The sun beat down on a hot summer day, 103 years after Karm’s ascension as the first Emperor. The Fourth Emperor, Karlius, was riding at the head of a long train of bodyguards, noblemen and servants. The long days were the days of peace for Empire, the season of plenty where the ogres and wyverns would withdraw to their caverns and raids on villages were few and far between. Beside him rode Copil Bryant, Lord of the Bluffs and Haemon Montague, the first son of the current Lord Montague, Lord of Giantsgrave. Copil’s beard was a short, light brown one, his green eyes gleaming with excitement. It had been years since he’d been on a good hunt, and today was a particularly wonderful day for one.
As they trotted along, the Emperor turned to Copil and spoke.
“So, Lord Bryant, how many deer do you think you’ll get today?”
“I must confess that I’m rather out of practice.” Copil responded.
“Well, I’ll go easy on you this time. But if we hunt next week I’ll expect a stiff challenge.” The Emperor replied.
“You have young Montague for that kind of challenge, not an old fellow like me.”
“Come now. You’re not even forty yet.” Young Montague responded, a grin on his youthful face.
The three laughed at that, but then a terrible roar sent birds flying from the treetops and brought the train to a stuttering halt. It was a roar that struck fear into Copil’s heart, he’d heard it once before.
Ogres.
He turned to the Emperor.
“Your majesty, that was an ogre roaring. I’ll scout ahead to check numbers.”
He spurred his horse, and was quickly followed by Haemon, who probably believed in strength in numbers. Though granted, from all Copil had seen, two men against one ogre was a gross mismatch that could only end in two dead men.
They raced around a bend in the road. There was nothing on the road, no ominous footprints or markings at all.
“Where is it?” Montague asked tentatively. Copil didn’t think the boy had ever seen an ogre before, so he expected such tentativeness.
“Strange. Ogres are never known for their stealth and cunning. Where-“
His words were answered as a terrible roar came from his right and the ogre burst out of the forest right beside them. Montague’s horse reared as it happened, sending him to the ground right at the ogre’s feet. As he scrambled up and tried to grab his sword, the ogre grabbed him in a huge hand and swung him, screaming in fear, directly into a tree. There was a crunch and the scream stopped instantly. Copil then realised his own plight, but found himself rooted, watching as the ogre ripped the lifeless body in two and ate the bottom half. Then it raised its head, red as a tomato, a huge nose and a huge humanlike mouth with two rows of teeth, currently with rivers of gore running down then.
It noticed Copil and perhaps realising that there was a second potential dinner in sight, charged. Copil seemed to regain control of his body and bolted on his horse, rushing back round the corner, back to the Emperor. As he rounded the corner and the ogres clumsy footsteps slowly faded, he saw the Emperor’s train, still standing, waiting for news. He saw the looks on their faces at his own panic and then saw the shocked realisation when they realised that Haemon wasn’t with him.
He charged up, his face pale and covered in sweat.
“Where’s Montague?” the Emperor demanded, his bow resting in his hand, an arrow notched.
Copil just shook his head, he couldn’t really bear to recount what had just happened. He didn’t need to go into much detail, because then the ogre rounded the corner, running like a human, but in its clumsy way.
The Emperor raised his bow, still sitting on horseback, behind a shield wall of retainers and noblemen. Copil joined them and he saw that many of them were shaking in their boots. Not that he could blame them, the Emperor was young, so naturally many older noblemen thought that sending younger sons to curry favour would work well, but sadly that mean that these men were just inexperienced. The few trained bodyguards there were would be hard pressed to deal with such a beast.
The Emperor then released an arrow, it flew and struck the ogre in the chest as it charged, seemingly causing little damage. He swore and notched another arrow, just as the ogre reached the shield wall. With a roar, the wall charged, Copil calling out,
“Surround it! Aim for the backs of the legs!”
Granted, this was what he’d heard his father say the last time he’d met an ogre. It then occurred to him that his father had been killed during that fight. He found himself hacking feebly at the ogre’s shin, his sword bouncing off the flesh. Then he looked up, just as a huge red arm came sweeping across the ogres front, directly towards him
Oh bolloc-
Copil was hit full force by the blow, along with two other unfortunates. He flew off the path, sword flying from his hand and landed on some thick grass by the side of the road, in between two trees. He shook his head, dazed and looked up, just
to see another unfortunate being plucked from the ground and thrown against a nearby tree. Apparently this was this ogres favourite method of execution. Maybe they were more intelligent than they were given credit for.
Then the second arrow flew from the Emperor’s bow, striking the ogre’s left eye. That had an effect, the ogre roared and a hand moved up to its face, as if trying to work out how to remove the arrow. Copil was reminded of an old rhyme that soldiers were taught in the Bluffs regarding ogre.
“Shoot it in the eye, or say goodbye.”
The person who came up with it was hardly a poet, but it was good advice. Unfortunately, it didn’t detail what to do if the ogre wasn’t killed by being hit in the eye.
The ogre lowered its hand, fixed it’s one good eye on the Emperor, who was notching another arrow and charged, leaving the retinue attacking it in its wake. Two of the bodyguards that stood close to the Emperor held their ground and were smashed aside by the ogre as it charged. As it closed in the Emperor released his arrow, striking it in the other eye. It roared once more, and this spooked the Emperor’s horse, it bolted, sending the Emperor flying from the saddle, his legs entangled in the stirrups.
Copil jumped to his feet, rushing past the now dead ogre, as the Emperor went up the road, his cries of anguish fading into the distance, his head bouncing off the loose stones on the road as he was dragged along. Then at last, he came loose and rolled several times before coming to a stop. Copil sprinted up the road, coming up to the Emperor after passing a trail of blood.
The Emperor’s breathing was laboured and heavy, his black beard covered in dust and blood. His piercing red eyes seemed unfocused, but as Copil knelt he turned his head and they seemed to regain some of that focus, gazing at Copil.
“Is the damned thing…dead?”
“Yes. An excellent shot if I must say. And only minimal damage done in return.” It was a poor joke, but anything to lighten the mood might just help the Emperor, given his situation.
“Stop spouting your usual  , old man. I can feel stones in my back. I feel my back covered in my own blood.”
He was right; a pool was starting to form beneath him and rapidly. Copil grabbed the Emperor’s hand and clutched it, trying to keep the Emperor aware of movement.
“You’ll be fine, a healer host is in Amorta City, you’ll be fine.”
“I won’t live that long, Bryant. Now…about my son.”
“You’ll live. Tell him yourself.”
“Shut up, old fool…’koff, koff’…look after my boy. Help him become a….bettter…kkkkkkkkk…..Emperor than I…than I…ever…was…kkkkk.”
He hacked and coughed, blood pouring onto his beard, before at last he was still, his eyes closing as he breathed his last. Copil stood up as other noblemen rushed up. He turned, tears pouring from his eyes and spoke with a wavering voice.
“The Emperor is dead. Long live Emperor Gaius!”
And they knelt before him, all cheering the same cry.
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The Regency (Empire and Republic related material) Chapter 2 22/06
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