The Seven Kings

Rashim

"A demon within the walls? And a general for that matter? We must prepare for war immediately!"

"They got in by nothing but sheer luck. Another attack on the city is something we can handle."

"We are talking about the full force of the demon army, Thanatos," Rheta sighed. "We only have seven days to prepare for the extinction of our race."

Rashim hung behind Rheta, quietly watching the argument between the Amazonian and the Horsemen that stood at the base of the steps to the emerald throne. They had been at it for good over ten minutes, bickering back and forth on whether they should take action or not. Much to Rashim's surprise, the King sat silently, his hand on his chin, weary blue eyes looking on as his generals argued amongst one another.

The guard had guided them to the gates of the castle. He left them at the two massive wooden doors that served as a barrier to a direct attack on the King. Knocking on the door with her knuckles, Rheta stepped back, waiting for a response from whoever stood on guard on the other side. Rashim's heartbeat had begun elevating as he was barely able to hold back his excitement. It was no Rider coronation, but it was a different experience nonetheless. Especially when he remembered the woman standing beside him was one of the most powerful warriors the mages had to offer.

A latch opened near the base of the gate, high enough to see Rashim's head. A pair of red eyes appeared between the latch, looking down at the two. Rheta met the eyes with equal fierceness, mellowing down the fiery red eyes instantly.

"What brings you here, Lady Rheta?" he asked, his voice deep but smooth. "I thought you were not due a visit to the castle for another day or two."

"Urgent matters," she replied sharply. "The city is in danger."

"Danger from what exactly?"

Slamming the doors with enough force to make them shiver at her mere raw strength, Rheta replaced her fierce gaze with blood-curdling blood-lust. "Do not waste my time, Thanatos."

The latch closed with a soft chuckle from the man behind it. Rashim dared a glance at the raging woman beside him, but her fearsome aura was gone. Instead, she held a worried look in her eyes.

The door opened less than a minute after, revealing a well-gardened area separated by a stone walkway leading directly to the doors of the interior building.

A small building stood a little to the left, nearly hidden completely by the doors. It held the same relevance as the guard post on the outside, the only difference being the one on the inside was much more decent. Unlike the rundown shack they had seen on their way, this one was painted white, with a brown door and square roof.

By the door, a man the size of Belphegor stood, facing them. He wore a red cloak that complimented his eyes and his surprisingly crimson-colored hair. On his feet were leather boots, undoubtedly made from snakeskin. He had no weapon by his side, but Rashim doubted he needed one to tear him to pieces on the spot.

"Rheta!" he waved cheerfully, his eyes smiling as they walked towards him. "At least tell us when you're coming before you're due. The banquet celebrating your return is nowhere near ready."

"There are more pressing matters," she replied. "I need to see Perseus."

"The King, Rheta," Thanatos corrected, looking at Rashim with a menacing glare. "He is inside. But he will be surprised to see you here so soon."

"He'll understand," she said, now strolling through the walkway while Rashim gaped at the scenery as a child would.

"And this is? A slave for the Amazons?"

Rashim turned to Thanatos and gave him an irritated look. "I'm a Rider-in-training."

"So the lowborn speaks," the giant man scoffed. "You seem not to know your place, boy."

"Shut up, Thanatos," Rheta growled. "Now is not the time for your pointless discrimination."

Pursing his lips, Thanatos marched on in silence, not bothering to look back to see Rashim's thankful nod to Rheta. Twice already, Rashim had been subject to the usual discrimination that was given to those of a lower status. It was a common thing on Ceros, which was why they were divided the way they were.

Traders usually had it worse, taking the full brunt of the insults whenever they took the bold step of moving on to the section of the city between Trader's Haven and where the castle and highborn were situated. It usually took over a year or two before the middle class would overlook the origins of their new tenants and move on. For a city stuck in the middle of the constant worry of a demon attack, Rashim assumed they would have more things to worry about.

They got to the gold-coated admonium steel doors leading into the interior building, where the throne room and the living quarters of the King and his family were. The Horsemen also had rooms inside, but the hardly used them as they were hardly around in the first place. When they were present, they usually patrolled the castle instead, or at least that's what the rumors said.

"You know where the throne room is," Thanatos smirked, a palm on the doors.

"What I have to say concerns the Horsemen as well," she said, pushing open the doors. "Gather the rest and come here."

"Oh? You don-"

"There's no time for this, Thanatos," Rheta snapped, and for the first time, Thanatos saw the worry in her eyes. Grimacing, he nodded.

"I'll be back." Walking off, he patted Rheta's shoulder reassuringly and headed back towards the gates. To Rashim, their exchange was weird, but he understood the understanding look the Horseman had given her.

Following Rheta close behind, he stepped into a large hall with seven archways running around it. The hall was plain and empty, its colors reflecting the aura of the mages. There were no decorations or people, which made Rashim afraid they had been too late to do anything in a scenario where the demon had snuck in once again. But then remembering Thanatos, Rashim guessed the Horseman would be the perfect person to defend against such an attack.

"So where to?" Rashim asked, disappointed by the hall he had walked into.

"The archway at the end leads to the throne room," she replied, already walking there. "Let's just hope your damned king has answers for us."

As they walked down, Rashim tried to get a glimpse into the other archways lined up at the side, but he couldn't see past them. He was tempted to walk through one, guessing they were hidden through the use of one of the mage's Heka, but he didn't want to imagine what they'd do to him if he stumbled across something he wasn't supposed to.

"You could walk in," Rheta said, chuckling slightly. "But the chances of you coming out alive are very slim. But with your Heka....."

"No need to worry, I'm not that stupid."

"If you were, you'd be dead," she sniggered, walking through the dark archway. Rashim took a deep breath and followed suit, anticipation hammering his chest.

"Rheta!" a cheery voice boomed through the darkness as he stepped through. "What a surprise."

The first thing that caught his eyes on the other side was the two-meter-high emerald throne that stood at the far end of the hall twice the size of the one he had just come from. Like the exterior hall, its walls were doused in the respective colors of the auras mages possessed, with the prominent color being the fiery red of the royal bloodline. But that was as close to similar as they got. The throne room was massive and well decorated, with silver chairs lined up opposite each other not too far from the base of the throne. Three banners were hung around the room, one at the entrance, one behind the two guards stationed right beside the silver seats, and the last behind the emerald throne. They were all painted red with a drawing of a phoenix, wings spread, with a crown atop its head.

The only people in the hall were the two guards dressed in full admonium steel armor, both holding velonium iron spears in hand, and the man who sat on the throne, wearing a red robe lined with gold and silver across the edges, a golden crown sitting on his head. He had bright blue eyes which Rashim noticed, despite the distance, and black hair that reached his shoulders. The King looked small in the massive throne he sat on, but Rashim could tell he was a man of Thanatos' size and build, The only thing different was the King's kind face.

"Perseus," Rheta said, getting on one knee. She dragged Rashim down with one hand, forcing his awe-struck eyes to meet the ground. "I bring terrible news."

"So that's why you're here earlier than usual," he said, almost sounding disappointed. "And here I thought you rushed here for me."

"Belphegor snuck into the city."

Rashim looked up, watching as King's relaxed face transformed into one of panic as he sat forward. "How?"

"He claims to have masked himself as one of my Amazons, a security error on my part, and one that will never happen again."

"What did he want?"

"A rusty sword I found on one of our raids," she explained, flicking her wrist. The blade reappeared in her palm, although this time, Rashim felt nothing from it. But Perseus had a different reaction. He got to his feet immediately, alarming his statue still guards enough to make them turn level their spears at both Rheta and Rashim.

"Tizona," Perseus said, waving his hands at his guards, calling them off. "I thought it was only a legend....."

Rheta looked at Rashim and shrugged at his confused expression, but he realized she had been right when she said the King may know the worth of the weapon in her hand.

"Belphegor called it the same thing. He said if I handed it over, he would leave peacefully."

"Unbelievable," Perseus muttered, still staring at the sword, deaf to what Rheta had just said. "If Tizona is real, the rest must be somewhere on Ceros."

"The rest?" Rashim spoke for the first time, surprising both himself and the others in the room.

The King's wistful gaze fell on him for the first time, and a broad smile widened his face. "Indeed." Turning to his guards, he clapped his hands. "Summon the Horsemen! We have much to discuss."