The Lives of Velnin chapter 33

Final Day

Jul 12, 2025

Finding our positions by the river abandoned at the break of dawn, the forces of the Dark Empire had charged forth, horsemen galloping forward to cut us down as we fled, infantry rushing onward behind them. As they reached the hills, the horsemen came upon a square of our archers, facing away and beating a retreat.

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As one, they whooped and charged them, lances pointed, horse archers following behind. Now our trap sprang. From inside the square of archers, our spearmen stepped out and aimed their spears. From the hills, our hidden archers broke cover and began firing, and spearmen below charged down to cut off escape routes. As expected the lancers wheeled around before impact as the horse archers behind them made a firing pass on our spearmen, and as a mass the horsemen retreated through what route was still available to them.

I rode with the cavaliers. Now we rounded the hill we had lain in wait behind. At a gallop we charged the flank of the enemy horsemen, cutting up their formation and panicking them. Now they lost control, lost cohesion, lost discipline. Our spearmen surrounded and stabbed many. Arrows knocked down many in their flight. Our lances unhorsed some and skewered the horses of others.

Predictably, their commander Mardus had not charged with the mob. Out of bowshot, he stood in his platform shoes in a chariot next to a thin maiden clad mostly in chains, the marks of the whip upon her, his reserve horsemen in a mass around him. He gave me a glare of recognition, then made a gesture with his arms. His remaining horsemen rode out of bowshot towards him, and stopped out of range of our archers, not even seeking to skirmish with us. He waited and barked orders, occasionally caressing the maiden beside him as she stared straight ahead and flinched at his every touch.

We did not take the bait and charge his remaining horses, out of range of our hillside archers. We, too, waited. Soon, his infantry arrived. In the center and front was the Black Legion, a thousand soldiers clad in heavy black armor, armed spear, sword, crossbow, and large shield. Mardus joined them in the rear of their mass as they marched forward, shields before them, ready to take on the men in the hills head-to-head. Mardus gestured towards his horsemen, and they resumed motion, wheeling about behind the Black Legion and looking for opportunities to skirmish with arrows or charge us with lancers.

We fled before the Black Legion—though we knew our spearmen were their betters head-to-head, this fight was not our plan. Seeing us routed, they charged forward, and the masses of light infantry beside them charged as well. On each side screamed a howling mob of Imperial soldiers armed with short spears, light shields, long daggers, and powerful bows, wearing turbans or caps. These we engaged toe-to-toe among the hills, away from the press of the Black Legion.

With the cavaliers I alternated between charging down enemy stragglers and those fleeing battle, herding enemy soldiers to fight our men in the hills to avoid our lances, and menacing the enemy horse archers to prevent them skirmishing our men effectively. In the hills, our spearmen in heavy armor, armed spear and sword, large shield in hand, fought unarmored men armed with short spears and long daggers. It was a slaughter, and wasn't close.

Mardus moved with his thousand of the Black Legion, laughing madly from his chariot as our troops fled everywhere he went. He moved to and fro, grinning wildly, pointing at the fleeing backsides of our men as he squeezed the chained maiden who rode alongside him. Too late, as his support troops on either side grew thinner and thinner, he realized how the battle was truly going. Soon, we would end with the lightly armored infantry, and surround the Black Legion on all sides, having saved the best—or most heavily armored—for last.

As I charged down a fleeing group of light infantry with my cavaliers, I saw a look of panic suddenly come to his face. He drew sword and smote the maiden beside him with the flat of his blade, knocking her out. He grabbed her, placed her on the back of a horse, mounted, and fled the battle at a gallop.

I broke with my unit and their charge and pursued. Mardus had poisoned and tortured my first brother Velwin, threatened to rip out the soul of Aloree, my betrothed, and escaped my second brother Veldin, nearly killing him in the process. I prayed to God not to let him escape again. As I galloped after him, I saw the entire mass of enemy troops begin to break and flee, realizing their leader had left them. Soon, our side would eliminate the last of the Dark Empire's forces. But I had my own fish to fry.

Mardus dodged behind hills. I galloped after, keeping him in my sight as much as I could. He did not ride towards his encampment, but to the northeast. He continued onto the plains, and my horse gained on his. Now he came to the river at the point it split past a central island, with shallows on either side. He leaped his horse from shallow to shallow, landed its feet in the central island, and continued in like manner across the other side. I carefully leapt my horse on the same pieces of shallow, losing time on the unfamiliar terrain but staying mounted.

Mardus continued. I raced after. Soon I saw his target: the ancient ruins. He entered into them and dodged between them, sometimes in sight, sometimes out of sight. He tried to lose me among the buildings, but the sound of a galloping horse and the cloud of dust it put up was hard to mistake. I missed the correct turn a time or two, but stayed on his track, making my way through the maze of broken buildings towards him. He was in my sight as he dismounted, grabbed the maiden, and rushed into an enormous intact stone building, closing its door behind him.

I arrived at the building, dismounted, and shoved at the door. It held fast. It was large, stone, and new—a recent installation. I looked through the sides and beheld the doorbar. I drew Swelfalster, assumed the stance of jōdan-no-kamae, willed my chi into the blade, and sliced through the side, splitting the bar. I shoved again, and it moved a mere sliver. He had jammed the other side. Once more I drew my blade and sliced through the other side of the door, cutting through its hinges. Now, as I shoved with all my sword-enhanced strength, the door fell forward.

I entered.

Mardus's voice boomed across the room. "Welcome, cockroach, to the scene of my triumph." I saw that I was late. On the far end of the enormous stone room, Mardus stood in a black robe holding a sacrificial dagger. The maiden lay dead on the altar before him, blood dripping down from her chest upon a glowing black sphere, pulsing with red and blue light through unfamiliar, eldritch looking sigils upon its surface. Somehow, it looked alive.

"Triumph?" I spat, slowly moving forward as I spoke. "Your army lies defeated. You have fled. Soraina has left you to die. Give up."

"Soraina? If not for her sword Swermornster, that simpering brat would be nothing more than a harlot, made to serve whoever took her by force after I poisoned her father. By leaving me here, that witless wench has foolishly handed me my victory."

"You are not fit to lick her boots!" I continued to approach as I replied. "Soraina is wise to your treachery. Now, I will cut you down in her name."

Mardus chuckled. "You fancy yourself her champion? If not for your sword Swelfalster, she would not give you a second look. You are nothing. You live on as a cockroach, scurrying away after I crush you beneath my boot. I will live on as the phoenix, rising in glory from my ashes. With your final moments, witness my ascent to Godhood!"

I sensed the time to stall him with talk was over. I now dashed forward, sword in hand, to cut him down before he could execute whatever fell magic he planned.

As I ran, Mardus grasped the sacrificial dagger in both hands and plunged it into his chest. Hoping to slice through the glowing sigils, I threw Swelfalster towards the pulsating sphere beneath the altar, now flashing and swirling red and blue and humming with power. As my sword flew through the air, Mardus's heartsblood fell upon the sphere.

The world flashed blue-white, blinding me. An instant later I heard the thunderclap. The stones of the ruin rumbled, and I felt one fall upon me, crushing my body, reducing my heart and lungs to a thin paste. My brain went into overdrive and my life flashed before my eyes as I wrote these, my dying words. Now my last moment approaches.

Brother, marry Aloree for me.

God Almighty, whatever it is Mardus has unleashed, protect us and help us fight it.

Aloree, I love you.

The prior redacted transcript of the dying words of Veltrin, Velnin's third brother, was provided by permission of the Royal Family. An attached notes states that since that stupid baka Veltrin got his body crushed to a paste only having had all of two, count 'em, two make-out sessions total, very little needed redaction.

END OF BOOK 2: The Lives of Velnin: THE DARK EMPIRE

Thanks for reading! This is the final chapter of The Lives of Velnin: THE DARK EMPIRE, the second book in the series. I plan to Kindle Unlimited publish this book next month. Unfortunately, Amazon rules require no more than about 10% of a story to remain online elsewhere for a book to be in Kindle Unlimited, so I’ll have to take down much of this story: specifically, chapters 17 through 33. By doing this, I hope to reach many more readers who read on Kindle, but not on Substack or Royal Road.

I plan to take down these chapters August 8th. So if you’ve been planning to read the whole thing free on Substack and haven’t yet, please do so in the next four weeks!

And for now, I plan to leave up the first 16 chapters of this work, free. There may be a time when I Kindle Unlimited them as well, but not for a while—honestly, I’d rather finagle Amazon into making them free instead.

Next week, I plan to post the first chapter of The Lives of Velnin: FINAL LIFE. This is a work in progress. I would love to get your feedback on the planned plot direction and ending, if you’re up for it. After posting that chapter, I likely will take a hiatus from posting this story until I have the third book more fully fleshed-out.

Brian Heming - author and pulp fiction fan

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