The Golden Hall

Balian grabbed the woman by the wrist. "Get on my horse. We're going back, right now. Men, gather the dead! We'll bury 'em in the morning!"

His soldiers, as always, followed orders. He watched them set to work, tossing the dead corpses of their friends onto the backs of their horses.

Good thing I don't know any of them, Balian thought selfishly.

He'd given up on learning names after his first battle so many years ago. 

Balian's parents had owed the crown a large sum of money in taxes they'd never paid off. Before things worsened for them, they'd forced him to join the army as tribute. The crown had forgiven them of the large debt, but in return, they never saw their son again.

He had trained for nearly a quarter year before officially joining House Leandis's army, the largest one in the world. Balian had the honor of learning from some of the greatest knights who had ever lived. Legends back where he was from.

And he had made friends. Two of them, boys around ten as well.

"Balian!" Arthur protested. "You know that's the sword I wanted to use."

Balian pouted. "But it's the best one! You can have it next time!"

"Can you stop this fighting?" Simeon groaned. "It's just a sword."

"How about all three of you little mice shut up," a man said, approaching them. One of the higher-ups. Balian could tell just by the way he walked. "Y'know, children like yourselves are always the first to die out. Always."

That had shut them up. For a little while.

Balian's wooden sword smacked Arthur's with a dull thud. "What do you think he was talking about?"

"That we're gonna die first," Simeon interrupted. "It makes sense. We're smaller than everyone else!"

"But we're quicker," Arthur said, parrying a hit from Balian. 

"It doesn't matter," Balian said, throwing down his sword. "I'm not dying. Not for a long time."

"Well neither will I," Arthur said. "We can get stronger."

"I don't wish to die either. Let's all survive the first battle. Show them our worth," said Simeon with a smile.

"Deal," Balian said.

But they had lied. 

On the day of their first battle, a man had cornered the three of them, grabbing first for Arthur. He cut the struggling boy's throat open.

"You two weaklings are mine," the man said, licking the fresh blood from his dagger. 

He charged at him and Simeon, swinging his dagger. 

Balian still remembered the blade moving straight toward his face. The squelching sound as the blade sank into flesh. 

The scene of Simeon standing in front of him, the blade protruding through his heart. The sight of his dead friend made Balian cry out with rage. 

He pushed himself to his feet. 

The man looked shocked as Balian charged forward. Simeon's body flopped next to him, and Balian ripped the dagger from his friend's chest, springing at his enemy.

He knocked the man to the ground and stabbed, at least a dozen times, until he was sure this enemy would never harm anyone ever again. 

It had been his first battle, a day when he'd gotten his first kill. And his second. And third. And even his twentieth. 

And it had also been the day when Balian had decided to no longer make friends.

The exception was a year ago when he'd met Sir Lucan. They spent their nights at taverns, drinking and telling stories. It always took the stress of the day away. Sir Lucan was a talkative one and even spoke about the King's conversations openly to Balian. This helped him to better understand the intentions Leandis had for his kingdom. It helped him to better understand how to serve his king as General of the Capitol's army. 

Sir Lucan was strong. So strong that if they ever had a fight, Balian wasn't sure he would come out on top. Sir Lucan had killed over a hundred enemies now, each time coming out nearly unscathed. 

"You survived yet another one, huh?" Sir Lucan said to him now. Even though the action was over, he still wore a full set of armor, except for a helmet. Across his back was a massive warhammer, though on Sir Lucan it looked much smaller. 

Balian stood at the entrance to the Golden Hall. "Don't sound so disappointed," he joked. "Is the King ready for an audience?"

Sir Lucan glanced behind Balian, frowning. "Have you finally found yourself a lover, my brother?"

"What?" He asked, confused. Athena stood behind him, her arms crossed. "No. No. She was held hostage by the…things we fought. Sir Lucan, they were not human. She called them creatures of Hell. My men have taken four of them captive."

"Creatures of Hell, huh?" He paused for a moment. "Ha! Hahaha! Blasphemous! That's blasphemous, Balian!"

"You'll see soon enough," Balian muttered. 

"Enter," the voice echoed from the Golden Hall.

"Follow me," Sir Lucan said quietly. "Girl, remember to speak only when a response is expected from you," he warned Athena. 

The three entered through a set of intricately carved, twenty-foot-tall doors. Together, they approached the king.

*******

Sir Lucan had been the king's right-hand guard for a year now. After his heroics in the Battle of Narrow Gap, he was promoted from a foot soldier to a knight with one of the most notable ranks in all of House Leandis.

Now, he lived in fear that one day he would fail. That his promotions had all been an accident. That King Leandis had made a mistake choosing him as his right hand guard. 

Despite all that, he marched through the Golden Hall with confidence. Balian was beside him. The girl was behind them being escorted by two armed guards. 

"Stop there," Sir Lucan commanded them. He didn't want the girl too close, in case she wanted to hurt the king. He and Balian continued walking, first kneeling before King Leandis, then taking their spots on either side of his throne. It was a massive structure, at least fifteen feet tall, made purely from gold. Though very uncomfortable looking, the throne was a symbol of House Leandis's eternal power. 

The Leandis lineage had existed through every era of documented history, over a thousand years of peace and war. The Golden Hall they stood in was just as old. Sir Lucan still wasn't sure how such a massive structure, purely made of gold, had ever been created. 

"Who do you bring before me, General Balian?" King Leandis asked in a bored tone. His posture was slumped over, as if he was tired. Already, he held another goblet of wine, which he sipped every few moments. 

"Your Grace…I didn't want to shock you," Balian began. "So I brought this woman first. Her name is Athena…do you have a surname, madam?"

She shook her head. "I am one of a kind. I don't need two names to define who I am."

"Very well. This is Athena, Your Grace. She was held captive by the six…soldiers who attacked us earlier this morning."

The king raised an eyebrow. "Why? I've heard they left no survivors in the villages they destroyed. Why her?"

"I don't know. But she knows what we fought. She says they're from Hell," Balian continued.

King Leandis chuckled. "Hell? Nonsense! It's merely fiction. Gives us all a reason to be morally just and kind; to be good. What even is the definition of good? It can get muddled, I think. As king, I believe I do good for my house. For my people. But sometimes, how I go about it may not be good. I've sinned, as I'm sure all of you have. That doesn't mean I'll be sent to a land of endless torture once I finally die. This life has already given me enough of that."

"You…may be right, Your Grace. But these things, I've never seen anything like them," Balian continued. 

Sir Lucan hadn't seen them yet. But he felt a sense of eagerness. Balian had lost twenty men before they'd been able to suppress them. These things had to be strong. 

But not stronger than me, he thought. 

"Bring it in!" Balian called out, his voice echoing throughout the hall. 

Sir Lucan unstrapped his warhammer from his back and stepped forward protectively. 

The doors swung open silently, and a group of men began dragging their hostage in. 

"Stop there!" Balian ordered. "I don't want it any closer to the king."

Good man, Sir Lucan thought.

The king's life came first. Bringing in a hostile, even if it was chained, was an extreme risk. 

King Leandis stood. 

"My king, what are you doing?" Sir Lucan protested, stepping into his path. "It's not safe!"

The king continued his descent from the throne, pushing past both Sir Lucan and Balian. "Follow beside me. I want to look upon its face, Sir Lucan."

Sir Lucan hefted his warhammer and strode to catch up to King Leandis. Balian followed slowly behind, leaving Athena standing at the foot of the throne. 

As the king neared the enemy, Sir Lucan found himself gripping the handle of his warhammer tighter and tighter. If this thing made even the slightest move, he would be ready.

The creature still wore its armor, though it bore no weapons. Chains were wrapped around each of its limbs and its throat. Sir Lucan looked at each of the five men who held a chain.

Don't any of you let go, he thought. 

King Leandis knelt in front of the creature and reached a shaky hand out. His hands touched the creature's helmet. It was made of a darker metal that reminded Sir Lucan of his own weapon. Were they made of the same material?

With a grunt, the king removed the helmet and set it on the ground. He gasped. 

Inside was a shadow. 

A darkness.

The only distinct feature were its red eyes, each burning like a miniature sun. 

The creature jerked forward, and the soldier holding the chain around its neck stumbled.

Sir Lucan brought his hammer down with all his strength, watching as it passed through the creature's thin head. 

Not able to stop the incredible momentum, the hammer smashed into the floor, leaving a crack in the gold tiles. 

The shadow began to disappear, leaving only an empty set of armor.

It was gone. 

Dead.