The Zombie Knight

It had been another long day. Prince David of House Lumenbel was a guest in this country, but it increasingly felt as if that meant very little. The major political players within Intar seemed to view him as nothing more than a nuisance to be pushed off onto their assistants and secretaries. He'd been here for months now, and yet he'd still never gotten the opportunity to sit down and speak with any of the big names for more than five minutes at a time.

But that was the real trick of it, wasn’t it? The real danger here.

Gohvis was his son.

But also not.

Not truly.

It was a game. A story they’d both agreed to tell each other, long ago.

And for his part, Dozer knew that he’d allowed himself to soften too much because of it. He’d let himself indulge in the fantasy of fatherhood, as he’d done many other times throughout his life.

Despite how much some of his followers might have protested otherwise, Dozer was under no illusion that he was some flawless being. Fatherhood had frequently been his weakness. No doubt, it stemmed from a place deep within his psyche that he would never truly be rid of.

Fostering abandoned youth. Helping the helpless to see the truth of this world.

These things, in retrospect, had always been of little practical utility to him and his empire. But so often, he couldn’t resist the allure.

And Gohvis here... was arguably the pinnacle of that weakness.

From an outside perspective, it would undoubtedly seem nonsensical. He supposed he owed the boy an explanation, at least.

“Son... the truth of the matter is that this concept of ‘trust’ you are referring to... is flawed.” Dozer scratched his brow as he eyed the lad carefully, watching his stony expression and half-expecting him to launch into an attack at any moment. “I might have outwardly ‘trusted’ Suresh, yes. I will not deny that. But you see...” He couldn’t help breaking for a brief laugh, now. “That was because I never actually liked him, son.”

Gohvis’ reptilian stare did not budge. “...What?”

Dozer shook his head, wondering if it was even possible for the boy to understand. “Trusting Suresh was easy. Trivial, even. Because I knew that doing so wouldn’t weaken me. I knew that he was a threat and that, ultimately, any ‘trust’ between us could only go so far. But with you, it is different. You are my son.”

At that, the giant black dragon man opened his mouth, but no words came out. Then he closed it again and merely looked confused.

“You,” Dozer continued slowly, “actually have the power to weaken me, if I allow it. Which is why I must not.”

Silence arrived.

Dozer waited.

Perhaps there’d been a better way to explain it, but Dozer couldn’t think of it, even as he continued to mull his words over in his mind.

“Tell me.” There was a rare tinge of anger in Gohvis’ voice now. “Long have I pondered these questions. Each time I have broached the subject in the past, you have evaded or deflected or denied me outright. So if you are finally ready to be candid with me, to acknowledge that it has not all been some insecure concoction of my own mind, then you must tell me the whole truth of it, Father. Have I not been a good son to you? What is the ultimate source of this distrust you have in me? It cannot merely be that man’s death, can it?”

And again, Dozer nearly laughed. He shook his head, instead, knowing all too well that his son would find such condescension nigh intolerable during a moment like this. If there was to be any hope of salvaging anything between the two of them, right now, then he had keep himself steady. He needed to not be indulgent. “...You freely admit to be working with the Vanguard, and yet you still wonder why I might distrust you?”

“No,” said Gohvis. “While that is what things have come to, I speak of before. In the past. I was never anything but loyal to you. Is it so strange that I should begin to consider other options when you have been so persistently impossible to please?”

Dozer bobbed his head. “It is not. I understand that part of you very well.” He took a moment to both measure his next words and also give his son a chance to respond again, but when Gohvis merely waited, he continued on. “And truthfully, on some level, I respect you for that decision. You are stepping out of my shadow, if only a little. Any halfway decent father should feel at least a modicum of pride in that.”

Gohvis just stared at him with those deathly red eyes of his. After the slight emotion they’d shown earlier, now they were back to being as impossible to read as usual.

He was waiting for more, Dozer knew. Because the main question had still not be addressed.

Why did he struggle to trust Gohvis as he had trusted Suresh? Suresh, a man who had even become openly hostile to him toward the end.

Why should his son be held in such comparably low esteem to a man such as that? Especially when the two were quite similar in many ways?

He had to admit. The boy’s confusion was understandable.

And tragic, perhaps.

The real issue.

Ah.

Dozer remained quiet. The boy did have a point, though he still didn’t want to admit it, even after all these years.

There was a particular incident that had caused the fallout between them, an incident that Dozer had been struggling to get past.

Maybe he really had gotten too old. Becoming too stuck in his ways. Unable to forgive and move on.

Eh, who was he kidding? He’d never been one for forgiveness.

“You still fault me for killing Suresh,” said Gohvis.

“...Yes,” said Dozer flatly.

And for a time, the lad just looked at him, a rare expression of surprise on his reptilian face. He’d not been expecting that, had he?

Hell, even Dozer himself hadn’t. On any other occasion, he might’ve deflected or outright denied it.

The truth, that was.

It was supposed to be ancient history by now. How could anyone hold onto a singular grudge for so long?

But here and now, he wanted to acknowledge it. Finally. It was almost a relief--for him and his son both, seemingly.

The look on Gohvis’ face melted gradually into one of somber exhaustion. The lad let out a deep sigh and sat down on the floor, wrapping his tail around and resting it on his own lap.

What now, he wondered?

This was what they called progress, he supposed. A step in the right direction, perhaps.

Or perhaps not.

“In killing him, more information was lost than in the sacking of Ethori. Or the destruction of Arkotesh. Do you understand? In that one act, you deprived me of incalculable value. Even if I were to annihilate your precious Erudia, the loss would not compare.”

“Now you exaggerate.”

“I do not. You simply did not realize the depths to which he was still useful to me.”

“He was trying to kill you, Father.”

“And he would have failed, son.” Dozer almost laughed. “The more things change, the more they stay the same. Just as you thought me incapable of defending myself then, you still think that now. Only your reasoning has changed, it would seem.”

“And you continue to not see my true worth,” said Gohvis. “I am now far more knowledgeable than Suresh ever was. Whatever plans you had for him, I can fulfill in his stead if you would but trust me.”

It was Dozer’s turn to sigh.

There’d been a time, of course, when he’d thought differently. When he’d thought that every war--every battle, even--was critical. He’d thought that any point could be the turning one, for the better or worse.

It had been a man named Suresh who had ultimately changed his mind about that, a man who also happened to be one of the most fearsome individuals Dozer had ever personally known--and an unparalleled source of knowledge, besides.

“We have stepped beyond the threshold, Medan. The world watches us, always. And while many tremble at our slightest glance, many others do not. Instead, they seek to use us. To manipulate and force us to move. They see all that we have built, all that we have inherited, and they think that makes us vulnerable, because it gives us something to lose.

“But it doesn’t. And they are fools. Because we are monoliths. We do not move by the world’s will or provocation. We move when we decide, and everyone else must make way. Do not forget that, Medan, else you will soon find yourself dizzy at this new height of power.”

And indeed, Dozer had found that to be true. How many wars had there been since then? Too many to count, certainly. And they always felt like the most important thing in the world at the time. And in fairness to the people involved in them, perhaps they were.

But not to him.

No. He wasn’t going to let himself get sucked into this nonsense that Morgunov had no doubt started on a whim. Even if the rest of world didn’t see that obvious fact, he did.

“You surprise me, boy,” said Dozer. “Letting yourself get mixed up in the Demon’s messes again. When you didn’t budge from your library, I thought you’d finally learned your lesson.”

“This has nothing to do with him. And I think you know that.”

“No? Perhaps so. I thought you had a fondness for some of his men, at least. Betraying me means betraying them, as well. The rest of Abolish will not look kindly upon you as a traitor--or your followers. Are you prepared to risk their lives, as well?”

“Stop this. It is unlike you to speak of trivialities and pettiness. You are trying to throw out distractions, because you do not wish to discuss the real issue here.”

Interesting. The fact that Gohvis chose to reveal all of this instead of silently attacking him was curious. Surely, there were other things he could have said if it was only a matter of keeping him preoccupied. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because as I said, I am wondering if we might not still be able to find common ground again.”

“You are not entirely certain you wish to betray me yet, is that it?”

“In essence. You are my father, after all.”

“How tenderhearted of you.”

“Mock me all you like. Even if you somehow overpower me and go to the aid of the others, today will not be a good day for Abolish. Unless, perhaps, you can convince me to remain by your side and help.”

Ridiculous. But he supposed this conversation was a long time coming, one way or another. They’d both avoided it in so many different small ways.

And he could see the lad’s stratagem here. Gohvis had waited until the stakes were high enough such that Dozer could not merely brush him off or deflect--or otherwise try to delay this talk until another occasion.

Either it happened now, or it didn’t happen at all.

That still did not explain, however, why the lad had been so intent on not wanting Engomat to hear this conversation. That part remained highly suspect. If Gohvis had any sense, he would at least not want to fight him at full power. Or perhaps he thought he could simply kill Engomat the instant they separated.

Regardless, Dozer did have to admit that Gohvis had a fair bit of leverage here. The lad’s assessment of the situation was not without its merit. A major counterstroke from the Vanguard had been likely to occur for a while now, so if today was indeed the day, then it was no great surprise.

But it was, also, not necessarily Dozer’s problem.

“You know I have no plans to further involve myself in Morgunov’s little war,” he said. “Keeping me busy would not be necessary. I would not have gone to anyone’s aid in the first place.”

“Mm. I told the Vanguard as much, myself. They seemed not to believe me. Which was understandable, I suppose. Trusting my word in these circumstannces would have been of great risk to them, with comparatively little benefit.”

Indeed, his son did understand. No matter how great this offensive from the Vanguard turned out to be, it could ultimately be considered just another test for the men.

As ever, the worthy would endure.

That was why Gohvis had gone to great lengths, at a relatively young age, to acquire via mutation the power of telepathy. Because with it, he was able to speak in two simultaneous voices, one physical and one non-physical.

It certainly hadn’t been perfect at first. But over time, he’d refined. And now, of course, he was of sufficient age that none questioned it, anymore. They all simply assumed--quite reasonably--that he existed in a perpetual hyper-state with his reaper.

These days, Dozer was one of only a handful in the entire world who knew this about him. Even Morgunov and Jercash didn’t seem to know, though it was difficult to be certain of that. Those two both had their own ways of getting their hands on information that seemed otherwise unobtainable.

Just as Dozer himself did.

“If you truly wanted to have such a conversation with me,” said the old man, “then this is not the way. And you know that.”

Gohvis merely stood there, eyes as piercingly red as ever.

Then a thought struck him. “Or perhaps--hmm. Is this about the Dulvani? You did have a fondness for them, didn’t you? If so, then cease your worrying. I have no plans to eradicate them.” Unless they got in his way, of course, but Gohvis would already know that, too.

Still, the lad said nothing.

Mm. Hold on a minute... Yes, he would already know that, wouldn’t he? So then...

“...You did come here for them, didn’t you?” said Dozer, tilting his head. “Because you know that they have what I seek. Or some knowledge of it, at least.”

“You are jumping to conclusions, Father. I’d not recommend doing that, today of all days.”

Dozer squinted with one eye. “And what difference does the day make?”

“I’m not here for the woodfolk, Father. I’m here at the behest of the Vanguard. Of Sermung.”

Dozer clenched his jaw. Invoking that name, here and now, was a deliberate insult. But he maintained his composure. After all, just as he knew what to say in order to get under his son's skin, the opposite was undoubtedly true, too.

“And today is the day of their counteroffensive,” said Gohvis. Despite his words, he did not sound smug at all. Just flat and serious, as ever. “My job was merely to keep you busy. They didn’t even ask me to kill you, though I’m sure they wanted to.”

“It is nothing so conspiratorial as either of those things,” said Gohvis, “but once I have explained, you will understand. So please, Father. If there is any amount of trust left within you, then let it be used here.”

Dozer leveled his steely gaze at him. If this were anyone else, there would’ve been an obvious solution here. As a show of good faith, the traditional course of action here would have been to exchange reapers with one another and then encase them both.

To put their lives in each other’s hands, in other words.

It was a simple, ancient, and yet still quite effective method of creating a neutral environment for which negotiations such as this one could be conducted.

Problem was, Gohvis did not have a reaper.

Because the infamous Black Scourge was not a servant.

For quite some time, that particular subject had been an enduring mystery. For as long as Dozer had known him, Gohvis had always possessed the same powers as a servant with mutation. But a reaper never appeared.

At first, Dozer had thought that, surely, the reaper was just hiding--that Gohvis’ independence was merely an elaborate illusion. Even after Gohvis demonstrated his ability to invoke the regeneration on his own, without needing to be touched by any reaper, it had still taken Dozer many more years before he fully, truly believed it.

But as strange and obnoxious as it sometimes was, it also undoubtedly had proved very advantageous over the years. Reapers were the primary point of weakness for servants, after all. Gohvis being able to regenerate without one meant that he may’ve well been a true immortal.

Perhaps the first in history, even.

It was hard to know that for sure, though. As far as Dozer was aware, Gohvis had never been completely obliterated--never vaporized or atomized, for instance--so there was no telling if he could regenerate himself from such a state unaided. And rather understandably, the lad was not keen to test that out, either, because by all conventional wisdom, it was very likely that, no, he wouldn’t be able to.

But then again, he could still regenerate from having his brain destroyed, so it wasn’t entirely out of the question.

For the longest time, the questions that Gohvis provoked from others had been incessant. Naturally, many of their comrades eventually noticed that something was strange with him, and explaining his exceptional nature to them was not something that was in any way advantageous to him.

“I have only moved to protect what was mine,” said Gohvis. “That is not the same as moving against you.”

“Splitting hairs won’t help your case here,” said Dozer. “Taking responsibility for your actions might.”

The giant reptile shook his head. “Regardless, this is important, Father. I do not ask this of you lightly. I know how difficult it is for you to extend even a modicum of trust my way, at the moment, but in this matter, I must insist. Engomat cannot be privy to this information, at least until you’ve heard and processed it yourself. If you decide afterward that you wish to tell him everything I said, then that is fine. But you will need the option.”

“...Why?” said Dozer. “What possible reason could there be for that?”

“I am sorry, but if I explained any further while he can hear, it will likely defeat the purpose of secrecy.”

It was Dozer’s turn to shake his head. “That is not good enough, son. You ask too much and offer too little.”

Gohvis gave a heavy sigh, and for the first time, turned away from Dozer, pacing toward the far side of the room. He was so tall that his head nearly scraped one of the small, metal lamp fixtures that hung from the ceiling.

“To my mind, there are only two reasons you would ask such a thing of me,” said Dozer. “The first is that you are simply lying and trying to make it easier to kill me. Which, amusingly, would not work even if I agreed to your terms, but seeing as you are clearly confident in your own ability, you must disagree with that assessment. Meaning that this explanation is indeed quite likely.”

Dozer left space for Gohvis to respond, but the enormous dragon man said nothing, not even turning around to face him again.

“The second explanation,” Dozer went on, “is that, somehow, you are being earnest, and you instead fear that if Engomat hears and understands whatever it is that you wish to say, he will then take some immediate, unpreventable, and irreversible action. Such as releasing my soul, perhaps? But what information would prompt him to do such a thing? And you must surely realize that while in a hyper-state, I am the one in foremost control. Have you forgotten that? Or is there some other action from him that you fear? If so, then I am having trouble imagining what it might be.”

After everything they’d been through together, it was somehow much more tempting to say the things that he knew would irritate.

Perhaps, deep down, some part of him had been wanting this day to come. Wanting to see if Gohvis would truly go this far.

But no. Reason needed to win out, today. Too much was at stake.

“Very well,” said Dozer. He moved for the large chair by his sprawling bed and took a seat. “Speak your piece. I promise to listen in earnest.”

For a time, Gohvis was again quiet, no doubt trying to choose his words carefully.

Dozer just waited for him.

“...I have seen what you are looking for in this place,” said the Scourge. “I can help you find it. But in exchange, you must agree to help me achieve my goal, as well.”

Dozer cocked an eyebrow. “What you’ve just described was our original arrangement, no? And were you not the one who first declared that our two dreams were incompatible with one another?”

“...Yes,” said Gohvis. “But I have since discovered new information which has changed my mind.”

Dozer rubbed his temple with one knuckle. “Well, now, that is interesting, because I’ve heard you say it so often and for so long that I think I might’ve come to believe it, myself. So please explain to me what this new information is.”

“I would be happy to,” said Gohvis, “but not in Engomat’s presence.”

Dozer scoffed. “You cannot be serious.”

“Unfortunately, I am. Please, Father. Disengage your hyper-state, send Engomat away, and I will explain. And perhaps, when I do you no harm, you will finally realize beyond doubt that I am still loyal to you.”

“Hardly. You say all of that as if I would be entirely at your mercy without Engomat’s help.”

“No, Father. You are already at my mercy. You may not want to acknowledge it, but the truth is, my strength surpassed yours long ago.”

Dozer couldn’t help smiling a little. He had to admire the lad’s confidence, at least. “If that’s so, then why do you not simply force me to submit, then take the whole of Abolish for yourself?”

“Because that is a different matter altogether. I have never coveted your position. How many times must I say that before you finally believe me?”

“Words are cheap, son.”

“Then what of my actions? Never once have I moved against you.”

“Well, that is not exactly true, now is it?”

Such conversations were quite rare, these days. Not many within the Vanguard were both capable enough to seek him out and also willing enough to actually speak with him. It was usually one or the other.

However, he then sensed something he had not been expecting. At least, not here and now.

He sensed the assassin’s full presence. Yes. Assassin. Singular. It was not a group, as was typically the case. It was only one man.

And it was an all too familiar one, at that.

He turned to see the enormous figure there, one with a profile so unique that it identified him instantly without need of any other information.

His supposed right-hand man. The Black Scourge. The Monster of the East.

Gohvis was here.

Chapter Two Hundred Eighty-Three: ‘The Melody in Black...’

“...Why would you appear before me in this manner?” said Dozer. “You, of all people, should know how I would perceive it.”

Gohvis made no response.

Dozer clenched his jaw. What was this, now?

The Scourge was admittedly not among those he’d been expecting to see, but it did make an unfortunate degree of sense.

For over two centuries, he and Gohvis had not been on the best of terms. The Scourge was a far cry from the little lost creature that Dozer had once rescued and decided to raise as his own child. Too much had happened. Those memories were of a different life entirely. Or maybe they’d grown distorted by time and nostalgia.

“...If you’ve come to kill me,” said Dozer, “then why do you hesitate? I and many others taught you better than that, no?”

“I am still undecided,” said Gohvis.

Dozer exhaled half a laugh through his nose. “At this late stage? It seems to me that you should have sorted through your feeling before showing yourself.” But then, that had always been the lad’s weakness, hadn’t it? Ruled by emotion, no matter how hard he tried to protest otherwise.

Saying as much aloud would not have been productive, however.

“No,” said Gohvis, rather unsurprisingly. “I am thinking that we may yet be able to find common ground again. Before it is too late.”

Too late for whom, exactly? The lad had a knack for making veiled threats that were not so veiled. Pointing that out, too, would not have been productive. Dozer had to control himself.

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