Interlude X

Ghane Everheart

Northern Belkin Plains

Ghane’s hands began to tremble slightly, they got this way when he didn’t hold his mithril spear in his hands. But now the episodes were getting worse, especially the more he used the power from the first pillar. The power from the pillars was like a drug. He had heard tales of how some of his soldiers would often use the turning-leafs to take the edge off after battle. At one time he had considered such men cowardly for not facing the aftermath of battle head on. Yet now he saw things differently.

His rise to power had been meteoric. It started with taking out a bandit camp that tried to rob him of his spear. After that the local village that had been terrorized by the group of bandits came forward to express their gratitude. He got his first follower then, Benine Fereld. The man was as annoying as he was a competent warrior. While Benine had skill, Ghane had shear strength and speed. Together the two developed quite a name and a following.

At first, they roamed around the wilder lands freeing villages from attacks. Benine quickly took over as he was better at logistics and planning. Most of the time Ghane had a hard time even focusing through the spikes of pain going through his mind and body. He felt simultaneously powerful when he wielded the energy from the dark pillars, but also felt drained after battles.

The two made a good pair. Ghane was the spear that relentlessly drove forward. Benine was the guide for the spear, the one who directed the spear and helped the spear find balance when the battles were over. The only problem was that Benine realized the toll that the constant attacks were having on Ghane. The way he looked more and more drained after each subsequent battle.

While his strength and speed never faltered during battle, he had been losing weight at a rapid pace. Now barely more than a skeletal warrior, far from the high wood elven image he began to appear.

Many assumed that Benine was in fact some form of eldrich lich. A person who found a valiant warrior spirit of a long dead high wood elf and reincarnated the being back into existence. This rumor and rumors like these only helped turn the tides of battles easier.

Within months Benine had established a loyal group of warriors. Then they conquered their first places of power, cities that had long been abandoned by the Belkins governments as being too far away to properly guard. Instead, so long as the crooked politicians who ran the cities gave a hefty tithing to the government no one cared.

Benine having grown up under the yolk of such dictators and war chiefs sought to change this way of life. If he was going to be ruled by a war chief, then he should be that chief. With Ghane as his second and first in line to challenge Benine for leadership of the group no one tried to lay claim to his leadership position. Ghane himself had a few challengers for the right of second and thus next in line to try for the throne. Those challengers were swiftly and soundly beaten. Some once promising soldiers had been so crippled by attacks that even healers were unable to properly fix the damages. Those once proud warriors now served as medics or supply clerks, unable to carry out actual combat. With such warriors as examples none dared challenge Ghane, which of course meant that none dared challenge Benine.

With his position secured, he made sure to do everything he could to strengthen his primary asset, Ghane. One night after hearing of how he first came to the spear, and then how he then came to his power Benine sent out scouts to search the countryside for more dark pillars.

They eventually found one. The pillar itself was easy to spot. Not only was it easily identifiable by both regular and magical sight. The crows and scavenger birds circled high above the pillar. Corpses and bodies of people and animals alike who tried to bond with the pillar could be seen from kilometers away.

The entire image looked like something out of a horror story. One where it would be expected for for demonic monsters to rise from the ground and strike anyone down who drew too close. Even the corpses of those who had succumbed to the poisonous energies of the pillar seemed well preserved.

As Benine and his most trusted group of soldiers approached the pillar a shutter of anticipation and fear could be felt washing over everyone. Even the normally lost, when not in battle, Ghane was paying full attention to the sight before him.

Where the power of the pillar ended, and the line of safety began was easy to notice. The pillar had been up and active for so long that the soil had begun to turn black with the dark energy of the pillar.

Benine had originally planned to take the pillar for himself, especially after hearing about how powerful Ghane got after interacting with the pillar. But before he or anyone else could make up their minds to go Renwalt, one of the few warriors who had challenged Ghane and only managed to sustain minor injuries in the duel charged forward.

At first others wanted to reach out, to stop him. But he was fast. His horse was galloping at full speed even before anyone had a chance to realize what he intended to do.

He entered the outer ring of death that seemed to be enough to kill off most smaller forms of life. Even from so far away the horses’ hooves could be heard crunching against hundreds of insects that had succumbed to the malevolent energy.

Then ten more paces and the horse collapsed.

Whinny.

The horse was writhing on the ground frothing from the mouth. Worse Renwalt was still tied to the beast and found his leg pinned under the thrashing animal.

Crunch.

His leg shattered as the beast flailed about wildly, before succumbing to the effects of the pillar within ten breaths.

“AHH!” Renwalt cried out in pain. “Help.”

Renwalt cried out, reaching back to the line of soldiers and comrades who he had served with for so long. The same comrades who he had abandoned in an attempt to gain unprecedented amounts of power.

Everyone but Ghane looked away from the gruesome sight.

If anyone had wanted to take the power of the pillar for themselves, they quickly stopped as they saw their fellow soldier. Even though it wasn’t immediate the signs of the pillar affecting even Renwalt were apparent as a black film began to take hold of his skin.

Bleuch.

A few of the soldiers turned and vomited from the sight. Both the sight and the inability to charge forward into what was obviously a death trap to save their fellow brother at arms was nerve wracking.

After a few seconds of this Ghane began moving forward.

“Thank you, brother.” Renwalt said, relief evident in his voice as he saw his brother moving forward to help him.

Benine for his part almost wanted to stop Ghane from going forward, he couldn’t stand to lose the soldier who had helped propel him to such vaunted heights. A part of him also wanted the pillar for himself, but after seeing the effects Benine would not be able to go any further. Instead, he waited and watched.

Ghane strode forward with single minded determination. Walking right up to and then past Renwalt.

Renwalt went from looking relieved, to confused, and then finally to anger at having been left behind while Ghane continued onward to the pillar. But Renwalt dared not say a word, instead his face told of the rage and indignation he felt inside.

“Help me brother.” Renwalt pleaded as Ghane strode forward, his hand clasped tightly to his famed mithril spear.

Ghane for his part only looked back once. As he did a red glow filled his eyes. That was the look of the predator of the battlefield. That was also the soul rending look that made many thing Ghane was some reanimated hell beast who went at the beck and call of Benine.

Seeing the two piercing eyes Renwalt paused and sunk in to himself, trying to take up less space.

With Renwalt properly cowed, Ghane continued forward. This was all bravado of course, inside Ghane felt like his heart was racing with equal parts fear and excitement. Fear for he did not know if he would be able to take on more power. Excitement for the fact that he would have a chance at even more power.

He strode up to the pillar and was greeted with the same message. The message that allowed him to either take in the power or release the power to the land. With his mind resolved and his hand clasping his famed spear he chose to take the power.

What happened next was a scene that would be described and chronicled by the Benine forces. This was the true turning point in their rise to power. The time when they went from being a roaming band of marauders, to a true powerhouse.

The power poured out of the dark pillar.

The dark malevolent energy that had been radiating from the pillar slowly drained away and flowed into Ghane. As the power slowly drained so too did the corrupted look of the pillar. Instead of a charcoal black, the pillar slowly faded to a soft ivory color.

All the while the darkness that had seeped into the land also began to dissipate. The birds that had been circling high overhead, somehow aware of the true range of the dark pillar’s malevolence slowly began to descend. Until finally the power was drained completely. With the last vestiges of the power being removed the crows and scavengers fell to the ground like a dark blanket.

Ghane who had begun to look gaunt, now appeared full of life and vitality. His compact muscles now bulged with renewed vigor and vitality. Renwalt could even swear that he had grown a few centimeters at least.

Ghane began to walk past the still trapped Renwalt.

“Wait, will you help me brother?” Renwalt pleaded.

Two glowing red eyes turned to Renwalt. Renwalt involuntarily shuttered at the gaze. This was the look of a predator who found you so far beneath him, that it might rather let you die pinned under a rock than eat you himself.

Renwalt waited for what felt like hours but was only seconds.

Finally, Ghane nodded to himself and walked over. With one strong hand he grabbed Renwalt hard by the shoulder and yanked.

“Ahh!” Renwalt screamed as the force to his shoulder and the weight on his broken and crushed leg were almost too much to bear.

Then he felt his limp body being dragged.

“What?” Renwalt asked looking up over his shoulder to the male, no monster who was dragging him.

“You can’t walk.” Ghane all but growled in a low guttural voice that sent shivers down Renwalt’s back. Looking at the person who had at one point been within his league, Renwalt couldn’t help but feel dwarfed by the being before him. What had once been a person who was easily within reach if he just tried a little harder was now leaps and bounds ahead of him in almost all ways possible.

Before he knew it, he was back in the line of his fellow elite soldiers. Renwalt initially wondered what would happen. Would he have to ride with Ghane? If so, how would he get in the saddle. The answer to these questions and more were quickly answered.

The answer was yes, he would ride a horse. No, he would not ride with Ghane as apparently whatever changes happened to him from the pillar caused even Nag, his faithful warhorse to be afraid of him. That horse wasn’t afraid of anything, well anything other than Ghane.

Ghane sung to Nag, causing the beast to draw still for a second. After which point Ghane put Renwalt on the saddle. How Renwalt got up there was simple, overwhelming strength of Ghane. Renwalt was thrown up onto the saddle like he was little more than a small sack of potatoes.

Once on the saddle Ghane took a step back to lock eyes with the horse. The horse looked away first in a clear sign of submission. Again, this was all odd behavior as normally no one could even look at the beast without it rearing up and trying to strike you with a hoof.

“Try not to kill this one.” Ghane said to Renwalt, before he turned and began first walking and then slowly his gate turned into a run, then a full-on sprint.

The others just stared first at Benine and then back at Ghane who was charging straight for their camp. Then as one everyone turned back to look at Benine. Benine for his part just shrugged and said the immortal words, “I guess we now need to find our next target.”