The Dark Carnival

Everyone seems to be extremely tense this morning, no doubt still scared of the demonic wailing heard in the dead of the night last night. Even so, the morning preparations go on. After me and the Raiders put on their armor we head to our previous deployment. I hear several people saying that I was the cause of those screams, that I killed someone in the camp, or that the souls of the damned are yearning for revenge. That last one isn't quite wrong ironically enough. The commanders tell them to shut up and continue with the preparations. The march still goes on. 

The clouds are dark and grey above us, and the negative energy that permeated the air yesterday is even thicker today, even the mages can see feel it and are incredibly anxious, and the normal soldiers just feel a sense of "wrongness" about it. But yet, the war goes on, or does it?

Right before the horn signals the charge, the horse the general is on spooks, and bucks the general off. While the general is still in midair, a shadowy being cloaked in purple fire is seen emerging from the ground, and it splits the horse vertically in half, rises higher, and decapitates the general. Both sides stare at it in fear, the commanders not knowing what to do. And then, the being raises its head to the heavens, and lets loose a howl that inspires fear in all that hear it, the fight or flight mechanism present in all living beings instantly being turned on by the unearthly shriek emanating from the being. I raise my right hand to the sky, and the rain begins pouring, and fog starts rising from the ground. From Abyss, the negative energy that was present in the air is sucked into it, and the compressed energy flows into Void, supercharging the wraiths, and from Void, hell erupts.

Void begins violently shaking as thousands of souls forcefully erupt from it, and begin to semi solidify. The once lone fire cloaked being is now not so alone. Purple hellfire forms lines from Void and where the line ends a Hellfire Wraith is formed. These beings do not need any orders, for they are well aware of what their purpose it. As the Imperials are stunned and locked into place from fear and shock, thousands of these wraiths begin tearing into the Republic army. Everytime a Republic soldier dies, their souls goes right back into their body, and they turn into zombies, and turn on their old allies. Anyone who was watching this spectacle would all agree, regardless of race, ideology, alignment, that what was happening wasn't a battle, it was a one sided massacre.

Wraiths were cleaving bodies in half, decapitating, the hellfire burning men alive, and the zombies were biting and clawing away at people, limb by limb. The army was trying it's hardest to run away, but it was all for naught, as the disorderly retreat quickly turned the organized ranks into an unruly mob, making themselves into even easier targets. What was once a magnificent army that would inspire fear or hatred, respect or disgust, was now nothing more than zombies in varying states, and the only people left behind were the generals. The oldest of the wraiths captured them, and brought them close to forefront of the imperial army. The rest of the wraiths and zombies got behind them and stood still. As I approached the generals, the imperials eyes began watching me, and the undead knelt. This got the eyes of the generals to almost pop out of their sockets. I walked up to the head commander of the Republic Army, and I hear him crying, begging for god to save him.

[There is no God friend, they are all sealed or dead. There is but one god who remains, and his name is Death. And guess who his apostle is?]

At this his tears begin flowing freely, snot flying from his nose. Disgusted at this sight, I lop off his head. I grab it by the hair and begin walking to Julius. The generals and royal guard place their hands at their hilts. I stare into Julius' eyes, and speak.

[Your Highness, Prince Julius, it has been far too long since we had talked to each other, man to man, has it not?]

[Captain of the Raiders, what is the meaning of this!?]

[You do not remember me? It has only been a little over a week since we had last seen each other?]

[I do not know of what you are speaking of mercenary, now explain yourself!]

[Very well, since you do not recognize your own brother, I suppose I should show you.

[Brother?]

I take off my mask with my free hand, and my black hair flows freely now. The gasp of the generals and julius are heard.

[Alscepius? Of course it was you, and your accursed necromancy.]

[Now now, is that anyway to treat your sweet little brother? The same brother that won this battle for you singlehandedly?]

[You used necromancy, we cannot treat this as a victory when using such diabolical means!]

[The end justifies the means, as a commander surely you should be aware that in war, there is no such thing as fair.]

[Father was right to try to execute you. Luckily for him and us, you've revealed yourself, and now I will finish what he could not, and regain my title of Crown Prince. Men, execute him!]

[You saw what I just did to the Republic, are you sure you want to do that? Look, the men are already retreating.]

Just as I said, most of the rank and file troops are already running away with their tails between their legs, the only ones remaining are the knights, royal guard, generals, and Raiders. Fear can be seen solidifying as beads of sweat rolling down the faces of those who remain, and the faces of men turn as pale as vampires. I turn towards Liu Bei

[Liu Bei, I need you to stay here for a second. I plan on giving you the heads of Julius, Zhuge Liang, Gaun Yu, and the enemy commander, and I need you to deliver a message to Father.]

[Y-y-yes Sir!]

I Cannot afford to leave Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu alive, for one is a master strategist, and the other is a mighty warrior and tactician. Liu Bei is only a noble, and this is his first battle, he is easily scared and manipulated.

[You will not kill us so easily, men, charge!]

And so the battle began once again, this one even easier than the one before. Within a couple minutes the remnants of the imperial forces are swept away and turned into zombies. A Wraith belonging to a group I call "Hand of Death", the first of my wraiths and most powerful, is ordered to take care of Zhuge Liang. Him being a strategist, not combatant, is easily taken care of.

[Fight us like a man Alscepius!]

[Why would I? I don't particularly feel like fighting you and I have thousands willing to do it for me.

[You will see hell for your sins one day, by my life I swear this!]

I am well aware I have sold my soul, but I am fine with that, after all, everything has a price, and I will eventually buy back my soul as well. With that, my wraiths flood the two, and while a hundred or so die, the other two are mortal men, and cannot continue fighting forever against a seemingly endless enemy. First, Julius dies, and Guan Yu, in his rage, continues struggling even more violently before, but in exchange his defense isn't as good as before, and he too dies. The heads are given to Liu Bei, and he gallops away as fast as he can back to Xorynth to report to my father.

The wraiths line themselves up separately from the zombies, and kneel. The zombies stand at attention, and I mold their souls, forcing them to burn their meat suits, and turn into wraiths. They too kneel. A smile, the first true smile I've held in a long time creeps onto my face. Before me lies thousands of loyal subjects willing to kill and die for me. I have them construct a throne of bone and sword for me, and have them carry me to the clearing where Stitch, Stimpy, and Lily are. As they carry me, I ponder what I shall do now, now that the whole world will learn of my existence. 

From this day, three new legends were birthed. The man known as "The Butcher of the Blood Soaked Plains", the re-emergence of the youngest prince as "The King of Death", and the event that shall be remembered for centuries, "The Dark Carnival"