Chapter 588: The Voice of Command (Part Two)
"RAAAA!" Savis roared as he exploded forward in a rush that became a blur of white fur to many of the people who lacked enhanced senses in the room. His right hand opened wide, stretching his claws for a powerful swipe that would end the duel in a single move as soon as he closed the gap between him and the young ’Lord General.’
"HOLD!" Thane snapped, his voice echoing with the power of a battlefield commander who would be heard by thousands of soldiers marching under his banner.
Two things happened at the same time as soon as Thane spoke. Beyond speaking the word, Thane took a short step forward, reaching out with blinding speed to capture Savis’s wrist in a grip that felt as tight as iron shackles.
All around Thane, the air seemed to darken, coalescing into a billowing cape of shadows that hung from his shoulders, flapping lightly in a wind that no one else in the room could feel. Everyone could, however, hear the faint sounds that emanated from Thane’s shadowy cloak as he held a paralyzed Savis in his iron grip.
The sounds of horses preparing for a charge echoed from a great distance away, as if they were preparing to charge out of the abyss itself. The faint clank of armor and the footfalls of thousands of soldiers echoed alongside the snorts of horses and beyond that, sounding almost too faint to make out, the shouted orders of sergeants and captains as they marshalled their legions of the damned, preparing to answer Thane’s orders to descend upon the man trapped in his grip and tear away his soul.
"KNEEL!" Thane commanded in a voice that carried a hint of the darkness of the void, pressing down on everyone who heard it with an intense sensation that bypassed their conscious mind and whispered into their innermost being that failure to obey would doom them to a swift and merciless death.
Ollie felt his knees touch the floor before he realized he’d left his chair, and Virve similarly knelt next to him. Lennart, Commander Bassinger, and Marshal Jakob all found themselves obeying as well, as years of habit to defer to Sir Thane left no room in their mind to defy the powerful vampire. Surprisingly, both Heila and the young Frost Walker lord, Hauke, managed to resist the pull of Thane’s powerful command. Both of them had far too much experience with forces from beyond the grave attempting to twist and control their fates to yield so easily to Thane’s command.
Savis, however, bore the full brunt of Thane’s powerful command, and something deep within his heart that he had once forgotten existed stirred to life again, shuddering and trembling as Thane’s dark power reminded him that even vampires as powerful as Savis still had a reason to remember fear.
For a moment, Savis managed to resist. His legs shook with the effort of remaining standing and his tail already drooped low as Thane seemed to grow even larger in his vision, towering over the frightened lupine vampire like he had come to drag him back to a kennel.
"I don’t want to make this ugly, Sir Savis," Thane said as his sandy blonde hair danced in the same wind as the one that caught at his cloak of shadows. "Submit now, and I can leave you with a shred of pride."