Right after the meeting with the council of elders, the Prefect summoned Lucius, the acting figure in charge of the city's military in the absence of Philip. Oddly, though, he wasn't summoned to the court as usual, but rather to the private areas of the building, mainly the balcony of the Prefect's private residence. There he was, where Natalie would usually be in the daytime, staring into the darkening skies. Lucius came there, feeling slightly uncomfortable that he would be called into this place at such a time. Thankfully, when the prefect looked back at him, he was smiling and holding two cups of wine, gesturing for the captain to have one. Reluctantly, the captain went to his side and took one of them after giving a bow of respect. He gulped the drink and was amazed by its taste. “Amazing,” he said as he stared at the wine in the cup. “I know, right?” Kendrick said. “The fermentation was just right with this one. There will be more if you want.” “Thank you, prefect,” Lucius
Felix and Richard were alone with Cyrus in their room. Cyrus was fast asleep while Felix and Richard were having a discussion, sitting close to the entrance of the room. They were talking about their last spar, and Richard went on to apologize, explaining himself further. “I think you are the only one who understands me whenever I say that I don't like conflict,” Richard said. “Others get the wrong idea when they see me in a fight.” “Because when you indulge yourself to go the extra mile, you become unstoppable,” Felix said. “That was why you couldn't hold yourself from hurting me a bit during our spar. You were trying to hold yourself back while trying to be tough on me out of necessity, but you couldn't control yourself. I understand.” “Too bad Cyrus didn't,” Richard said. “Well, you can't blame him. He doesn't know you as much as I do,” Felix said. “Besides, if that weren't the case, you might have killed me, you know?” Before Cyrus could reply to that, they saw a female serva
Natalie placed a hand on her belly, feeling the knot down there tighten even further. It was a pain she liked, one she wished would last forever. If this was what love felt like, she wanted more of it. She loved Cyrus, and she knew it. Unsure of what the people watching might think, she held herself from doing what she wanted, and the same was true for Cyrus. Each of them had a deep urge to bring their faces closer and do what they were afraid to do. Not here. Not now. Natalie did not know what to say, and all of a sudden, it became hard to even look at Cyrus, even though she enjoyed being there with him. Cyrus understood this and stood up, taking her hand in his. “If your father gives me his blessing, then it means you will be leaving him behind soon,” Cyrus told her as she got up. “As you know, my friends and I aren't staying here forever. We will be leaving soon. And if we are to get married, you would have to come with me because I don't know if or when I'm coming back.” Nat
The prefect had just escorted the new commander out of the building and was returning to his bedroom when he noticed Cyrus and Natalie having a good time together. Being curious, instead of opening the large protector and making a loud sound, he stood there to watch what would happen through its metal bars. He watched as Cyrus escorted Natalie to her room, and took note of the way she reacted around him. It was obvious at this point that his little girl was in love, and he wasn't sure what to make of it. About a minute later, he opened the metal door and entered. By then, the courtyard was empty, and the only people he saw were the guards positioned at varying lengths around the inner perimeter. Just ahead of him was his room, and when he got there, the guards bowed to him as he opened the door to enter. He was getting ready to lie on his bed, taking off his outer cloak and hanging it on his chair when a familiar shadow was cast upon him. He looked up to see that it was the mole. “
“Emil hasn't returned yet,” Harold stated. “Perhaps our suspicions of him were right all along. Maybe he is the mole leaking our information to the prefect.” “Or maybe he just stormed off because you made him angry,” Olivia countered. “I agree with her, Harold,” Conrad interjected. “We didn't act properly. It's our fault he's not here when we need him.” “He's our friend,” Harold argued. “If he knows how important today is, then he should be here. It's most likely that he knows and yet refuses to come.” “There has to be a good reason,” Olivia insisted, looking at Harold. “Don't you hate the way he talks about Emil?” “I can't deny that I hate it, but he's right in some sense,” Conrad admitted. “At least for a time as important as this, he should have shown up and put our differences aside for the moment.” Olivia sighed. “How about giving him more time?” she suggested to Harold. “He'll surely come around.” “Are you listening to yourself, Olivia?” Harold retorted. “The war is suppos
The prefect stood on the balcony of the building, gazing out at the open space that offered a magnificent view of most of the city. He could see the walls that were nearly completed, the busy streets below lined with shades and kiosks selling goods. The clear streets in between were bustling with buyers and average civilians moving about, while little children could be seen running around with playful glee. The town appeared unchanged since he issued the edict, even though he knew that something sinister was lurking behind the scenes. The balcony was guarded by at least sixteen soldiers stationed at every turn, keeping watch to ensure no archer aimed the prefect from any direction. Kendrick was fully decked out in his armor, wielding the sword he once wielded as a member of the Royal Diamond in Griffindale. Today was the day, or at least it was supposed to be the day the rebels would attack. But according to the mole's intel, that was unlikely to happen. Nevertheless, he had to rem
“Also, about my daughter”, Kendrick said. “I think she would rather look after herself.” “Does that mean that I don't have to take her to safety?”, asked Lucius. “You can try”, Lucius said. “But unless you physically force her to come with you, she won't be leaving without me.” “I thought that would be the case”, Lucius said. “I was about to ask for permission to use force if necessary for her safety.” “Well, I wouldn't approve of it”, the prefect said. “I'm glad you've clarified that”, Lucius said. “But I can still endeavor to take her away, right?” “Again, you can try”, Kendrick said. “But if she refuses, leave her be. Your commander was one of those who trained her - albeit not personally, but he saw to it. I believe he also trained you in some ways as well. With that in mind, I believe she can look out for herself.” Then Lucius gave a bow and left. Lucius went into the Prefect's private residence with two guards and knocked on Natalie's door. He knocked a second time before
It was just about an hour before sunrise. It was still dark, and the men who were on guard were tired, looking forward to finishing their shift once the sun came up. This time, Lucius was one of them, and while other men were falling to sleep, he stood erect and only moved when he was about to hit a guard who was falling asleep on duty. Within the closed shades of the nearby market, Lucius could see lights coming up simultaneously from within the clogged areas of the closed tents. Then he realized that they were being ambushed. With a loud shout, he signaled for his men to gird their swords and brace themselves for an attack. But before he could complete his words, fiery arrows had been shot upwards from within the tents, forming a high arch in the sky before coming right down on the Prefect's home and some of the guards who stood outside with Lucius. The men screamed as they were caught on fire immediately after being shot by the arrows. Lucius looked up and saw more of those arrow
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