It was the next morning, and Cyrus was preparing his things to leave later that day. Felix had gone to open the tavern, but not for business, but rather to put things in final order. He was ready to tender his resignation, but wanted to do it on the most respectful way possible. Cyrus had gone back to his room at the Inn to pack his things as well. When he came out, he dropped the right amount of coins at the table before Felix while they had discussed the total amount of money owed to the tavern's owner last night. To make sure no customer got the wrong idea, Felix had kept the widows shut and left the door ajar. He prayed his boss would return soon enough, as his conscience wouldn't let him rest if he leaves without properly setting things right. He was the only person Felix wanted to see right now, as he had decided not to serve any customer today. Cyrus had now come out with all of his things in place, dressed in his full armour and cloak. He separated the right amount of silve
At about that time, Felix was at the back of his house seated next to his mother's grave. He took a cup of mead and poured half on it on the heaped soil. "I know you've never been a fan of mead", Felix said. "But you promised to drink it with me someday." Then he wiped a tear from his eye. "I am leaving the village", Felix said. "With Cyrus. Just as you told me, I do have a royal relative - though he is a lot different compared to what you made him out to be. It seems you three share the same strange silver hair everyone talks about. Fortunately, I got my father's brown hair instead. Though I never met his mother, the one you spoke the most about - the characteristics you said she had, I found all of them in her son. He is selfless, brave and stupidly naive - Everything you said your sister was as a young woman. Though he isn't a coward like I am, he still needs me - At least, he says so, but I'm yet to find out how." Then he took a few gulps of the drink before pouring the left
Richard, with his father's permission, took two of his horses from the barn of Julius, the farmer who lived close to the entrance of the village. He gave one of them to his friend, Felix, who was delighted to have a horse of his own. "Thank you," he said, turning back to the chief and giving a bow of respect. Then the trio all got on their horses, ready to leave the village. Richard and Felix saw this as a great time for Cyrus to leave the villagers with a word of encouragement, or at least a motivational speech of some kind. But instead, he spun around with his horse suddenly and rode off, leaving the other two looking dumbfounded. "Well, what are you both waiting for?" asked Frederick. "Aren't you supposed to be following him?" You both were fine with leaving earlier than this, weren't you? Don't get all mushy with us now! The duo smiled, and like Cyrus, they spun around and rode off without looking back. While the others cheered, Frederick and his wife looked grim amid their smil
Not too far from the Sargath village was Fayhold, a town three days' ride from the city's walls. It was the first proper stop from which one would no longer be able to see the mighty walls of Griffindale's Capital City, even though it was built on a tall hill. Cyrus, Felix, and Richard were riding on their way there, and the chief's son was quoting from a recent book he had read a few times about the areas around Griffindale. Particularly, about Fayhold. "It was an independent town, free from all rulership from external forces until quite recently, when they were captured and made a client region under the wing of Emperor Athanasius, ruler of the Midlands" he said in an assured tone. "How sure are you that is the case?" Felix asked him. "How did you even get access to such information to begin with?" "Well, my father had his sources from within the city walls, though he hardly read from them at all," Richard replied. "But I can assure you that it is up to date. What I just quoted
After another long day of walking and riding, the trio could finally catch a glimpse of their destination from the Highlands. Seeing the town from afar just the way it was drawn in the map gave them the hope that Richard was right all along. Although there seemed to be some inconsistencies, it was most likely because of recent developments between when the source the map was drawn and the current day. Right before the town was another large forest, where they would hopefully be able to arrive at and set up camp, as the sun was already setting. But it seemed a bit too far, and they worried their horses would get too exhausted while trying to get there before nightfall. Nothing much had changed within the few years of Richard's knowledge, and with great excitement, the trio rode down the hill, letting go of all worries as they headed for Fayhold. It seemed their horses shared the same excitement, as they showed little sign of exhaustion after running several miles, with Ceres seemi
The men's armor only consisted of the breast plate, cauldron, and gauntlet, and each of the men was armed with shields and spears. "Who are you?" one asked. Before the others could figure out what to say, Cyrus spoke up. "We are travelers," he said. "We came here to see someone and spend some time with him." "Who is that person?" he asked. "Kendrick Thorrington," Richard said. The moment he said that, the guards were all on edge, looking at the trio like they were real threats. "What is your business with him?" one of the soldiers asked. Cyrus looked at the others and almost smiled. Frederick was right in his assumption that his brother, Kendrick, was now a person of influence. If he wasn't, the guards wouldn't have been on defense when they heard his name. But he still wasn't sure what kind of influencer Kendrick was. As far as they knew, Kendrick could be a criminal who may have caused so much trouble that anyone affiliated with him could have been seen as a threat. "D
The first rebel, an archer, shot his arrow, aiming at Lucius, but right before he could shoot it, he felt an arrow lodge itself into his chest. The rebel looked in shock at Richard, who had pulled out an arrow and fired so quickly that he didn't notice. The rebel behind Richard was about to attack, but the chief's son instinctively ducked and kicked, putting an arrow through his hip, causing the rebel to scream out in pain. The other rebels had begun attacking the other two—Cyrus and Lucius—who had begun fighting side by side by default, both being great swordsmen. Richard noticed Felix and cried out to him to get on one of the horses and ride away. "We will catch up with you soon!" Richard cried out. "But don't get too far!" He also signaled for the other horses to follow as well, lest harm come to them in the fight. With those instructions, Felix got on the horse and began galloping away, and as he was moving, two archers readied their bows, ready to fire at the unsuspecting rid
At that point, they were all right in front of a building that marked the end of the road, which now forked into three directions. The building was oddly guarded by a perimeter of armed guards. And while Richard was still speaking, they all heard a voice coming from above them. "What was the unrest about, Lucius? I could hear the grunting and shouting in my room," asked the voice. "Please don't tell me it was another rebellion." "I would hate to directly defy your plea, prefect. But that is exactly what it was. I'm sure you know at this point the kind of people we are dealing with," Lucius replied. Richard and the others widened their eyes as they looked upward as well, realizing that the person talking was Kendrick Thorrington, the person they were looking for. "And who are those strangers with you?" asked the prefect. "They don't seem to be around here." "Actually, they are visitors from Sargath, a village in the Griffindale territory," Lucius replied. "They claim to be related
Three years later... Back at Frostfall, Faora sensed a disturbance coming from the cave at the other side of the village. She came out of her house, looking around with a worried frown on her face, expecting to see obvious threats like she and her husband did the night that Dorcas and the other two dragon Slayers attacked. But there was nothing noteworthy going on outdoors. The weather was wonderful, and the mood was serene. That's why, just past midnight, everyone was still sound sleeping despite the strange feeling in her gut. The only strange thing was that she wasn't alone. At the far end if the village, right where the entrance was, beyond the barricade, she could see Nebula's blue eyes staring back at her. Though they couldn't communicate telepathically at that moment, Faora instinctively knew that they were sensing the same thing. There was trouble, and were sure of it. But Nebula wasn't getting the same sense of fear that Asherah was giving off. It was like Faora was
When Wayne returned with Natalie, Aurora, and Serena, the palace seemed elated. Richard was happy that Serena had come to be with him, and Cyrus's family had been reunited. Now that everyone of interest was present, it was time for the formal coronation to mark the young Cyrus as sovereign King, and his wife as ruling Queen. They divided the kingdom into new provinces, a few of which Natalie would rule over, leaving the majority for her husband. After signing several scrolls and getting married for the second time in line with Griffindale's royal tradition, the day of coronation finally came. It was a day like no other, but since Cyrus didn't want to lavish the Kingdom's wealth at a time when the city was still being rebuilt, he made it modest, only prioritizing hygiene, food, and wine. Decorations and other accessories were ruled out of the budget, still, it was a day to remember. That day, King Cyrus was formally coronated as King and was no longer acting as one. He reinstated
It wasn't too long afterward when the Warlord and his soldiers returned to the Midlands. By head count alone, they had not lost a single soldier. 3,000 went to battle, and 3,000 returned. There was nothing credible to report, as it was difficult to believe that 3,000 men went to war against a great and powerful city and none of them died. Worse yet, what credited them with such a flawless victory was the fact that they were assisted by two dragons that did most of the heavy lifting for them. Sure, there was an occult following of fable enthusiasts who believed in dragons like they were their bread and water, but reporting it in a battle account felt off. He was conflicted on whether or not he should account for that part of the battle. Still, it would be impossible to explain how no one died in such a war. Soon, he gave up on making up a story and decided to report on what truly happened, though he was afraid that the impulsive young Emperor would thin
About a week had passed when Wayne rode off on his dragon to bring Natalie to Griffindale. He too had decided to settle in the new land, and since he was going back briefly to get Cyrus's wife, he would use this opportunity to tell his family about his plans to relocate. Despite the ruins half of the city was in, he liked it at Griffindale. He felt at home there, as it was refreshing living somewhere where it wasn't snowing all the time. His dragon, Kyron, also seemed to love the climate at Griffindale, perhaps due to his natural affinities as a reptile. Wayne got in his dragon that morning and took off to Frostfall, it took several hours to get there despite how fast the Dragon flew, and he arrived by evening. Everyone was glad to see him, all asking questions that excited them. Children asked what it was like to live in a place where there was no ice and snow, others asked what other fruits in the area tasted like, and how easy it was to access them. Wayne tried to
It was almost noon when everyone had gotten out of their slumber, ready to take on the rest of the day. The Emperor's soldiers who at first tried to remain sober and disciplined at the start of the feast the previous night ended up being the most wasted. The generals and commanders assembled all their men, and they were all ready to leave. However, the 25 veteran soldiers were to stay behind to help Cyrus maintain order until the city could reestablish its military, as most of its fighting force had been eliminated during the war. The time for war and victory celebrations was over. Now was the time to rebuild. Cyrus and the Warlord, Jin Tsung bid each other farewell as they each went their separate ways, with the great Legionnaire taking his soldiers with him, along with all his captains and commanders. Frederick and the young men from the village were about to bid the acting King farewell also, but Cyrus was not going to allow it. He insisted that they stay behind with him to take
While Cyrus was still speaking, Kamala sent a message back to him. “I am with your mother”, she said. “Should I bring her to you?” “She's dying” Cyrus sent back. “Get her something to eat. Take her to Wayne. He must be outside the city. Let him see to it that she has everything she needs. I don't want to see her looking like that again.” “Understood” Kamala sent back. While he was still sending, he looked at his stepmother. And after communicating with Kamala, he picked up his sword and walked toward Regina. The Queen braced herself, lifting her son towards Cyrus, who raised a brow, wondering what this was all about. “I know this is too selfish of me to ask, but before you kill me, promise to take care of my son”, Regina said. “He has done nothing wrong. You can raise him without telling him anything about me, you can even tell him made-up things to make him grow up to hate me. Just give him a chance to live. I beg you.” Cyrus sighed, taking the son in his hand, but not for th
“My mother” Cyrus cried out towards her. “Where is she?” Then all of a sudden, the Queen's look of desperation turned to quick sadism. “What is so funny about what I asked?”, asked Cyrus. “I am not the same naive young man you sent on exile. I have killed a lot more people than you think to get to get here. So don't think I can't just run my sword through this child if I want to.” Then to make things worse, the Queen began to laugh. The laughter was so hysterical that she almost choked on her saliva, coughing profusely after a few cracks. She held on to her chest as she gave the last cough, struggling to regain her composure while looking back up at him. “WHERE IS MY MOTHER?!” Cyrus yelled out as loud as he could. “When my nightmares of you doing exactly this became worse, I knew you would soon come back for me. So I thought of the best collateral through which I could make you do as I want, which would be by putting your mother in misery, putting her close enough to the point o
She looked around, but it seemed all the Knights around her were dead. She was ready to meet her fate, but she didn't want any harm to come to her child. At a time when she was expected to cover up her shame with pride and charisma, she was not ashamed to show that she wanted to protect her child. The look on Cyrus's face didn't suggest he wanted to spare any of them. After all, if he truly came back to get the throne and her head, there would be no point in leaving any of them alive. Why would he let the son of the woman he killed remain alive only to enact revenge decades later? There was nothing to gain in keeping any of them alive, so she prepared her mind for the worst. Clutching onto the child in her arms, she prayed hard that their killer would make things quick and painless, especially for her child. But as she heard the footsteps approaching, her heart sank with fear. This was it. All her nightmares were coming true this very minute. Cyrus would take her head, just as h
While the fierce battle took place behind him, Cletus kept his sight on the higher provinces, particularly the Queen's residence, where his comrades were guarding Regina, the sovereign ruler. The next move the dragon made confirmed his suspicions that an attack on the Queen was imminent, as the beast landed on the pinnacle of the highest point of the castle, where the rider jumped off and went in through one of the large windows. “Cyrus”, Cletus said as he gestured for the horse to run even faster as it sprinted towards the palace. “I have to protect the Queen, no matter what.” ********* Cyrus got down from his dragon, swinging himself by the ropes connected to the dragon's saddle to break through the tainted glass of the nearest large window. As he got inside, he was assaulted by multiple guards who were alerted by the noise. He brought forth his self-defense skills and managed to take down the guards, hacking and