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Arthmata (The Saga)
Arthmata (The Saga)
Author: John Owen

Prologue

"Evil will not rule forever Frost, you hear me? You will not endure long." said a woman who was shackled by chains that glowed red as if it had just been removed from a forge. 

The woman flinched as little bolts of energy struck on her body where the glowing chain was wound around save for her legs below the knew. A chain held each hand to opposite walls of the dungeon she was held in a way that she was suspended in the air as if she was doing a star jump. Her hair was silk and she was clad in a tattered gown that still held a royal magnificence. The gown was purple, with a keyhole neckline. A pendant fastened the place where the two clothes met above the keyhole. 

The dungeon was more of a cave that seemed not to have a back. It was dark, lit only by the moonlight that penetrated the scarce, narrow windows and the glowing chains, and cobwebs hung all around. The walls were rugged as if someone had just dug into rock and it had an ambience that looked horrific. Securing the dungean were thick, rusty metal bars that had enough space between them so that an average adult could easily go through. However, that was an illusion as the space was smaller than it seemed when seen from inside. Behind the darkness occasionally emerged vague outlines of creatures and that made it look more of a scene from a horror movie. 

Surrounding the woman were fully armored soldiers, some of whom had their swords drawn, while others had their hands on their swords ready to remove them from their sheaths in a swing. In front of the woman stood a man flanked by other soldiers. The man was huge, taller that everyone around. He had long hair that flowed all the way to his waist like a woman's hair and beards that reached just above his neck bone. Both his hair and beards were shaggy and it made him look like he had just come from the wild. His grin revealed brown and rotten teeth and one artificial canine made of diamond that reflected the dim moonlight. His face had scars and one looked he had been struck by a sword across the face. 

He had a fit physique with a wide chest and broad shoulders. He had a crown on his head that had a pendant similar to the one on the woman's gown that dimly flickered. He had a thick Grey robe made of goat hair that had thick wool on the hem wound on his body unbuttoned. His abs were well defined on his bare chest. He wore a wide iron belt on his waist and a trouser. On his feet was a pair on iron shoes. No matter how cold the weather was, he preferred being bare chested, always revealing the black to brown hairs on his chest. 

"I promise, someone will have to destroy you some day." The man let out a thunderous scornful laugh that echoed or several minutes after he stopped. 

"It's been three thousand years now, woman..." he said after everything had gone quiet, word by word and slowly accentuating "woman" with even scorn, and slowly began walking around the woman. 

"Oh, I'm sorry... Your Highness Sandra, hail the Excellent queen." He said, slightly bowing at the word 'your Highness.' "Who owns Arthmata now? Tell me!" 

"The kingdom was never yours and you know it." Queen Sandra said. 

"Nobody can stop me now, not even your long husband the 'great' king. When I always had to obey your orders like a stupid dog, I always said 'may my kingdom come,' and it became my dream to one day sit on the throne. I knew some day... Some day I would look as my enemies would be crushed under my feet."

"We weren't your enemies Frost, you are your own enemy. You greed and inhumanity is your greatest adversery Frost."

"Haha! Says the fly to the spider. Aren't you ashamed of the abasement you bring to yourself? It is my turn to rule, and justice shall rule. And it's time for me to have everything I never had."

"What didn't you have Frost?" 

"Everything, everything! You took from my father what was his, and took from me what was mine!" 

"Your father was reckless and that's why he was removed, you know the rules of Arthmata Frost."

"Fuck the rules. I am the rule now."

"Is killing innocent people to satiate your bitterness a rule of justice? And you're right when you say you are the rule now, for there will come a new reign, and it shall dawn, very soon." Frost again let out a thunderous laughter. 

"How desperate! The last words of a dying goat? I killed the King, and enjoyed doing it, the last prince will be executed tomorrow. And, I can't wait to drink your blood... It will be a great accompaniment to the meat for my birthday."

"And it will be the birth of your death and downfall too. Finally the Athmata will find a way of purging out all imperfections, all impunity. A savior will arise, and he'll come with a new dawn, darkness will not stand him, it's all written in the Oracles of Times."

"Who will save you woman? I love seeing how you throw the last kicks as you drown into extinction. You and all your line. I'll have a show to show you tomorrow- how will you love seeing your son's head bounce off? Consider it a special invitation from me."

Frost turned to leave and signaled to his soldiers to vacate the area. 

"There will come a savior, he'll come by storm, he... He will destroy you. Soon, very soon." Sandra said and Frost stopped. He turned and looked at Sandra straight in the eye for quite some time. 

"We'll see about that." He said and nodded. "And I was forgetting something..."

He whistled and the creatures in the darkness began moving out, approaching Sandra. They were so many and of different types- squids with horns and razor-sharp teeth, giant spiders, giant centipedes with human legs, giant flies with long tentacles and sharp claws and many others that couldn't be exhaustively described. Some were even difficult to describe. And they all approached the queen for one sole reason- torture. 

"He will destroy you Frost." Sandra's voice echoed after Frost for the last time as he left with his batallion of soldiers. 

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