Sombra sat on his throne looking menacing, before him stood the leader of his surviving subjects. The man was short and pudgy with a shiny bald spot. He was covered head to foot in black soot and his clothes were torn and burned. The man was incredibly unhappy and seeing his angry face made Sombra chuckle on the inside.
“We ask for help your majesty.” The man demanded. Sombra smiled.
“Of course loyal subjects we shall help you.” He said. The leader sighed visibly and his expression lessened.
“Thank you your grace.” The leader said taking a knee and bowing his head respectfully. Sombra stood and stepped down from his throne. He held out his right hand to his headsman. The headsman carried the executioner’s blade at all times. The sword was handed over to the king. It was a beautiful thing really, long and cold looking and austere, no frilly decorations or adornments, Sombra knew that if he were to use a blade in battle he would use this one. The fat bald man looked up, fear on his face.
“No, no, no, no, n-“his protests were cut short as the sword went through his neck. Sombra smiled, Damascus would be proud. The corpse spurted blood from the stump of a neck onto the floor. Sombra looked at the small group of survivors left.
“How many are there left out of all of our lands?” he asked angrily. There was some chattering within the group and then another man stepped forward. This one was younger, also covered in soot but he at least looked like he could fight.
“Several thousand escaped your grace. They are living outside your walls as we speak.” Sombra smiled and handed the massive sword back to the headsman and wiped the blood from his hands with the kerchief he received from a handmaid.
“Well then, bring them in!” Sombra commanded. Everyone was a bit taken aback. The captain of the guard, Talon Jur stepped forward.
“Excuse me your grace?” he asked confused. Sombra wheeled around and glared at everyone in the throne room. Somehow he managed to make them all feel insignificant.
“We said bring in all of those peasants NOW!” he yelled. Smoke billowed from his hair and fire spat from his palms as he yelled. His glowing eyes spewing purple tendrils of smoke that danced even faster and more harshly as his choler rose. Jur didn’t hesitate to begin giving orders.
Sombra moved to his throne and sat back down. Archimedes leaned down and whispered into his ear.
“What is your plan your grace?” he asked curiously. Sombra wagged his finger at Archimedes.
“Tut, tut old friend, have faith in your king.” Sombra fixed his deadly gaze upon the chaplain.
“How are the preparations coming?” he asked in a low tone.
“They are near completion again my lord, we can begin the procedure on the morrow if you so wish.” Archimedes answered. Sombra nodded his approval.
“I do so whish.” Archimedes nodded and bowed.
“If his grace would excuse me, I will go oversee things down below.” Sombra waved his hand dismissively and Archimedes bowed his way out of the back door. Jur moved forward and knelt before the king.
“Your grace, I would like to ask what is to be done with the peasants?” the old knight asked. Sombra adjusted himself to sit even more upright. He placed both hands on the armrests and glared down at the captain.
“We command that they be housed, fed and clothed as best as they can. In a week’s time the men will be judged on their fighting potential. The women will be given positions within the palace as maids and servants, the male children will be given over to your care and you shall oversee their training, the girls will also be given assignments within the grounds as servants and maids. So we command.” Sombra ordered, his voice echoing off of the stone walls. Jur nodded.
“So I obey.” He answered ceremoniously. The captain stood and began issuing orders again. Sombra smiled. Tomorrow a new god would walk the earth.
The laboratory was an odd place and Sombra did not like it. It was filled with chemicals and odd magicks he could smell the sterilized stink of cadavers and test subjects. It was a jumble of tables and beakers with corpses lying on slabs of rock where their lives had ended. The corners were filled with shadows and empty cobwebs where candelabras had never been lit. Sombra had heard of such a place below but had never dared ask his father about his secret project. Sombra inspected the corpses. He recognized a few of the faces of thieves and lawbreakers dissected.
“What happened here?” Sombra asked. Archimedes poked his head up from the massive tome he was reading.
“Ah, those men were to be punished so we used the crystals you see here,” the chaplain held up a pale blue crystal that shone with power. “To see just how much torment we could put them through before their sentence was carried out.” Archimedes chuckled darkly. Sombra raised an eyebrow.
“I never knew you were one to take pleasure from killing something.” Archimedes waved dismissively at the king.
“Not normally your grace, but three of those men were rapists and I feel what the crystal managed to do to them was rather fitting as a punishment than to wind up as a quick bloodstain on the floor of the throne room like all the others.” Archimedes smiled and stuck his nose back into his book. Sombra looked down at the corpses again and moved on.
After some deliberation Archimedes pulled himself from his notes.
“Ah, here we are.” He said a small smile on his face. He patted the table in the middle of the vast room. “Here your grace.” Sombra laid himself down.
“Have you managed to do this with a test subject?” Sombra asked, starting to have second thoughts. Archimedes held up a finger and turned around. There was the sound of rummaging and then Archimedes turned back with a cage with a large white rat in it.
“We preformed the same experiment on this rat.” Sombra was unimpressed.
“And?” he asked impatiently.
“We preformed it about one hundred fifty years ago, your grace.”
“Oh.” Said Sombra, now a bit less worried about the implications of this action.
Archimedes began hooking up odd devices to crystals and placing crystals into odd looking containers that had mirrors and what looked to be funnels. He approached Sombra and placed a copper crown around the king’s brow, fastening it in the front of his head.
Sombra didn’t move he just watched as Archimedes hooked up wire to wire. Men dressed in hooded robes began to march in and formed a ring around the walls of the laboratory. Archimedes came to the side of the slab and placed his hand on Sombra’s ankle reassuringly.
“Your grace now is the time to back out if you have any fear.” the chaplain said. Sombra snarled.
“Do it.” He commanded. Archimedes nodded and began to chant. The men began to chant with him.
As the words were spoken the crystals around the room began to glow with an ethereal energy. Sombra felt power flow through his head and into his body as the chanting grew louder and faster. Wind began swirl about quickly, whisking away notes and knocking over beakers filled with the gods know what in them as the power flowed and filled the king to the breaking point. Sombra began to scream as the power flooded into him. He felt his soul shatter and rebuild itself into something new, something far more powerful.
He was thrown from his body, his soul hurled into the void. He could see eternal darkness, and fire. Fire burned all around him, not normal fire, it was his black fire, the same flames that had burned down his kingdom in preparation for his plans. The heat was intense and painful, burning his soul. Sombra looked down and watched his flesh bubble and slough away. His bones underneath were burned black. He wiggled his fingers watching the bone move about, it was unnerving. Still he flew on through the void the fire tearing into him, the pain becoming more and more.
Sombra looked out into the darkness and saw lights beginning to appear. They were distant, like stars, but bright as the sun, each shining on into the eternity of the void.
He sped on and approached one of the small stars. He reached his skeletal hand out and picked up the star. The light began to fade and turn to black in his hand. The star went out entirely and crumbled to dust. Sombra watched the dust fall through his fingers and swirl about him and begin to latch onto his now fleshless body. As the dust accumulated the pain dulled slightly but persisted.
Sombra was thrust through the vast emptiness to the next star and the same thing happened. Soon the stars began making their way too him, fading as they came to the king as dust to build his body. Sombra looked down at the flesh of his soul. It was black, black as the darkest night and all light was consumed by his passing like a black hole he sailed through the void of souls and sucked all the light out of the world around him.
The fire around him burned higher with every star that went out and absorbed by the king but he could feel no heat anymore, only power and strength. Off in the distance he could make out two massive stars standing defiantly. Sombra came to rest before the larger of the two. He reached out his hands and tried to grasp the star the star struck out at him taking some of his flesh with it. Sombra tried to absorb the massive star but it continued to strike out at him. Sombra turned from the star and tried to run but the star began to reach out for him. Sombra reached deep down into his newfound strength and sent a torrent of flame at the star. The massive star recoiled in pain and began to flee from the fire. Sombra amassed a massive amount of flame into a huge comet and hurled it at the fleeing star, he missed and the star disappeared.
Sombra felt something grip him again and throw him through the void again. He looked to where he was going and saw a massive light he was hurtling for. He closed his eyes and prayed to wake up. Sombra soared through the light and came through.
The king opened his eyes. He was on the slab in the laboratory except there was no light and he felt a chill throughout his body. He sat up and looked around but there was no light. He reached up and removed the crown on his head. Sombra held up his hand and let a tiny flame come to life. As light shone Sombra saw the devastation of the room.
The tables and slabs were scorched most of the wooden objects missing considerable portions. All the glass had melted and pooled about the floor most of the puddles still glowing a merry orange color. The corpses were burned away entirely leaving only scorched bone behind. Sombra looked and saw the cage that had held the immortal rat and saw nothing left of the rat, only melted slag.
The robed men all lay dead on the ground, their flesh burnt away. Sombra went to each in turn inspecting them. Then his eyes fell on Archimedes. Sombra fell to his knees and rolled his friend over. The old chaplain had lost a portion of his face to the flame but he still breathed. Sombra threw the holy man over his shoulder and weaved his way through the burned destruction of the lab.Just as well, the king thought, I was going to have those men executed anyway.