Earthbreaker's Promise
Chapter 2 - Zanna

Queen Zanna sat curled in one of the many windows of her castle, looking out across the lands. At one point she would have seen homes, churches, farms and people dotting the grounds of Charon. Centuries of effort from her and the Queens that came before had resulted in an impressive number of followers, although Rogues gave them all a bad name and there were still many clans who refused her rule. Bloody conflicts erupted every so often within the kingdom between opposing factions, but nothing like what she currently saw. Outside the window, there was widespread destruction and she cursed the day the humans had been given the means to find them. Zanna had sought assistance with a threat her people had overseen for thousands of years, only to end up hunted instead by those who feared them.

Large patches of the landscape were now barren from the previous day’s battle. Buildings that had burned stood out as charred, blackened shells slowly falling apart in the strong winds. Zanna’s only consolation at the moment was that those closer to the castle wall had made it inside and to safety before the raids began. Still, there were far less alive today than there should have been.

For all the power her people possessed, numbers weren’t on their side, nor allies. While one Other was worth more than a dozen humans, the weaker species had no problem sending more and more to their deaths as long as the job was done. That, combined with long ranged weaponry that seemed to become more and more advanced had left Zanna and her kingdom on the defensive.

Flinching, she released the iron grip she had on her own forearm. Her knuckles popped as she let go, and looking down she saw four crescent moons quickly fill with blood and drip onto her purple dress. She stared at the wound and hated to see it heal, the pain was welcome.

“How weak you have grown, Zanna.” She whispered, turning away from the window and pacing around the room. Right that moment, she didn’t want to think about the army waiting just over the ridge. An army that should have posed no more threat to her than an insect to a giant.

I am Earthbreaker the Destroyer, Ravager, Keeper of the Void. Once, I would have opened the Earth beneath their feet and dropped them into its depths! Now the enemy waits outside our walls while I hide and preserve the power I have left.

Zanna heard the sound of clinking weapons seconds before the oversized, double doors to her chamber opened in a rush of wind. She paused in her pacing, turning to face the approaching figures. Three sets of heavy boots sounded out against the stone floor as her royal guard, The Trinity, came to stand before her. Zanna’s expression turned grim, they wouldn’t leave the front lines without a reason.

Theron and Lorina bowed while Ambrose in his dark clothing and short black hair simply stepped from the middle towards her, anger apparent in his stance and the restless energy that vibrated from him. Zanna realized she had nearly forgotten just how large the man was until he was towering over her, nearly twice as wide as her own slight frame and bulging with muscle. And the greatsword with its bone hilt strapped to his back matched his size.

Ambrose locked gazes with her, his red eyes furious and searching. “Their second march has commenced, Zanna.” He said her name like a curse. “From my best guess they send a thousand more men, with at least another eight in reserve. Will you stay holed up in this castle while we fight and die for you?”

Lorina crossed her arms and snarled, showing a hint of incredibly sharp canines. “Watch how you speak to the Queen, Ambrose. She does not deserve your scorn. Save it for the humans.”

Ambrose addressed Lorina but never took his eyes from Zanna. “I pledged my allegiance to the Earthbreaker. The goddess of destruction that would crush a mountain if it dared stand in her way. Her power drew me like a moth to a flame.”

His heated eyes raked over her from head to toe and she shivered in spite of herself. “I don’t know this coward in front of me. Nor do I know why I bother to serve her. Maybe I should put her out of her misery and start the cycle again?”

Zanna held up a hand as Lorina emitted a low growl but she didn't dare break eye contact with Ambrose in that moment. From the corner of her eye she recognized that Theron was watching, his face just as cold and devoid of emotion as always. Still, he was interested and she knew he was carefully filing away all of their actions.

She took a deep breath, knowing the risk of what she was about to say. The Trinity would give their lives for her, of that she had no doubt. But she also knew that they each had someone else they answered to.

You have to sell this. They can’t find out how weak you are.

A blink and her lavender eyes went cold. An unseen wave and she pushed away her emotions. She was their ruler, their goddess, their Queen. And in that moment the man in front of her was not her lover, he was a challenger.

“Kneel,” she said, drawing out the word. Zanna waited several moments but Ambrose never moved a muscle, which wasn’t surprising. She was one of the few individuals who truly knew how ancient he was. And luck can only get one so far.

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Smiling, Zanna reached into her core and tapped the reserves of her power. In her mind’s eye, she stood atop what was once a deep, black ocean stretching as far as she could see. Now, there was only a pond but it would be more than enough.

As easily as another person would raise their arm, she flexed her power like a muscle. Between one blink and the next the castle rumbled, but it wouldn’t collapse, not unless she willed it. Glasses fell from tables and shattered, furniture moved itself across the floor and paintings fell from the walls.

Ambrose tried to hide his reaction but a slight tightening of the eyes was enough. Zanna had learned his tells long ago. Withdrawing her power from the castle she focused it instead on Ambrose, watching dispassionately as his head slumped and he fell to his knees hard enough to break the bones of a weaker man. Except he was the leader of the Trinity for a reason and weakness was an unfamiliar concept to him.

Carefully, Zanna formed a fist, letting Ambrose endure the sensation of an invisible force crushing against his body from all sides. Only when several ribs popped and he released a ragged wheeze did she stop. Then she watched and waited to see if her point had been made. Seconds later a cough broke through the silence and he wiped away the blood at his mouth.

“Well,” Ambrose said, rolling his neck before looking up at her with a smirk. “I’m happy to see that the Earthbreaker is still in there after all.”

“Jackass.” Lorina muttered as she rolled her eyes, absently pushing a blonde curl behind her ear.

“Why must you always test this between us?” Zanna asked, already feeling the toll from the use of her powers.

Grunting, Ambrose got to his feet. “Because it is the way I am, my Queen. Show weakness and I will test you. How else will we know that you have what it takes to remain the Keeper?”

“You could always ask.” Lorina remarked.

Zanna raised her hand before Ambrose had another chance to open his mouth. They would argue for hours if given the chance. For no reason other than to annoy each other.

“Theron.” She said, addressing the most likely candidate to give her an unemotional response. “How is the Vault?”

“Unstable, my Queen.” He said, speaking for the first time since their entrance. “Its prisoners test their bonds. Your attention will be required sooner rather than later.”

Zanna cursed inwardly but didn't let her concern show. The timing was too awful to be a coincidence. The integrity of the Vault failing, war on their doorstep, her powers weakened.

Something is unfolding just beneath my nose, but do I have the time to find out what? She shook her head. It matters not, the Vault will not fail on my watch. No matter what comes. This is my promise.

“The army first then.” Zanna said more to herself than anything, her mind spinning. Then she padded towards the fallen but intact wooden dresser in the corner. In moments she had stripped, ignoring the whistle from Ambrose as she changed into a set of lightweight plate mail with lavender accents, specially made for her slight build.

“What are you doing?” Lorina asked as Zanna approached the window that served as her earlier perch.

Zanna glanced towards the distant ground. “As your Queen and as your friend. I hereby command the Trinity to gather our remaining people and retreat to the tunnels underneath the mountain. Ambrose will know what to do from there. ”

“Damn it, woman,” he cursed. “You expect us to just-“

The castle shook again, this time with enough severity that all three members of the Trinity nearly lost their footing. “I expect you to obey.” Zanna said, then jumped from the window and was gone.

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