Back to back, they stood, one clad in golden armor that disguised form and the other wearing simple black robes. Around them, in the silent aftermath of the battlefield, lay those that had stood against them. The two victors scanned the sloping walls of the earthen bowl in which they stood and then, as one, they turned inward.
The woman, dressed in robes with hair shorn close to her head, raised her gaze to look at the armored visage above. The man raised his hands and removed his helmet, ending the silence of the dead with the pneumatic hiss of air as the seals were broken. Human and Drak looked at each other, while the Drak removed a gauntlet. His wide reptilian hand lay flat against her cheek.
She stiffened; her eye looking far away. “Tell me what you see.” Ritual words spoken in Standard, devoid of the hiss and clicks that dominated the Drak’s tongue.
“It will be as you wish, De’kado.” As she answered him, De’kado donned his gauntlet once more. “There will be peace.” She smiled at him. She was still smiling, when her head hit the ground.
“NO!”
De’kado turned deliberately towards the sound of that outraged voice. With measured steps, he walked out of the arena, away from the corpses. He stopped near a small group of humans and looked down at young woman, who was on her knees, sobbing.
“You killed her!” She hurled her voice, as there was nothing else to throw.
“I did what was necessary.” He held a hand out to the girl. “Come, we must go.” When she place her hand in his, he raised the human to her feet. De’Kado turned to his men. “Bring the Lady Selene, leave the rest for the scavengers.” He walked away, leaving the carnage behind.
Fire and Light 