Streamers from falling starship debris shot across the blue sky as Mordauk, both Kojo and an emissary to Shadow Clan, pushed forward with the Stormlord's personal vanguard across the sandstone plateau. Dozens of guards marched in a defensive formation around the imposing Stormlord with his flowing black cape and his high helm adorned with two sets of horns taken from a golgarlak beast. Battle horns taken from the same beasts sounded all across the plateau. The ground rumbled beneath the feet of the Umpala legions, big gorilla-like beings with short dark fur of dark gray and big round heads. The rounded head revealed their odd genetic heritage by being adorned with scales rather than fur and sporting big round reptilian eyes.
Battle was being waged on the planet the humans had once called Athene, back before their race fell. The Shadow Clan legions thundered forward and crashed against the Fire Clan, storms of blue lightning erupting in the middle of close combat as both sides fired upon each other in the middle of hacking and slashing with their kubastans. Dozens of legions, each near five thousand strong, battled across the barren, sand-colored landscape.
Though he was Kojo, a disciple of the Doomsayer and a member of the Sacred Ring, today Mordauk blended in with the regular Shadow Clan warriors. Like they, he bore a kubastan, an energy weapon attached to and extending the length of his forearm that included spikes extending outward from the shaft and large curved blade at the end like a bayonet. The traditional small round shield adorned his left forearm. The legions all donned metallic breastplates and greaves on their arms and legs, a legacy of the war with the humans and their battle staffs.
Mordauk had been a warrior once, but now he had become so much more.
Outwardly he looked like any other Umpala, but as a disciple of the Doomsayer, he commanded the mystical energies of the Gorhah, the hidden reality. More than just a diviner, he wielded these forces to pave the way for the coming of the Ninth Avatar. Not only had Mordauk heard the pronouncements of the Doomsayer, but he had experienced his visions as well. The Ninth Avatar would bring a new age of Umpala dominion over much of the galaxy, and Mordauk intended to be one of the great lords whose mere whim could annihilate entire worlds, entire races.
"Push the defilers into the sea," the Stormlord Gardodadogaur roared over the din of battle as a squadron of sky-warriors streaked by overhead, each achieving powered flight via the flying-wing strapped to their backs.
Mordauk could smell the salty undertones of the ocean wafting through the stink of battle and gore, but he knew the ocean to be miles away. The battle had proved larger than he had expected. He had assumed that the Fire Clan would fight just long enough to satisfy their honor and then withdraw.
That was what he had instructed of the Fire Clan anyway. He did not officially speak for the Doomsayer in this matter, but he had expected the words of a Kojo, a member of the Sacred Ring, to be given more thoughtful consideration than it had. Stubborn old Nuadook, the Stormlord of Fire Clan, would pay for his disobedience to the Kojo. Mordauk smiled grimly as he thought of disemboweling Nuadook in front of Fire Clan's elders and forcing them to eat his entrails as he screamed in agony.
A sonic boom from an extra-large piece of wreckage streaking across the sky distracted Mordauk from his wistful thoughts and his mood soured as he glanced up. He didn't give a damn about the carnage among the legions, but the starships he did care about. The remains of several different ships littered fiery meteorites through the sky.
All this jockeying for position before the coming of the Ninth Avatar seemed to be complicating Mordauk's plans. Nuadook probably thought it worth the risks to try and secure a better position for Fire Clan before the Ninth Avatar suspended open hostilities between the clans. Generations ago during the war with the humans, the Eighth Avatar had united the clans and had forbidden any open war between them. A certain amount of covert warfare continued of course, but it had proven difficult for any clan to improve their status until the Eighth Avatar withdrew, after the humans had been defeated and their ability to travel the stars had been crushed.
Mordauk could see Nuadook's logic, his desire to secure what he can before it's too late. The Eighth Avatar had ruled for only one generation, but the Doomsayer predicted that the Ninth Avatar would rule for at least one hundred generations. If it were but a matter of Fire Clan versus Shadow Clan, Mordauk could appreciate Nuadook's actions, even if they were short-sighted — the new age would open up much of the galaxy for conquest. But to defy one of the Kojo, that was unwise.
To defy Mordauk's personal ambitions, that was a different matter entirely.
The rage at Fire Clan’s defiance started to swell within him, but then suddenly a shout went up off on the left flank. Most of the warriors in the Stormlord’s vanguard turned to the northeast and began firing skyward as streaks of blue energy shot back and forth from ground and sky.
Mordauk looked up to see that a swarm of enemy sky-warriors had broken through somehow and came straight at the vanguard, a suicidal run. Killing an enemy Stormlord would bring great glory to one’s sept.
Mordauk summoned the energy of the Gorhah, powering his kubastan, powering it much beyond the capability of common warriors. Though the technology in the spiked and bladed kubastan did most of the work, one could not complete the path of a warrior without learning to tap into the energies of Gorhah enough to power his weapon. That was trivial compared to the abilities of Kojo. Mordauk could do much more than power his weapon. As the Fire Clan sky-warriors swooped through the outer defenses, he released the pent up energy of his kubastan, but instead of a single pulse of blue energy, he modulated the weapon's discharge into several interconnected strands of blue energy that spread out into a wider and wider pattern until it slammed into about five or six sky-warriors, sending them tumbling and cartwheeling from the sky.
A few dozen enemy sky-warriors remained intact, though, and from every one yellow fire suddenly erupted from their flying wings. Rockets.
Mordauk dropped for cover as dozens of explosions rocked the ground in blindingly bright flashes as shrapnel ripped through the air. A part of him, his old warrior self, felt outraged at the rockets and shrapnel. True warriors did not use shrapnel against foes willing to fight toe-to-toe with kubastans. A part of him though berated himself for thinking like a common warrior, in trusting in honor. If nothing else, disruptor fields should have been deployed. The human war had forced the Umpala to change many of their preconceptions about warfare, but after that war had been won, the new generations reverted back to the old warrior code. The coming of the Ninth Avatar will shake the galaxy, littering the ground with fools unable to adapt to the new age.
After the last blast, Mordauk remained crouched and peered around to take stock of the situation as dozens of warriors battled kubastan to kubastan all about him, hacking and slashing with blade and spikes while mixing in several shots of blue energy. The shrapnel had laid down many warriors, and it appeared that fairly even numbers now battled for their lives. There was no point in risking his life for Gardodadogaur. If the Stormlord perished, then Mordauk would simply convince his replacement of his obligations.
Mordauk recognized certain shouts and glanced in that general direction and saw that the Stormlord still stood, ringed by his guards, both those still standing and those that had fallen when they used their bodies to shield him from the shrapnel, shouting encouragement and threats to his warriors as they battled the Fire Clan assault force.
Mordauk’s attention got yanked back to his immediate vicinity as a nearby warrior screamed in agony as a kubastan hacked a massive gash through his neck and shoulder, a gash cleaved straight through armor plates before biting so deeply into flesh. The forward blade of the kubastan rippled with blue energy as the victor ripped it free. No common warrior could manipulate his weapon so. He was possibly a member of the Flaming Blade koroc, given the way he manipulated his blade. Further still, he wore the helmet of a warrior-diviner, inscribed with emblems of power and above this forehead the metal form of a snarling face of some ki
nd of insect creature. That caught Mordauk's attention. His secret benefactor, Kardardithicus, often appeared insectoid in nature.
The Flaming Blade stepped over his fallen opponent and looked at Mordauk. Their eyes met, and at that moment Mordauk focused his mind and caused a ripple of blue energy to flare on his blade, a demonstration. Don’t waste your time with me, he thought. Then he glanced at the Stormlord about twenty yards away, suggesting an alternative path, a path of less resistance. Mordauk did not fear the Flaming Blade, might have even enjoyed the challenge under different circumstances, but the earlier rocket attack had been a splash of cold water. It would not be the warrior code that wins glory and power in the coming age. And he intended to win glory and power, no matter the cost.
The Flaming Blade smiled at Mordauk, but instead of angling off towards the Stormlord, he advanced straight towards Mordauk in a low crouch with shield and kubastan at the ready. For a moment Mordauk thought the diviner might be daft, to one moment violate the warrior code using rockets and shrapnel so that his mission could be accomplished, and then in the next moment turn away from that mission to challenge a foe in the opposite direction, a foe that was likely the deadliest on the field with his own glowing blade.
But as the Flaming Blade advanced upon him, Mordauk realized that his foe wasn’t daft. He just had another target in mind all along. He dared challenge one of the Kojo.
Mordauk opened his arms, holding his shield and kubastan out to the sides at about shoulder height, a challenge and an insult all wrapped in one. If this degenerate, this tadroknan, truly were a Flaming Blade, they all would suffer, every member of his koroc. His mind tried to race, to try and figure out who sent him, to ponder whether it might be Naudook or another Kojo, but he diverted his speeding mind the best he could. He had to focus on the here and now as his opponent drew near. At least it was an open challenge, not a hidden blade in the back.
With that thought, Mordauk quickly glanced around the chaotic fighting around him to make sure no assassin sneaked towards his back. Most Umpala would not even be able to fathom the idea of using a hidden assassin, but some of his enemies might be more forward thinking. A cowardly assassination would result in very problematic consequences for everyone behind it, even if it succeeded, but yet some might ponder it. Mordauk himself had entertained such idle speculation on occasion.
He saw no assassin today and turned his attention back to the advancing Flaming Blade as he shifted into a basic fighting stance. He increased the flow of energy into his weapon, making sure the blade had a brilliant blue glow. With the energy diverted to the blade, the weapon would be unable to fire a blast of energy. The battle would be blade versus blade, up close and personal with no need to defend against energy pulses.
A part of Mordauk wanted to strike down his foe with the red energies that Kalgardithicus had taught him to manipulate, but it was not yet time to reveal this hidden power. Besides, he had some other tricks up his sleeves.
Mordauk sneered at the Flaming Blade as he opened a siphon to draw energy into the heavy chain collar around his neck. As with the kubastan and shield, the Urgu had been proficient at using their advanced technology to empower certain items to tap and manipulate the energies of the Gorhah. The various koroc, diviner societies and warrior societies, tended to hoard and covet these instruments of power, but being Kojo often entitled one to the better options.
The Flaming Blade launched several strikes that emphasized his energized blade.
Mordauk countered easily with shield and kubastan. The Flaming Blade attempted to lure him into overconfidence. But Mordauk had the superior trap.
Several tentative blows fell back and forth, and then Mordauk launched into a flurry of much more aggressive counter-strikes.
The Flaming Blade deflected these and then struck back hard himself.
Mordauk leaned back just in time to avoid a massive thrust, but instead of knocking the Flaming Blade's arm away with his shield, Mordauk stepped in close. Normally this would have meant death as he had exposed his right flank--he couldn't strike past Flaming Blade's shield in time before his opponent simply pulled his kubastan back and shredded Mordauk's side with the secondary blades and spikes.
But Mordauk activated the collar around his neck, switching most of the energy flow from his blade to the collar, creating a stun-field all about his body. The field did not extend very far at all, but the two warriors were right on top of each other. The field extended far enough to ensnare most of Flaming Blade's body. It took great skill and training to energize multiple weapons at the same time, and there was no dishonor in using a second weapon if one could manage it. Few could.
The Flaming Blade could still move his left arm and its shield around a little, but most of his body was clenched tight and unmoving.
Looking him in the eye, Mordauk smiled. The Flaming Blade's eyes were filled with panic.
Mordauk brought his blade up to his opponent's belly. Challenging Kojo had severe consequences. Disembowelment, especially when rendered defenseless, was one of the lowest forms of humiliation among Umpala warriors.
The mostly stiff Flaming Blade tried to beat away Mordauk's blade with his shield, but his partially-stunned arm lacked the strength and coordination to keep it way. Each blow knocked the blade away just a few inches, the blows of a feeble old woman.
Leaning forward to make sure he could be heard over the din of battle, Mordauk said, "Kardardithicus consume you." Then he slit open the Flaming Blade's belly, spilling his intestines across the ground.
Though mostly paralyzed, a moan gurgled up the Flaming Blade's throat as his legs began to quiver.
"I am the destroyer of worlds," Mordauk growled. "Your sept and your koroc will curse your name after I am done with them." Technically by custom, the warrior societies, the koroc, carried no responsibility for the actions of its members unless they were specifically commanded by the high leader, but a new age was dawning on the galaxy. Mordauk would not suffer lightly those that stood between him and his glory.
Mordauk deactivated the stunner-field and let the Flaming Blade collapse to the ground. He glanced around to check the status of the battle and saw that reinforcements had come to the Stormlord's aid. Just a handful of the Fire Clan strike force still stood. Even some of those that no longer stood were being hacked apart. They had violated the warrior code with the rockets and shrapnel.
Rage swelled in Mordauk as he thought about Nuadook. Not only had he defied a request from a Kojo, but he also went as far as breaking the warrior code to succeed. And he likely was the one who sent the Flaming Blade.
Mordauk stepped over to where the Stormlord Gardodadogaur stood with his personal guard, surveying the carnage around them, the shrapnel wounds. One of the Stormlord's commanders railed about seeking revenge for such a cowardly attack. "Stormlord," Mordauk said loudly to get everyone's attention. The commander stopped his tirade, and the Stormlord and everyone in his inner circle paused to hear Mordauk's proclamation. "Let it be known that the Kojo have declared Fire Clan borgash, below contempt. The destruction of Fire Clan is decreed. "
"I understand, Kojo," said Gardodadogaur with a gleam in his eye. They both knew that technically only the Doomsayer could make such a decree, but the coming of the Ninth Avatar was no time for the timid and weak.
And Mordauk knew the Doomsayer would become irrelevant the moment the Ninth Avatar manifested. The coming age would be one where deeds above all else would be a measure of one's worth and one’s position.
"Annihilate them all," said Mordauk. "Every last one of them. Let the next hundred generations scatter their ashes."
The Stormlord nodded his great helmed head, but the gleam was gone from his eye.
Mordauk held back a smile. The Stormlord no doubt had hoped to destroy Fire Clan by absorbing it into his own. That was the way of clan warfare for scores of generations, and annihilation probably seemed like insanity to him. He probably wondered what he had got himself into.
A new age was coming, and Gardodadogaur had better prepare himself for it.
Mordauk looked up at the debris streaking through the sky. "But I want their starships intact."