Whispers of a Dead Empire

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"Ms. Alessia, what is mother doing?"

I glanced down towards the child before looking back at the Empress. It's scary how much they look alike, though I don't think she has noticed yet. "She is leading a construction project to expand the domain." I rested my beloved pole ax against my shoulder and crossed my arms as I stood under a tree. I was far enough away that I wouldn't be noticed by anyone, but close enough that I could get to my Empress in the blink of an eye.

Nyx scrunched her face as she stared at her mother. "I don't understand why she would do such menial labor when she has an army of servants at her beck and call."

I shook my head, feeling a bit exasperated by her mindset. It's incredible how far away she was from her mother in that regard. "That's how she has always been. She wouldn't ask of us, something that she wouldn't be willing to do herself."

The little girl shook her head slightly. "I don't understand."

I reached out and patted Nyx's head, eliciting a purr from her. "One day, you will. Anyway, come along, let's go visit the rest of the domain."

"Okay!" She jumped up and tried to rush ahead of me.

But I reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her back. "No, stay next to me."

She groaned and stamped her foot on the ground in response. "Why! I wish to run around and play!"

"Because there are many dangers that exist out there, and if anything were to happen to you, your mother would have my head." I told her as I pulled her back into step beside me.

Her gaze flickered from me back to the woods as she processed the words. "But I'm a dragon! I can protect myself!"

"It doesn't matter. You know what the Empress said, don't you?"

A sigh of defeat escaped from her lips. "Fine. I'll listen, but only if you hold my hand." As she spoke, she reached her little hand up.

Such a needy child. I took her hand as we walked down one of the small paths that I made some neophytes make as we cut through the forest. Today's fog was thinner than it usually was and gave the forest a more etheric look as it clung to the trees. Chirps filled the air, along with the sound of various squirrels shuffling through the undergrowth.

Nyx was apparently enjoying herself as she looked around. "Ms. Alessia, what is that?" She asked as she pointed towards a few of the rodents scampering around the ground. Their fur was torn, and blood was congealed around open bite marks.

The animals, noticing us, scurried over. "These little guys are called squirrels. They live in the forest and don't really interact with anyone." I told her as I placed my poleaxe against a tree and squatted down, petting one gently on its head.

Nyx followed suit and reached out towards the closest of the rodents. The squirrel sniffed her hand before it stood on its hind legs, allowing her to pet it. A soft smile crossed her face, and I felt a strange feeling in my chest. The way she smiled reminded me much of how the Empress smiled, something she does less of lately, on top of wearing that mask now.

"Ms. Alessia, may I keep it?" Nyx's voice tore me from my thoughts, and I looked down at the little girl. Her face was locked in a pout as she held the little squirrel up for me to see.

"No, sadly, your mother has far too many animals in the royal area as it is."

Her face dropped a bit as she set the squirrel down, and it quickly scampered off with its family. "Okay."

"There, there, don't be sad. There are plenty of pets in the royal area for you to play with. Your mother even has a pack of wolves!" I told her as I rubbed my hand against her black hair.

The little girl perked up almost instantly at my words and the attention that she was getting. "Can we go visit them next?"

"Not yet. I want to finish showing you around the domain. Then we can go back, and you can play with them." I stood up and grabbed my poleaxe, and glanced around the forest. So far, it was clear there were no signs of the invaders. Just a few of the dark wraiths and phantoms from Amari's assassin division lurking nearby. Though by judging how Nyx was acting, she hadn't noticed them yet, which was good. Without saying a single word, I met the gaze of one of the dark wraiths, who quickly nodded its head as it vanished back into the shadows.

"I will agree to those terms then, Ms. Alessia." She replied as she dusted off her skirt and reached her little hand up to me.

I nodded as I took her hand and walked in the stronghold's direction. I might as well let her meet all who serve her mother.

We broke through the final tree line. The outline of the stronghold was hardly visible through the thick layer of fog that choked out much of the light. A dozen of the empire's soldiers stood near the entrance of the secret path, which I would generally forbid, but in the interest of the princesses' safety, it was something I would tolerate. At the behest of the detachment stood a centurion, who wielded two swords. His sickly flesh was dark, and a small splattering of slime on his face caught what little light that the fog didn't consume.

"Al…l..lessia.. W..elcome.." The centurion crossed his arm over his chest and struggled to finish the salute.

"Thank you," I replied as I strode out of the forest and quickly assessed our surroundings. My dark wraiths had spread out, creating a large perimeter around us, and the phantoms were close behind. The roads were empty, barring the troops as they were returning from patrols or leaving the stronghold.

"Ms. Alessia, who are they?" Nyx's small voice tore my gaze away from the area.

"These are your mother's soldiers. They protect these lands." I told her as I patted her head.

She pressed herself as close to me as she could. Her eyes were wide as she looked around at the various soldiers surrounding us. "They are scary." For a moment, her usual attitude vanished and was replaced with that of a scared child.

"Worry, not little one. These soldiers will give their lives to protect you." Usually, I would have never brought her this far out, but many of the invaders were busy fighting over one of the checkpoints, so we had some time before they were roaming again. Besides, it's not like they had a chance against me.

She remained quiet while she clung onto my pants leg as we made our way towards the stronghold. The soldiers surrounded us in a tight circle, shielding Nyx from view as we marched. I glanced through the throng of soldiers and took in the area until I noticed a small puff of a dark flame coming from one of the dark wraiths. I nodded my head as I placed my hand on Nyx's shoulder. "Hey, if we hurry to the stronghold, I'll talk your mother into giving you some head pats later," I whispered quietly as I tried to coax the child into moving a little faster.

"That sounds wonderful!" She perked up slightly, and she moved a little faster than before. The soldiers around me picked up the pace as I looked back at the dark wraith that sent the signal and gave it a single nod of my head.

The wraith melted back into the shadows as I turned my head and glanced at the large doors that were coming into view. The two soldiers that stood at attention there quickly spun on their heels and pressed their hands into the large doors. As the doors swung open, the deep sound of metal scraping against itself filled the air, barely drowning out the shrill sound of an invader getting cut down.

Unfortunately for me, the sound of the door opening didn't quite have the desired effect. "Ms. Alessia, what was that?"

"Just an animal," I told her as I patted her shoulder and pushed her further into the stronghold. As we walked in, the soldiers broke away and headed towards the central building. The training grounds were busy as a whole platoon was there training. The pyregrounds had a few soldiers there, building a new foundation as carts of the fallen were brought in. Handfuls of soldiers were out patrolling the walls while another platoon was near the breach of the wall, ready to strike.

The princess's eyes were wide as she looked around, clearly amazed at what she was seeing. "Wow, this place is wonderful!"

"That it is Nyx, that it is," I told her as I walked up the staircase and propped open the door for her. A few warrant officers were in the lobby, though doing what I wasn't sure. Sometimes the unawakened could be strange. They would stand around, lost in their memories. They would act out their last moments, other times, struggling to find a way out. However, those would receive the Empress's peace as they were quietly ushered back to rest.

We walked past the three warrant officers in the lobby and descended further into the building. Initially, I was going to come by here to check on the captain and the lieutenant to see how well they were faring while dealing with the invaders. But my job still had to be done, even if I had to take the princess along while doing it.