It was too late, the enemy had anticipated that move. A barrage of fire arrows, and artillery fire rained down on them, pinning them in place. His eyes narrowed as he took in the dire situation. They were surrounded with no clear path to retreat.
This was suicide.
He scanned the battlefield, searching for any opening where they could leave from. He noticed the pattern of the enemy's attack, and timed it. It was a slim chance, but it was the only one they had.
"Follow me." He bellowed.
His troops rallied behind him, fighting desperately to fend off the enemy, so that they could leave. The other generals arrived, Raven, Elora, and Loke.Cassian had not been sighted by anyone since the previous day, and Athane was dead. It was a huge loss for them, but now was not the time for mourning.
Zeus knew it wasn't going to be easy, but he was determined to get his people out, alive.
"Fall back to the fortress." Was his command. It was a highly fortified stronghold, so they could stay in there a while, until reinforcements came. It was not a good plan, but that was all he could think of at the moment.
But as they retreated, they saw soldiers fleeing from the fortress, as smoke rose high into the sky. He watched soldiers trying to flee a place they thought was safe, and fall dead the next second, arrows plunged into their heart.
"My lord, the fortress has been compromised." He heard a soldier scream.
This was impossible. Their first loss of a battle.
They all looked to him for their next command, he was without options now. He glanced at his generals, their faces grim with the knowledge that they had to act fast.
Ardine his second in command stepped forward. "My lords, we will cover your retreat. You all need to get out of here, regroup and come back with reinforcements for us."
Raven looked at them all, she nodded in agreement, this was their only chance. "Go." She said. "I will stay behind, and assist until you return."
He wanted to object against such. A part of him knew this was probably the end.
"Go, now." She shouted, cutting up an enemy, as she ran into the battle.
The remaining all turned to leave, but Loke decided to stay back, and fight besides Raven. Zeus paused for a mere second, as what he had been ignoring due to the chaos registered in his brain again. Cassian was missing.
He did not suspect anymore, he knew that Cassian had a hand in this, but they had to get help first, and solve all this.
They bursted out of the battlefield, killing all that came at them as they went. The sounds of war receded as they went on, the generals grabbing horses to shorten the length of the journey.
They headed northwest, aiming to get to a Solovia stronghold -the kingdom of princess Nessina- to get reinforcement. Time went painfully slow, his patience thinning as they rode on.
He nudged his horse to gallop faster, and the horses did their best, but even they did not have infinite energy.
They heard the galloping of a horse, and were on alert in case it was an enemy. It was not.
He was a guard of the princess. He dropped down from his horse as soon as he saw them, the cuts through his armor where he bled from, was already enough sign that things were wrong. He held onto his sides, trying to brave the pain he felt. "The princess had been attacked near the stronghold. We need help."
These words felt earth shattering, dampening their spirits, but they struck Zeus like a physical blow.
His grip on the reins tightened, his knuckles white with tension. There was no time to waste, so he did not dismount. They had to go and help the princess out. "Lead the way." He instructed the guard to get on his horse. "We will get you treated once we get there." Zeus said, looking at his wounds.
The guard shook his head, his eyes clouding with pain. He released the hand that covered his side, and they all saw an arrowhead stuck there. The blood was thick, and dark. He had been poisoned, and did not have much time left.
Zeus felt pity for the man, but he knew it was his duty. His face hardened, as he saluted the man. It was a silent gesture of his respect and gratitude as the man would soon be on his last journey.
The others saluted him also.
The guards eyes flickered with pride, and joy, as he faintly nodded.
Zeus knew he wanted to be left behind, to die in peace. He steadied his horse, his voice low and urgent. "Let's go."
They rode off, their horses gallops slowing down as they pushed them too hard. Zeus knew that they could not afford a stop, not when the princess was in danger. But the horses came to a stop some time later, refusing to move an inch.
Loke scouted for any water source nearby while the horses fed on grass.
Zeus paced, his heart pounding in his chest, as he scanned the horizon.
He was not used to this, being helpless.
Fear, and apprehension clawed at him, taunting him with images of what could have already happened.
Everything felt over. But he would not admit that to himself. 'Cassian would pay if he was truly behind all this.'
When the horses had eaten, drank water, and rested for a while. He walked up to his horse, and soothed it, whispering apologies to it.
"We need to move." He said, quickly mounting his horse. They both did the same, and the three of them continued on their way, the horses hooves pounding on the earth.
The stronghold came into view, flames licking at its walls, the people within fought desperately hard to defend it, but it was a loosing battle.
Zeus dismounted his horse mid gallop, cutting down any of the attackers his sword came in contact with as he made his way to wherever the princess was.
The other two generals Elora, and Loke stayed behind to help the people defend.
The stronghold was a madhouse, chaos everywhere. His blade moved with deadly precision, cutting through the enemy, as he made his way through the crowd, searching for a glimpse of her flowing black hair, or silver robes.
He finally got a glimpse of her, she was injured, but she was alive. He fought his way to her side. She looked up at him briefly and shouted. "Zeus, to your left." Her voice clear, and commanding.
He spun, his sword swishing through the air, separating people from their body as he went to aid soldiers who had been encircled by enemy.
The enemy fell, the soldiers hurrying off to help others who had been trapped.
With their arrival, and help, things moved quickly, and soon the last of the enemy was down.
Nessina, and Zeus met half way, the sword in her hand clattering to the floor, as he engulfed her in a hug.
"You came." She said, her voice breathless.
"I am glad you are safe." He said, his voice raw with emotion.
She laughed, a small airy sound, and then her body lost it's strength, suddenly falling back in his arms.
He caught her, looking down at her as his heart raced. Her purple eyes were clouding, her face pale. "No. No." He whispered, his voice shaking. "Merva, no." He did not even know that he called a name that should be strange to him.
He tried to lift her, to get her treated.
She stopped him, her hand on his chest. "No. I don't feel any pain."
Zeus' eyes met hers, and he knew she was dying. "I have always dreamed of fighting alongside you." She said lowly. "Not like this though."
He felt rage like he had never felt before, one that threatened to consume him.
She smiled at him, a small sweet smile, and then she kisses him. "You were beautiful today."
She rested her head against his heart, her eyes closing.
His heart shattered into a million pieces, as he felt her slip away, her body going still in his arms.
Two names flashed in his head, "Merva, Nessina."
And then he was gone.
He was surrounded by darkness, his sword cutting down the enemy faster than a mortal eyes could witness. He killed, then vanished, appearing where the enemy was, and ending them, till they were all gone.
He stood in the field, covered in blood, barely seeing the carnage he had caused. And then he vanished again.
He was in the throne room, surrounded by people who were their enemies. He did not care, he just walked towards Cassian who sat on the throne.
"You are in my seat." Zeus said, an evil smile on his face.
"Zeus...it's... It's not what you think." Cassian stammered as Zeus got closer.
"Is it not?" This version of him enjoyed the look, and feel of fear that he felt from this room.
An image flashed in his brain, the face of Cassian, but in a different way. "Cronus." He heard his voice call out. It was not him, it was a memory.
He tried to kill Cassian, but note memories flooded. He roared in rage, killing all the others in the room, and tried to kill Cassian again. But he couldn't.
He fell to his knees, tears falling from his eyes. The darkness called to him, pleading with him to let them relieve his pain, but he resisted.
The false reality began to fall apart, his tears still falling. He looked at Cassian as he faded away, and then up at the thunderous sky.
He did not notice that the darkness around him had changed, or that the false reality had truly faded away.