokolips, Lashina answered her Lord's summons. For what reason she had been called she did not know nor was it her place to question. Her place was to serve and serve alone. She was sure her Lord must have an important task for her to be summoned away from leading her Lord's legions of Parademons in the conquest of First Earth. The war went well and along with those who were wise enough to ally themselves with her Lord soon all the lands of First Earth would fall under her Lord's dominion. Soon her Lord would be the unquestioned Emperor of all that existed.
Lashina entered the throne room and noticed her Lord's advisor Desaad at his usual place by her Lord's side. She kneeled before her Lord. "You summoned me my Lord."
"I did indeed." Her Lord's voice boomed throughout the chamber. "I sense that those foolish enough to oppose us are gathering their forces for a final stand."
"They shall fall before you my Lord. I give you my assurance."
"They shall indeed fall but it is best if the conquest of Gothamworth is accelerated. Go to Daileth. Contact my servant there and instruct him that Gothamworth must be conquered sooner than originally envisioned."
"Yes my Lord," Lashina replied obediently.
Her Lord continued his warnings. "Also I see that a widowed man seeks revenge upon my servant. He must be warned. You know I have little care for his meaningless life Lashina but I still require his services. Only after I have gotten everything I require from him shall I end his life or maybe I shall let you have that honour."
Lashina hoped her Lord let her have that honour but she never said so. "I will do whatever pleases my Lord."
"Then go Lashina. Depart with all haste."
She nodded in obedience. She then stood and departed quickly. This task was far below a warrior of her skill. She belonged to her Lord's Elite warriors known throughout all the Kingdoms as the Female Furies as they were all female but it was not her place to question. If her Lord wished that she do this task then she will do this task.
With all due haste she headed for the stables to seek the fastest steed she can. Daileth was distant and not yet conquered but as it was ruled over by her Lord's servant conquering it would not be necessary. She knew that it was planned in time that he would overthrow the King of Metria allowing that kingdom too to effectively fall under her Lord's dominion.
Choosing a fine looking steed which the lackey assured her was the swiftest Lashina mounted it and rode out under the ash filled sky. Apokolips was ringed with many active volcanoes which spewed smoke and ash into the sky. Lava flowed like rivers and pooled in pits of fire. Only the strong survived here. The weak perished as was their rightful fate. She departed for Daileth where she would find the one she sought. Its Duke. Alexander Luthor.
Duchess Lois Luthor as it was now laid in her bed unable to sleep. She had not been able to since her dear cousin Lana had been murdered. Lana had tried to warn her of her husband Duke Alexander Luthor. Lana tried to tell Lois that he was not whom he appeared and after being married to him for only a short period of time Lois had come to the same conclusion. Before they were married he had been charming and thoughtful. Now he was little more than a brute both in and out of bed. Lois had concluded that he only wanted her to conceive an heir for him something which she had not yet managed. Thank Rao for that.
She had also been keeping a much closer watch on her husband's coming and goings. He often vanished off at night. To where Lois did not know but she felt that if she was going to survive long term she better find out so when her husband vanished she had been searching through his study trying to work out what he was up to but Alexander had been very careful to ensure he locked up his documents so Lois had found little so far.
Unable to bear lying here any longer Lois decided to get up and take a walk around the castle. This was only a temporary home. Alexander was having a new much larger one built which reflected his new status as a Duke. Once she had left the bedroom she wandered the dimly lit corridors, her bare feet softly padding on the stone floor. The guards on duty paid her no attention. Her wanderings at night in nothing but her nightgown had become a habit they were all too familiar with. As she approached her husband's study she could see fire light under the door. It seemed her husband was home tonight after all. As she neared she heard voices both male and female. Had her husband taken a mistress on already? Lois tiptoed as silently as she could until she could make out what was being said.
"I told you never to come here." Alexander sounded most aggravated.
"I care not about the charade you play to live your pitiful life," the woman said in scornful retort. "I only care what my Lord commands and so should you. Do not forget Luthor what he has done for you."
"I have not forgotten. In return he should not forget what I have done for him. It was I that reunited the War Lords. It was I that gathered them from the 4 corners of First Earth where they scattered to after their defeat in the Crusades. It has been my strategies that have led them to overrun Rann and Tamaran."
"That may be true but do not forget it was my Lord that allowed you use of his Parademons to assist you. Without that you would lack the numbers to conquer anything."
"Your Lord is nothing but a disembodied spirit. Only through me can he hope to retake corporeal form."
"He may not be whole yet but when he regains his full power and is reborn nothing in this world will stop him."
"I am sure that is what he thought last time too. We both know how that ended."
The woman growls loudly. "What happened then no longer matters. Those responsible are gone."
"Those responsible," Alexander repeats. "The Lost Kingdom of Krypton. That was who was responsible wasn't it. They defeated your Lord, stripped him of his body and banished him to the Realm of Phantoms."
"They are dead. Extinct." The woman was sounding most angry.
"So your Lord has no fear of the prophesy then."
"What prophesy?"
"The one involving the Last Son of a lost kingdom who will defeat your Lord once and for all."
"Even if there was one left my Lord would not fear him. It took the Kryptonians and their allies combined to win last time. One is no threat and they are so few allies left to turn to who hold the Kryptonian values. The Kryptonians and their legacy will soon be washed from history."
"And I have assisted greatly in the endeavour of removing their legacy," he reminded her.
"The Knights of Kandor were mere shadows of what once was. Fools who thought they could preserve the Kryptonian way."
"And I removed them," Alexander repeats.
"Very well if you insist on receiving praise then I congratulate you on getting rid of the Knights," the woman said with great reluctance and a great deal of insincerity. "Now if we are finished debating ancient history and foolish prophecies can we get to why I am here."
"Yes. Why are you here?"
"On my Lord's command," the woman tells Alexander. "He can see beyond what mere mortals can. He can see those still free preparing to make their final stand. He can see a widower preparing to seek his revenge upon you."
"Ah Lord Peter. Yes I am aware of his plans. He shall fail to kill me. You can assure you Lord of that."
"You are aware?" the woman spoke with some disbelief.
"I have a spy in his court," Alexander informed the woman.
"Very well. Then I shall pass my on my Lord's command and will depart. He wishes Gothamworth's conquest to be speeded up before our enemies can mount a proper defense. Instruct the War Lords accordingly."
"But of course. I live to serve the Emperor."
"As do we all."
At the sound of footsteps moving inside the room towards the door Lois made a hasty retreat as the door to the study is opened. She dared not look back. She reached the bed chamber barely able to believe what she heard. Her husband was responsible for the War Lords' ruthless conquest of the Kingdoms of First Earth. Her husband served this mysterious Emperor whose name no-one knew. Lana had been right.
What has she gotten herself married into?
Lois needed time to think. Warning Lord Peter was a priority. If her husband knew what Peter was planning then he is walking into a trap. She had already lost her cousin Lana who had attempted to warn her. The least she could do in return is try and save Lana's husband but she would have to be cautious. If Alexander has a spy in Peter's court then who knows how many other spies he has and where they are hidden. For all Lois knew her Ladies-in-waiting could be her husband's spies. To warn Peter she must find someone she trusted without question.
Maybe...maybe she could go to her father who was Captain of the King's Guards. He was an honourable man and loyal to the King of Metria, Mordred. Lois had this feeling that her husband's ambitions would not be limited to merely being a Duke. If she told her father he would be willing to help her in the cause of helping the King. She would have to impress upon her father the need to secrecy though. Her father's first reaction would be to arrest her husband. However her husband was probably too powerful for the moment to be removed from his position. Any attempt to do so might plunge Metria into civil war and leave it helpless in front of the War Lords. Careful planning would be required to remove her husband but leave Metria able to defend itself.
Lois moved over to her bed and sat down. Her husband probably did not even consider she was smart enough to even think about these things let alone work out a way to do them. After all she was a woman in a society that looked down on women as second class, inferior, fit only to produce children but her father had made sure that she had been well educated. Lois always considered herself a clever, resourceful person who could have done much in a society that treated woman as equals.
She lied down. She would sleep and in the morning work out in detail how to do what needed to be done now. As she closed her eyes she thinks on some of the conversation she overheard. Kryptonians? She thought them myths. She can remember her father telling her stories about them when she was a child. Long ago they defeated some great evil. Banished it from the land. Lois cannot recall the details but has a feeling it must be important.
The Knights of Kandor were part of their legacy. That is what her husband had said more or less. What did that mean?
The Knights were imprisoned in the magic bottle her husband had used on them so asking them was not an option. The only Knight left was the one she had courted. The disgraced Kal-El. She had judged him and the Knights harshly she recalled due to their use of magic. Right now she would give a lot to have him here to help her get out of the situation she found herself in. Problem there was she did not know where Kal-El was. She had heard rumours of him offering his services to anyone who would pay him. Even of him working as a labourer but nothing recently. She wondered if he ever thought of her or if he did whether he hated her for the way she had condemned him along with everyone else. Along with marrying Alexander she can now see she had made a terrible mistake. Her last thought before she actually managed to drift off to sleep was a silent prayer that she could somehow undo her mistakes.
Alexander returned to his study after he had made sure Lashina left. Her coming here had risked exposing his alliance to the War Lords. He had controlled his anger in her presence out of sheer necessity. He had seen Lashina fight and knew she possessed great skill along with some sort of magic strips of metal that could produce lightning at her will. He had had no wish to be on the receiving end of that. He had placated her to by saying she would do what the Emperor commanded.
The Emperor.
Alexander almost laughed at the ridiculousness of it all. It was concocted up to hide the fact that Lashina's Lord was a powerless ghost and had been for countless centuries since his defeat at the hands of the Kryptonians.
He knew this well as he was well versed in the ancient stories. It was his knowledge of them that had compelled him years ago to travel to the forbidden lands. To the Kingdom of Apokolips. It was when he was there he had found out the true fate of its ruler. That he had been banished to another Realm where he had no form. Alexander also learned that the chaos of the Crusades had allowed the Lord of Apokolips to crack open a doorway back into the world. Apokolips' Lord fed on chaos and fear. It strengthened him and Alexander realised he suddenly had something to offer one who was once as powerful as a god. Alexander offered to unite the War Lords. To bring chaos to all the kingdoms to feed the Lord of Apokolips and allow him to re-enter this world. To aid this fear the title of Emperor was though up.
The afore mentioned 'Emperor' agreed and gave Alexander his Parademons to assist in the conquest of the kingdoms of First Earth. Everything was going the way Alexander wanted. Even Lord Peter's raising of an army to gain vengeance on him for Peter's dear wife's death, his dear interfering wife who stuck her nose where it did not belong, was useful. Instead of speeding up the conquest of Gothamworth it gave Alexander an excuse to delay it. He would await Lord Peter with the combined armies of the War Lords plus legions of Parademons and crush Lord Peter totally. This would add Rossvale to Alexander's holdings and make him more powerful than King Mordred. Alexander would then overthrow Mordred and have himself made king. He wouldn't even have to resort to war to do so.
Alexander would portray Lord Peter as a hostile invader that he defeated. It would seem to the people of Metria that he not Mordred was the only one who could protect them. He knew of the people's fear at the stories of the War Lords. After all he himself had spread many of them. The people already held him in great esteem for what had transpired with the Knights of Kandor. These two things combined would force Mordred to abdicate the throne in favour of Alexander and if the King was stubborn about it and refused to go then Alexander still had the option of an armed takeover to fall back on. After all without the Knights of Kandor to protect the King it wasn't as if there was a force left that could oppose him should he have to resort to force.
The Knights of Kandor or rather what they hid from him. That is why Alexander had no wish to speed up the conquest of Gothamworth. That would only increase the Lord of Apokolips' power. Alexander needed it slowed down until he found a way to vanquish him. That is what he had hoped to find in the many books the Knights held. They possessed knowledge of magic that would make him powerful but they also contained knowledge of things long forgotten. Knowledge from the lost Kingdom of Krypton. Knowledge that would bring him ultimate power but the books were gone. Taken before he could get to them and none of the Knights would tell him where they were.
Alexander went over to a locked cabinet. He retrieved the key from a chain around his neck. He would not leave it anywhere else but on his person. He opened the cabinet and retrieved an ancient scroll. He gently carried it to his desk. It was extremely fragile. He unrolled it. This scroll was the other reason he had hoped to gain access to the books of the Knights of Kandor. The scroll was written in the ancient language of Krypton and he had hoped to find knowledge that would help him translate it. He had only been able to translate tiny parts of it. The prophecy of the Last Son he mentioned to Lashina was one part. Another in an even more obscure dialect had been much harder to decipher. He had only managed to translate 3 words.
Cup of Ages.
Alexander did not know yet what it was but he felt deep down it was the key to everything. The key to vanquishing all those who opposed him including the Lord of Apokolips. The key to having ultimate power.
The Lord of Apokolips no doubt believed that he was using Alexander as a tool to restore himself. Alexander was using him as an aid to conquer all the kingdoms for himself. It was a dangerous game he knew but the rewards would be great. When it was all over it would be he, Alexander Luthor, who would be the Emperor of First Earth.
Back in Apokolips Desaad waits for his Lord's next command. He stands and stares at the column of fire in the centre of the Throne Room. It was not real fire. It was a doorway to the Realm of Phantoms that his Lord had been imprisoned to centuries ago by the Kryptonians. It was through this castle, this throne room, that his Lord was able to feed. The structure channeled the fear and chaos of the world to his Lord and fed him. It did so even through the barrier between Realms. Something Desaad is certain the Kryptonians had not realised when they banished his Lord.
It was the chaos created by the War Lords and the subsequent Crusades that had made his Lord strong. Strong enough to crack a door between the realms but not quite strong enough for his Lord to return and take physical form. However as the Kingdoms of First Earth fell the time neared when his Lord would once more walk the lands of First Earth.
The time neared when people would cower in fear at the mere mention of his Lord's name.
The time neared when his Lord would sit on his throne once more as Emperor of First Earth.
None will stand in his way. Not the remaining free kingdoms like Doma, Almerac, Metria and Gothamworth. Not even the Elven kingdom of Themyscira. The Kryptonians had been a mighty race and even they had not the power to permanently destroy his Lord. It took all their power, all their knowledge to merely banish him. When Gothamworth fell Desaad was certain that would grant his Lord the necessary strength to return to this world and once more assume his physical form.
'Yes,' Desaad thought to himself with assuredness at his assessment. His Lord's time had truly come again.
It was the dawn of a new age.
It was the dawn of the age of Darkseid.
