The Weapon

Chapter 1 - A Weapon

Overwhelming magical might flowed through me. The likes of which had not been seen in centuries. It was a cruel irony that I had no control over it. Control instead fell to the Dark Lord who owned me. My various runic bindings turning me into a weapon against my own will.

I woke up having a good day this morning and now I my mind was reeling under the weight of the magic flowing into an elaborate overcharged necromantic spell that would spell the end of another city that failed to surrender in time.

Oh how the purple glow of dark magic shined in splendor. Whispers crawled in my skull. Most of which wanted to admire the destruction wrought by her Majesties command. Some wanted me to ripe out her eyes. Others wanted me to dance on a sea of corpses.

The spell completed and the sudden mass absence of life rippled through the world.

I fell to my knees laughing hysterically. Equal parts awe and disgust at what I had done. The lingering feeling of where the arcane had burned through me had me clawing at my skin. Like an ethereal itch that could not be scratched.

My caretakers restrained me. There was blood on my hands. The healer began mending my wounds while the brute held my arms. With a wave of her Majesty's hand they began hauling me off to my tent.

The brute sighed at me as I helplessly struggled to deal with that feeling beneath my skin. "Kallista please get a hold of yourself." The brutes gruff voice told me. She didn't understand it was there! I could feel it. I just needed to reach it and it'd stop! I tried and failed to bite her arms in an effort to get her to let go.

"She's in a biting mood again." The healer rolled his eyes. "I'm going to have to put her under."

I tried yelling at them but the words were garbled. Whispers slipped out as speech. I was thrashing in frustration. We made it into my private tent and the healer began weaving his own magic.

My eyelids grew heavy, my muscles weak. The brute laid me down on my bed and let go. I didn't have the strength to reach it. The stupid skin got in the way. My eyes closed.

A moment later they open again. It felt like a moment, but it never was. I looked around as I attempted to recall what had happened. The siege of Sorentier… her Majesty must have used me again.

"Morning princess." The brute sarcastically threw my way. I looked at her. She was sitting in my chair reading a book. She didn't even take off her helm. She never did around me. She didn't trust me. Like I've ever hurt anyone. I wondered what her corpse would look like.

I looked around and found we were no longer in camp. Had we moved into the city? Judging by the fancy stone structure I'd say yes. I must have missed another exciting conquest of the rising lord of darkness.

I got up and out of bed. The familiar weight of my runic manacles and collar trying to drag me back to bed. "Where am I, and where's the other one of you?"

"Calder's getting us lunch." She continued reading. I couldn't see her eyes, the helm was enchanted to hide her face like all of her most dreadful majesty's honor guard.

"I'm going for a walk." I told her as I went to leave the room. I was stopped as my neck struggled against my collar. Turning I saw an ethereal chain connecting my collar to her outstretched gauntlet.

"No." It was a simple word, and one that vexed me endlessly. My jailer's large imposing form of dark steel was firmly planted and unwilling to budge against my scrawny muscles.

My anger flared. Kill her. Bite her. I instinctively drew on my magic to end her but my collar and manacles broke the spell formations before they could take hold.

"Now, now. Don't get all pissy on me or I'll have Calder put you back under." She dryly threatened.

"Don't you fucking dare!" I yelled. Tell her she's pretty. "Shut up. Shut up!"

"Behave girl."

"Then get out of my chair." I spat back.

She groaned. "You and this stupid chair. You could at least thank me for dragging it around for you." She got out of my chair and moved to the bed.

I curled up in my chair my long brown locks cascading down my lithe form. I could not see a single one of my scars on my pale arms. They were there. I knew they were despite the healer insisting they weren't.

My violet eyes jumped about the room following the whispers. They were quiet now, almost all of them too faint to make out.

The anger in my voice was gone replaced by fear. "Please, can I go for a walk? I-I need to get out of here."

"After we eat, you missed two meals and her majesty might hang us if you missed another." She said with a hint of compassion. "Just try and get through it okay?" I nodded softly.

I ran my hands over the chair. My chair. I felt every familiar chip and crack in the surface. It was mine, the thing I was allowed to keep when we were away from the castle. It was placed next to a desk that must have been in the room beforehand.

The desk had a quill with no ink. A few sheets of parchment from whoever was here last. I'd draw some pictures but I had no ink. I'd carve something into the desk but I wasn't allowed to have sharp objects after killing a servant.

I had to be fed by the brute or the healer because of the stupid no sharp objects rule. I was sixteen, an adult, and I wasn't allowed to feed myself unless it was finger food.

A few minutes later a familiar knock came. I looked to the door awaiting the healer to enter. He didn't. A moment later he did his signature knock again.

"Oh my gods stop knocking and come in." I yelled at him.

"You're hearing things again." She commented dispassionately.

I looked at her for a moment. "S-Sorry."

It wasn't too much longer before the healer opened the door and walked in without knocking. He had a tray piled with food for the three of us.

"I see you're finally awake." Said the man in his mid-twenties. His black ashen hair pulled back into his short ponytail. He only had a little bit of stubble today.

"Yea she's been doing her usual routine." The brute told him.

"Hey, Calder what's for breakfast?" I asked him.

"Steak, beans, and bread." He answered.

"Yes!" Steak was my favorite, and he always got the cooks to make them rare like I liked them.

"You know the drill. Hands behind your back while eating with utensils." He told me.

The brute got up to grab her share of the food. Her sword dangling from her hip.

I put my arms behind my back. "You know I'm not a kid anymore I can handle feeding myself."

"Kallista you know we can't let you use these." He said with a knife and fork in hand to cut up the steak.

"I know, but can you ask her again? I'll be good. I promise." The brute snorted a laugh at me. I ignored it. Grab the knife. Kiss him. "Eww, gods no. He's a guy."

He fed me. The steak was a little over cooked but it's not like I could do anything about it. We had a bit of an argument over the beans. I insisted someone poisoned them, and he check them three times in front of me with his magic before I realized they might not actually be poisoned.

After breakfast, I finally got to leave the room. We were in a castle. Not our usual castle but one in Sorentier. The new most northern city in her majesty's realm. With the conquest complete we might actually be able to go back home for a while before the next campaign.

It was early summer so the flowers and trees in the courtyard should have been alive. The gardeners here must suck because everything's dead.

Soldiers were going about their various tasks in the newly occupied castle. Mostly logistics.

I just roamed around exploring the place with my jailors following like I was a pet on their leash. There weren't signs of a struggle. No blood on the stones or anything. It must have been an absolute victory on our part. That or we had some very effective cleaners. Home was always rather clean.

I felt a tug on my collar. "Kallista back away from the ledge." The brute ordered. I looked down seeing a rather long drop from one of the high towers of the castle.

"I was just looking!" I pouted before reluctantly stepping back from the ledge.

You could see the whole city from here. The rolling hills stretching north across our new border. Down below I could make out a pile of bodies about to be turned into another dead legion. That meant General Ghost was probably down there since I wasn't.

I liked General Ghost. He was so big! Just a big ghost in a big suit of armor. Definitely my favorite general. Jerkface was an ass, and Elf weirded me out. The whispers always got loud around her and I had a hard time thinking when they did that. It was always Elf, it never happened like that for anyone else.

I spotted an hawk circling above. It was weird since it was the only bird around. Normally cities had like pigeons and other birds around, but not here. There was one whole bird for the whole city. I guess people were going to have to share it.

I was forced to go back down the castle since heights were dangerous like knives. I decided to go watch an army get raised since I always liked watching.

"Slow down." Barked the bitch.

"It's not my fault you two are so slow." I was breathing heavily myself. This place had too many stairs. Attack behind you. I turned to face my assailant finding an empty corridor. It took a second to realize it was just the whispers messing with me again.

We were almost to the courtyard when I noticed something. There were three legionnaires arguing down a hallway. There was something about the way they were talking that felt off.

I turned down the hallway to talk to them. Momentarily breaking line of sight to my handlers.

The tall one whispered, "Couldn't you find someone closer to my size?"

"I tried but we have to be-"

I waved to them. "Hello!"

The three turned to me. The normal legion helmets you could see a bit of the face through. The tall girl had amber eyes, the normal sized guy had blue eyes, and the shorter guy had brown eyes. They seemed a bit young for legionnaires.

The blue guy waved back. "Hey."

"Kallista get back here!" Yelled the brute running to catch up.

"There's something off about you three." I said casually.

The brute caught up to me. "Stop harassing the soldiers, and don't leave my sight."

"I'm not harassing them!" I looked over. "Right?"

"Uh." He didn't seem to handle being put on the spot well.

"It's fine… Ma'am." Said the tall amber one.

The brute laughed. "You three must be rather green. Word of advice if you ever find this one without me detain her and don't let her near anything sharp."

The three went wide eyed and then glanced to me.

"R-Right." Blue told her.

"Now stop distracting them and come on." My jailer said summoning the ethereal chain to tug me in the direction she wanted.

"But there was something weird about them." I was unfortunately forced along.

After trudging along we made it to the courtyard and I spotted my favorite possessed metal giant. He was reciting an incantation holding a soul steel hammer bigger than I was. Looking at the weapon's black metal I could hear the faint screams of tortured souls.

He slammed the pommel down and a wave of death magic slowly wormed its way out causing bodies to begin to stand up like a wave. It was such a pretty sight. All those dregs dressed in strange armor.

He began issuing a long list of orders to all of them. Standard undead legion stuff otherwise they might try and attack us and that'd be very bad. Rules of engagement and all that. I even got mentioned in a few specific orders. Every single one of the dregs was to protect me and give their unlife for me. I was her majesty's precious weapon after all.

It took a while to list of the complex verbal list of commands and contingencies. Each one building on top of the other allowing them to act almost sort of smart.

A messenger caught up to the brute and healer while I watched the undead's cores twist and alter as each command was imprinted upon them by the booming voice of a ghost.

"Her majesty demands the presence of her weapon." He told them.

My jailors didn't even have to tell me to start walking with them. If the dark lord wanted me I had to come. There was no choice, there was nothing I could do to get out of it. When I was younger I tried and… I was an obedient weapon. I existed because her majesty allows it.