The Crossroads

The Freelands of Stygia

The Lands-Between

The horde moved through the barren patch of earth that divided the remaining territories held by the vassals of the Nucerian Empire. This no man's land, named the Lands-Between, was all that remained of once-vibrant kingdoms and tribes who dared to resist the Old Republic's legions.

It was said that the battles fought there were so intense that even the earth cracked open, its wounds pouring molten rock and belching hot sulfur into the sky. So thoroughly had Nuceria destroyed the memory of those they defeated that only the blackened ruins, flooded with an unending tide of magma and littered with the bleached bones of the millions-dead, served as the only evidence that such kingdoms existed.

As the horde passed the ruins through a long untreaded path, taken to avoid the common roads, Polgara paused to survey the horrific scenes of desolation.

"What happened here?" She said, leaning out of the window of her transporter.

Sonjita, who rode just beside the stolen war machine, followed her gaze to the ruins. "A monument to Nuceria's glory, can't you tell? What they cannot have, they conquer. What they cannot conquer, they burn."

Polgara had no words. She could only look on with pity, imagining the people who died among the ruins.

"You are Nucerian, aren't you?" Sonjita said, her emerald-green eyes scrutinizing Polgara from head to toe. "Yes, I recognize that imperial look about you."

"Nucerian only by birth, but not in name." Polgara replied, aware of her piercing gaze and mounting suspicion. Her eyes fell to her feet as though in shame. "Those I once held as kinsmen have betrayed and murdered my family. They are no longer my people."

"Oh." The Red Maiden let her guard down when she noticed an all too familiar aura of despair around the Nucerian. It had become apparent to her that Nucerians were capable of being so brutal towards their own kind, "If I may ask, how'd you end up with this rabble? You could've gone anywhere. Being in the company of rebel slaves would be the last place I'd expect someone like you would wind up."

Polgara smiled, nodding in the direction of Angronius, who led the horde from its head. "It's all because of him."

"The brute?"

"Yes, the brute."

Sonjita's brow furrowed, "I don't understand."

"You've seen him fight, haven't you?" Polgara said, watching her lover dreamily as he commanded three men to scout the path ahead. "I know what you're thinking. Never before have you seen a man shatter an army's resolve the way he did. That kind of strength was all he needed to break free from the bonds of slavery, and brought all these freedmen with him across the Sodian."

"He saved your life?"

"That and more. He gave me a reason to live."

Scarred by some past encounter that Polgara could only speculate, Sonjita blurted out her thoughts. "And here I thought men were crude beings fashioned from the basest clay, capable only of savage cruelty and violence."

Polgara glanced up at the redheaded lioness, "Oh, but he's not a man. Angronius is a god."

Two weeks later, the horde made the long trek through the Freelands until they reached a crossroads at the border of Vendhayana, where each path led to a promising future for the enterprising freedman. As they made camp for the night, Sonjita fulfilled her promise to act as guide for the gladiator king. Angronius stood at the peak of a nearby hill, and there Sonjita joined him. To make peace between them after their first meeting at Landfall, she went to him alone.

Sonjita told him of the destination of each path, what benefits they held as well as the dangers. "To the East lies Serusia, the graveyard of empires and home to the most ancient cities in all the Freelands. Among all the peoples of Stygia, those of Serusia have neither bowed to nor resisted Nucerian occupation. Their lands are fertile, large and untamed, with few legion garrisons. You may press your luck to settle there."

Sonjita pointed to the West, "And over there lies the desolate plains of Costigane, a once mighty kingdom that resisted Nuceria long ago before Minerva's Horde rose up against the republic. You will not find fertile land there, for the Nucerians poisoned the soil, but you just might find a rich bounty of loot within the ruins if you are brave enough to fight the machine gods that roam its walls."

"What about there?" The gladiator king asked, pointing to the city sitting at the foot of a large mountain to the South. "What is that place?"

"That is Vendhayana." Sonjita frowned, "A puppet city-state of Nuceria, 'ruled' by Governor Belithan. If you wish to trade, most goods of the finest quality and reasonable prices are found there. There are more legionnaires there than most cities here in Stygia, so you'd best steer clear if you don't want to get their attention."

"The man's name tastes foul to your lips." Angronius observed.

"Belithan is a coward." The Red Maiden replied, "When Nuceria came for his city, he willingly opened his gates and surrendered his crown to the legionary commander without a fight. As a reward, his kingdom became a vassal and was spared from the wrath of the republic. Later, he was appointed governor and remains ever loyal to the Empire of today."

Angronius studied the lands of Vendhayana and noted the scattered garrisons positioned around the city. They all looked to be freshly built, rushed even. Just from observing that bit of detail, he was able to determine that the Nucerian legionnaires occupying the land had just recently been deployed. This was, perhaps, due to some past assault on the city. "Seems to me that a woman of your talents would've attempted to take the city."

Sonjita smiled, "I'm flattered that you would think so. In truth, I did make the attempt. These raiders who follow me now, their numbers were a lot bigger before you met us. We were able to seize the city, but we weren't able to hold it. Belithan escaped before we could close the gaps, and he called for help, sending the legions of Nuceria against us. I couldn't stay after that, so I had to let them retake Vendhayana."

She paused to glance back at the thousand tents pitched across the valley behind them. In an instant, her eyes were agleam with excitement. "But with you, they won't stand a chance."

Angronius threw her an incredulous look upon realizing what the Stygian woman wanted him to do, "I cannot ask my people to do such a thing."

"You are their leader, are you not?"

The gladiator king laughed, "You mistake what these freedmen think of me. I am pledged to bring them out of slavery and into freedom, where they might live in peace, far from the shadow of the Empire. To ask anything beyond that... it wouldn't be just."

"They will still live within the reach of the Empire." Sonjita argued, "Even here, for as long as one Nucerian garrison stands on Stygian soil. You would be a fool to think otherwise."

Angronius' brow arched like the back of a cat ready to pounce. He turned his body so he was fully facing her, "And you would be a fool to continue pressing the matter."

"What's wrong, gladiator king?" Sonjita dared the Slayer's anger, a taunting smile on her face. "Are you afraid?"

Every barbed fiber in the Nails screamed for Angronius to kill the insolent woman. To take hold of her and crush her throat, to reach inside her mouth and tear out her tongue. All of these things he wished to do, but would not allow the Nails to dictate his every action. Neither would he let some redheaded Stygian tell him what to do, "Are you so eager to have your neck back between my fingers?"

"Try it." Sonjita put a hand on her sword-hilt, "I'll lop your hands off before you even make a move for it."

The two stared each other down, a battle-scarred lion against a fiery lioness. Sonjita bared her teeth and pulled her sword halfway, while Angronius looked on, remaining still where he stood. He only had to reach up and clutch her by the neck in one fluid motion. He knew he could do it, he was only daring her to go further.

"Angronius, my brother!"

Ionos' voice rang clear through the air, putting a stop to what could have been another battle between legends. "I would ask something of you." He stopped when he noticed Sonjita quickly sheathe her half-drawn weapon, "Err... is everything alright?"

"Yes." Angronius glared at the woman, "The Red Maiden was just leaving."

Sonjita turned her heel and left without another word. As the two men watched her storm off to her tent, Angronius couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief. As much as his anger made him feel murderous in the heat of the moment, he never truly wished to kill her. He knew that then, when clarity dawned upon his violently pounding head.

"Thank you, Ionos." He said to the Stygian, "A few seconds later, I would've done something regrettable."

"I see that the Firebrand was quick to set your temper aflame." Ionos mused, "If it makes you feel any better, you're not the only one whose had his passions enkindled by Sonjita."

"Really? Are you among those men?"

"Hahaha!" Ionos laughed and shook his head, "Gods, no! Between you and me, she's not my kind of woman. No no, I've heard the stories from back when, to a time when Nuceria kept to the shores of Stygia. Back then, the legend of Sonjita was already the talk of every town. The Red Maiden, the woman who climbed the heights of Mount Khyaltuwa, the tallest mountain in Stygia and sacred mount of the Goddess Scáthach. She who was gifted with the binding of steel and skills with the sword that no man could ever match. They said that no one had ever beaten her in battle."

"Hmph." Angronius scoffed, "Until she met me, that is."

"They also said that she would lay with no man save for whoever defeats her in single combat."

"In that case, she will have to look elsewhere. I already have a woman."

Ionos shrugged, "Well, why stop at one?"

Angronius shot the Stygian an unamused look. "I'm sorry?"

"I meant no offense, I'm only saying. We men are, by nature, creatures with the basest needs. Whatever our eyes find pleasant to see, whatever our hands touch- we want it. Sometimes, a man's mirth is big enough to hold more than one woman. And a god among men, such as yourself, deserves nothing but the finest in the world."

"Polgara is all I need. No other woman shall hold my heart."

Ionos nodded, "And you honor her with such devotion. Indeed, you are a better man than I."

Angronius rested his case and turned to look again at Vendhayana, "Ionos, you told me that you wanted to ask something from me. What was it?"

"Ah yes, I forgot!" The Stygian exclaimed, "Thank you for reminding me. I wanted to know, now that we're at the crossroads, is it true that we are now parting ways?"

"That is so." Angronius nodded, "I am giving my people, and yours, the chance to choose their own path from here. We are freedmen, you are freedmen. I have fulfilled my vow to bring you to these lands. Whatever you choose to do now, it is yours to decide."

"Well, I would really appreciate it if you went with me a little further." Ionos walked up to the edge of the peak, "You see, when the Nucerians bound me and my brothers in chains to be hauled off across the Sodian, the last place I saw my... my mother and sisters... I remember it's not far from here."

Angronius heard the stories. He had ears, and he listened well. "Ionos, if you're thinking of going back to whatever is out there... there might not be much to go back to."

"I know that." Ionos sighed, "I know. But having to not see them, even if there's any of them left, it's poison to my mind."

He needed closure. To see either ghosts or the bleached bones of the dead, it made all the difference to a man's state of mind. Angronius understood this, and so he gave his answer. "I will go with you."

"Thank you." The Stygian sighed, "That is all I ask."

There was something else, something that had been gnawing at Angronius the day he heard Ionos say the words 'son of Minerva'. He never forgot the Stygian who said those same words in the Colosseum Magnus. He had all that time to think on it when he heard Ionos say it, in that same proud voice that only a son who loved his mother could say.

"Ionos. There's something I must ask you."

"Yes, brother?"

Angronius closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then asked him. "Did you have a brother named Kipros?"

Ionos' eye widened with recognition, he nodded slowly. "Yes. He and I were separated when the Nucerians brought us ashore. Why? Have you seen him?"

"I... I have."

"Well, where? Where did you see him? Is he well?"

Angronius shook his head, "I saw him, Ionos. In the arena at the Colosseum Primus."

The growing smile on Ionos' face faded, replaced by a look of mounting sorrow as he listened to the gladiator king's tale.

"The Nucerians, they wanted to use your people as blood offerings to commemorate Marsus Acraesius' Triumph over the Stygians. Your brother was among them. They were handicapped with inhibitor devices. It wasn't even a battle, but an execution. My fellow gladiators left him for me to kill, but I couldn't let the Nucerians demean his death through that disgraceful excuse of a match. So I broke the inhibitor, gave him a fighting chance."

"And... did you kill him?"

Angronius nodded, "I did."

Ionos was silent for a long time. Angronius half-expected him to go for his throat, but the Stygian just stared at him. He could almost see the cogs turning in his head as he worked up the courage to put a hand on the gladiator king's shoulder. "Then you honored him better than the Nucerians did. Be at peace, brother. I hold no contempt for what you've done."

"I... I am grateful."

Ionos smiled and went back to his fellows, who were cooking up stew on some sputtering embers. Deciding it was time to retire for the evening, Angronius descended down the hill and made his way through the camp towards his own tent.

Upon lifting the flap, he found Polgara waiting for him among the bed furs. She'd washed her clothes in one of the streams they passed on the way to the crossroads, and hung them over close to the fire to dry. The journey had exhausted her, and she was already dozing off when he found her.

Hearing him enter, Polgara stirred and turned her sleepy eyes to gaze up at the giant looming over her. "The air's freezing here."

"Need me to warm you up?" Angronius asked, bending down to kiss her forehead. He removed his greaves and sandals, then slipped in among the furs to join her.

"Mmm..." Polgara purred, hugging his arm up to her chest and spooning back into his body. "Yes please."

Angronius smiled in contentment, staying awake to watch the fire fade into embers. He breathed deeply the rich woodland scent in Polgara's hair, which replaced the lofty city-born perfume that once graced its tresses. The softness of her body, in contrast with the hardness of his own, never faded even in the harshness of her new life in the wilds.

Though he put such thoughts well behind him, Angronius kept thinking on Ionos' words about Sonjita. As firm as he would like to be, Angronius knew that she did more than just feed the flames of his ire.

It was thoughts like those that kept him awake that night.