Inferno Ascended

"NO!!!!! YOU TRAITORS!!!! YOU WILL PAY ME FOR THIS!!!" Alexandre screamed as he struggled against Glax and Rasmus. They were on the ship that brought supplies from the south to the region, and that would return to Echelion that morning.

The two men were trying to contain the furious Kroton boy, who could not accept his master's decision to send him back home. "I didn't do anything wrong!!! Let me go with you!!!!" He was crying but his tears resulted from his frustration and anger.

He didn't understand why Glax had suddenly decided to go without further ado to Erimos, and also decided that he could no longer be his master.

"It's the best for you! I'm going to Erimos! Go back to your family! You have nothing to learn from me. I'm on a personal mission!" Glax was convinced that following the rules was no longer of any use. 

"You. Are. My family! It's not fair!" Alexandre clenched his jaw, looking at his new cousin in disgust. "And if I'm not good to go to and from hell, like my father was, what am I for?!"

Glax swallowed, the lump in his throat and his stinging eyes a sign that he was losing his resolve. He wasn't prepared for this discussion full of conflicting feelings. He had to be the adult there.

"Don't try to convince me with this cheap argument. Not everyone has to go to hell and back to prove some worth. Also, I plan to go to Erimos, not the Underworld. I'm not the spectacular warrior you thought I was. I thought you already knew that. You saw me in action."

"Alright, I fight for both of us!"

"Oh man. How humiliating." He gaped. Alexandre continued,

"Besides, you are excellent in other ways. You are the champion. You are the chosen one of the ancient gods." 

"Would you like to keep it down, please?! And besides, I'm not the chosen one of the old gods. I just… have a deal with Hermes."

"It doesn't matter! I don't want to go home! Don't reject me, master!"

"Glax is right, Lord Alexandre. You are destined for important things. Your father agreed because he expected you to have a fun vacation with your cousin. You lost your favorite relative, your role model. But things scaled, and it's not a regular service in the North, but something else. You should listen to him. He is thinking about your future and present well-being."

Glax looked at Rasmus in surprise. His colleague had always shown himself to be a typical warrior, and even without many philosophical concerns. And suddenly, he was saying very profound things to Alexandre. 

While he realized with embarrassment and surprise that he had underestimated Rasmus, he promised to devote himself a little more to get to know the people around him.

"You cannot give me advice, Lord Rhoas!!! You brought several people with you."

Glax cut it off,

"Enough, Alekos. I enjoy your company and I know you are a good warrior. But I won't be irresponsible! It's decided. Lady Nyssa even agreed to go to Echelion to explain the Marbium situation in person, along with our letters. She'll be your guardian. And she needs a decent bodyguard. Take care of her safety!" It was not quite true that Lady Nyssa needed protection, as her husband accompanied her. But the Valosian wanted to make young Kroton feel relevant.

But it didn't work.

"GRRRR! You just want to get rid of me because your best friend has arrived! You guys will have many adventures without me!" Alexandre growled.

"This is the plan. But we know they won't be fun adventures, as you think. This discussion no longer makes sense, Alekos. Hate me if you want. I'm putting your life in the first place. Farewell." He decided to put a stop to it at this point, when he was really feeling bad for sending the boy back. 

Handing Alekos to the sailors, he turned away, and walked down the ship's ramp without looking back.

::::::::::::::::

Upon returning to the fort, Glax gathered all the soldiers and hyperetes who were not on the watch for a meeting in the common room.

Climbing to a higher place for all to see, he began his little speech.

"Soldiers of Marbium, I appreciate the confidence you've given me these past few days. Unfortunately, we lost another tagmatarchis recently, and a lead has yet to be appointed. I don't need to say how a fort becomes disorganized when too many heads decide. Soon disunity and confusion prevail. But I won't fill your ears with unnecessary words. I propose an election of a leader, who organizes the fort until further notice."

Many warriors were confused, and many questions followed.

"Why not you?"

"Is this allowed?"

"Who will choose the nominees?"

"Can non-krios also be nominated?"

"Will this person be responsible for all of us?"

And many other questions.

Glax didn't have an answer for all of them, but he clarified every point he could. 

"They assigned me a mission. As I said, we are not electing a new tagmatarchis, or even a lochios. We are just defining a person whom all matters should be taken to during the absence of official leadership. A person who is experienced and has practical sense. Someone who thinks less about heroism than about doing what needs to be done. Let it be pragmatic. Everyone can name someone they trust. And to see if everyone agrees that non-Krios have an equal opportunity, those in favor of this idea raise your hand now."

It was no surprise that it split the group, and only an official count declared that non-krios could be nominated. The soldiers were mostly krios.

The soldiers joked with each other, threatening to nominate their friends, while some groups agreed on some names that had natural leadership.

Glax saw that Kal's name was quite popular. He was also known to the soldiers from Rusa who came to Marbium. And the residents of Marbium were comfortable with him.

The conversations evolved, in an even agitated way, until four names came up. Among them are Kal and Lady Pydna, who has been heavily involved in organizing the fort and teams in recent days. 

Glax knew she didn't like the spotlight, but a Damastios was the option that most appealed to the krios most resistant to real democracy. Kal asked her to accept the nomination, and for a change, she reluctantly accepted.

Then Glax sat down with the urn. Each of the soldiers went to Zotikos to record their vote, which he wrote for them and placed in the urn.

The sentry soldiers came when their shifts were up, and they voted too.

Glax already guessed the result would be tight. But Kal won by a few votes.

The Aegeon warrior was happy to be recognized by his colleagues.

He was in Marbium for 6 years. 

And Glax was pleased, too. He had been fighting over whom to vote for, but in the end, he had voted for Kal.

He remembered how the warrior had worried about the life of the team, and how Kal had even argued with him after the factory explosion, for his irresponsibility. Besides, he knew the region better than Lady Pydna, who was a newcomer. While both might be good leaders, Kal had a slight advantage.

But Kalliaris saw his own shortcomings in his acceptance speech.

"Each of the nominees could be the best person to keep the fort under control, but I was glad you guys trusted me. While accepting responsibility, I want to say that I need help. And if Lady Pydna can accept it, I would like her to help me directly to take care of everything. Lady Pydna has the education to write the letters and speak the things I cannot. She can advise me well. If she accepts."

"Since it's temporary, I can help." She agreed with her usual aloofness. 

The entire election process seemed to excite the group as a whole. Many had suggestions.

And Glax could walk away with the feeling that Marbium would soon become strong again with a cohesive team. Without that feeling of terror and wounded pride he noticed when he arrived.

Only a few hours had passed, and he was already missing Alexandre.

Clearing his throat and determined to keep going with his plans to officially go as an Echelian army spy to Erimos, and hunt down Mech-Eye. He went to look for Parin, the girl who came with Ras.

Glax found the girl with the refugees. She and her brother stood out for having dark skin, darker hair and eyes than was more usual among Echelians. Parin wore her hair short and lots of layered clothes. 

The Valosian would easily label her as someone of Near Eastern origin, if she were in his ancient world.

Little Atos, who couldn't have been over 6 or 7 years old, was playing with Frixo and Hele, and other children. From time to time the boy looked for his sister with his eyes, to make sure she was there. She waved back. 

Glax approached. 

He was feeling a little sentimental this afternoon, probably because of Alexandre's departure by default. But as he watched the scene for a moment before approaching, he wondered if all these people would be all right.

Glax had no idea what it was like to be a soul in Hades waiting for a chance to leave, but everyone struggled to survive in Stygia. He imagined that each of them had an interesting and possibly painful story. If in the past he viewed people as NPCs in a game, that wasn't true anymore.

Parin was not just a source of information. She was a person. He wondered what dreams and desires she might have. Why had she agreed to come?

It was time to ask some questions.