Summary: Dai Rava has just been banished from his kingdom for doing ‘too good of a job.’ At least, that’s according to the half-demon that showed up and is looking like a much better target than some rocks and dirt for his anger.
Inspiration: Writing Commission
Date: 11/05/22
Word Count: 2,313
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Feral, beastial screaming tearing out of his throat, Dai Rava brought his greataxe down, ripping yet another gash through the dead, dry ground. Arms burning as the gash joined dozens of others threaded through the earth, Dai let go and shoved sweat soaked blue hair and twitching rabbit ears out of his eyes, looking around the barren wasteland that he had been banished to and this time aiming his scream at the sky.
His life — his loyalty and skills and power — had been pledged to his kingdom; his people. His king. Dai had been willing and ready to take on any fight. He had led them to victory after victory, he had destroyed all attempts the orcs had made in their goals to start an uprising, and what had they done? They had-
“My, my, I never thought I’d see the day. The terrifying Blessed Knight of Sanguia… banished for being too good at his job.” At the goading, unknown voice in an unfamiliar accent coming from what should have been an area barren of people, Dai was racing forward at once, snatching his greataxe and ripping it from the ground before spinning it in his hands and bringing it down in a mighty slash on nothing more than a pillar of rock.
Pillar crumbling to pieces, Dai shot his gaze up towards where he sensed movement, frowning at the unknown figure. He didn’t seem like a threat at first glance with the slim figure and silver hair, but something in those eyes… Those yellow eyes and curving smirk screamed danger. Dai was curious enough to ask, “Who are you supposed to be?”
“Not the question I’m interested in,” the man waved off, as if he had all the power between the two of them. “No, no, what I’m interested in is who are you supposed to be. You’re the terrifying Beast of Retribution, aren’t you? The Blessed Knight of Sanguia who can win any battle, Dai Rava, and you’re out here in a barren desert carving up the land because you were banished for being too good at your job, wasn’t it? A lowly commoner who climbed through the ranks and sent the nobles and knights and even the King running scared that you would take it all from them.”
Dai didn’t bother to push away the rush of rage, instead gripping his weapon and kicking himself forward in another swing, this one quicker and intended to hit swift and true. When it hit nothing but empty air, the man having neatly sidestepped the attack, Dai gave in and allowed himself a grin of his own. Maybe he could still have some fun even after… well, everything.
“You said you were interested in who I am,” Dai finally replied, straightening up with his greataxe and giving it an eager spin, listening raptly as the blade sliced through the air. “It sounds like you already know all about who I am.”
“You didn’t listen,” the man said, clucking his tongue as if disappointed. With the decreased distance between them, Dai took the chance to look him over more quickly. He was dressed in something that looked more like the robes of a noble than any suit of armor, and the bags under his eyes spoke of countless sleepless nights, but something in those yellow eyes… He was curious. “I said I was interested in who you are supposed to be.”
Something in Dai’s gait or expression must have shifted or changed, the man, who still hadn’t given his name, giving a dramatic sigh, “I was led to believe you were smarter than this. Is violence the only language you’re able to speak?”
“Depends on what kind of fight we’re about to get into,” Dai smirked, launching himself forward and bringing his blade down. Instead of hitting flesh and bone, rock and earth shot up from the ground in a sudden pillar, catching on his blade and deflecting him aside, acting a shield for the man who had done nothing more than raise his hand. “You’re an archmage.”
“Look at that, you do have a brain!” Doing nothing to hide his growl, Dai charged forward once again, more of the earth and rock shifting and changing under his feet to create obstacles and walls that caught his blade before he could even get close. “I suppose there has to be something rattling around in there with how far you’ve gotten. Well, I can’t be too harsh.”
Yellow eyes gleaming, the man waved his hand to the side sharply, Dai swearing as the ground underneath him rocketed up into the sky, flipping him around and crashing him back into the earth in what felt like his own personal landslide. “Your kingdom was a terrible influence with their own stupidity, after all. If they were smart, they would have killed you instead of banishing you and letting you plan revenge.”
“Who the fuck says I’m after revenge?” Body and muscles aching from the rocks pounding against him, Dai grinned sharply as he reached for his weapon. The pain was thrumming under his skin and he was getting excited.
“Don’t be coy,” the man snorted, the sound sharp and sudden and so human even as the man’s magic whipped through the air and burned like sulfur. This time Dai dodged the rocks that came flying towards him, throwing his greataxe towards the man and following up with a punch when the man sidestepped like he expected. Instead of his fist hitting the rib cage where he had been hoping to do some damage, it hit the palm of a hand, nails suddenly digging into the back of his fist. “Now there’s the Blessed Beast I’ve heard about.”
“What do you want with me?” Because this man knew too much to not want something. And that smell… Dai sniffed at the air again, studying the man’s silver hair and sickly yellow eyes. “What does a half-demon want with me?”
“Easy,” the man smirked, nails digging in tighter. The wince Dai gave in surprise was the only opening the man needed to throw him up and over his shoulder, a sharp pillar of rock slamming into his stomach and throwing him back into the air the second he touched the ground. “I want to help you.”
Gagging and barely forcing down the urge to heave at the bruised, tender feeling of his abdomen and stomach, Dai couldn’t stop himself from laughing. This was a fight, and it was something he had missed desperately. “You want to help, huh?” Stumbling back to his feet, Dai crossed his arms and stood firm as a hunk of rock flew into him, crumbling and slicing into his arms, but this time he didn’t allow the force to knock him down. “You have a weird way of showing it.”
“Well,” the man chuckled. “I’ve heard that you have to train beasts before you’re able to work with them. I know your… attributes tend to make people believe you’re less feral than you are, but that’s a mistake on their part. Besides, Dai Rava, I want to train you and then help you burn Sanguia to the ground for all that it did to you.”
His kingdom… This man wanted to burn his kingdom to the ground. His people, his friends, his fellow knights, the King and royal family. This was a man who wanted to kill them all, man, woman, and child. The terrifying part of that, Dai realized, was that hearing it made him realize how much he wanted it.
“That’s real nice of you and all, but there’s one problem you have there.” Dai ran across the new battlefield, sliding under a forming column of rock to grab at his greataxe, swinging it up to destroy the incoming attack. If anything, the man looked only more amused than before. “No one can tame me.”
“You think so?” This time, instead of the rock and ground throwing off boulders into the air, it shifted and roiled between them, moving like waves of the ocean before flowing upwards like a tidal wave. The man stood under it, cast in shadows with near nothing of him visible but those yellow eyes. “I want you to join me, Dai Rava, and I want you to serve the demon army that’s coming to conquer this land. I want you to lead it. And when you do, I want to watch as you burn your former kingdom to the ground for what it did to you.”
Dai looked at the wave of earth, still so fluid and smooth even as he knew it no doubt held all the force of the rock it had been. Finally, he locked his gaze on those yellow eyes and grinned. “I don’t serve those weaker than me.”
“Oh?” The man chuckled, raising his arm, the tidal wave responding by rising even higher into the air. “Whatever gave you the impression that you were the stronger between us?”
With that the wave came crashing down, Dai bracing himself against the ground and lifting his greataxe to act as an impromptu shield as the rock crashed against him. He had faced all manner of foes and enemies and even mages and archmages, but he had never faced one that had power like this.
He could feel it, cutting into his skin. That overpowering scent of sulfur filled his senses as blood red and pitch black magic filled the air and lashed into his skin. Each gash that was carved into his skin had him near howling with his rage as it bubbled up in him, pulled to the very front of his mind as he remembered everything that had happened.
His successful victory against the orcs and their plans to overtake the kingdom. The pride and joy he felt as he returned to the kingdom. The way the knights had edged away from him, fearful of the strength he had fought for. His King, the one he had chosen to follow, staring at him down in disgust and fear.
The days that followed had been filled with suspicion and paranoia, whispers behind his back, all trust and fame he had earned shattered by muttered rumors in the kingdom, and then the end where they had framed him. Where they had manufactured an excuse to banish him because they had been afraid of him. They had feared him, and his strength, and the power he could have taken, and so they burned him. They burned him and he wanted to burn them back-
“Submit, Dai Rava.” Cackling voices filled his head and rage boiled in his blood as the earth pounded down upon him. “Submit to us. Lead our army. Burn them all with your rage! Burn them! BURN THEM-!
“Are you finished?” That voice, tinged with an unknown accent and rich amusement, had Dai gasping for breath as he snapped his eyes open. The sky, once tinged with the bright light of the midday sun, was instead a rich orange as the sun began to set behind the mountains. He had been unconscious. He had been unconscious for hours.
Dai stared up at the amused smirk and eyes full of mischief that met his gaze challengingly. This man, this archmage, who he had never met, had just managed to single-handedly destroy him in what couldn’t have been longer than mere minutes. He could have killed him and walked away without being winded, but instead he had kept him alive. He had spared him and now he was waiting for his answer.
“That rage I felt…” Dai trailed off, almost correcting it to the rage he was still feeling. It was boiling within him, itching to grab for his greataxe and tear the whole damn world apart piece by piece.
“All yours,” the man responded, confirming what a part of him had already known. “Oh, I certainly encouraged you to stop shoving it down and taking it out on the landscape, of course, but otherwise… that was all just there and waiting. Now, are you finished baring your fangs like a wild dog? Or, well…” The man shot an amused look to his ears, Dai feeling one twitch at the inspection. “Hare, I suppose.”
Dai swallowed, twitching his fingers. He felt blood slick against his skin in more places than he could count, and he was certain the armor around his right leg had been crushed in hard enough to break the bone in a couple of places. His vision, as well, was still too blurred with what had to have been an overwhelming amount of pain. Overall, he was surprised he was awake. He was definitely not in any sort of state to fight back.
“You said something about an army,” Dai finally said, swallowing thickly against saliva and blood as he tilted his head back and grinned. “An army to burn the world down or something like that, right?”
“Certainly close enough,” the man chuckled, raising a hand coated in purple and blue magic that crept forward like a mist, wrapping around Dai’s body before disappearing. The agony still pounded and pulsed through him, but now, at least, it felt like a wall had been placed between him and the pain. It was a mercy and kindness he hadn’t been expecting. “Dai Rava… My name is Zyad Qrutil and you and I are going to do great things.”
Staring at the hand that was reached down towards him, Dai barked out a sharp laugh as he grabbed the hand and let himself be pulled up, “ Zyad Qrutil, huh…” He looked at the man, at Zyad, and saw his own echoing rage behind his eyes. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Dai Rava, the Blessed Knight of Sanguia, would be more than happy to die. Dai Rava, the Beast of Retribution, however…
He had work to do.