《The Dragon Prince of the Abyss》


 Chapter 1: Bellatorex Part 1

    ~Aurelio~


    The armor was covered in dark, dried blood, yet it still gleamed defiantly in all its silver glory in the light of the twin suns. It was as if the armor had a mind of its own. Its dirtied state only served to better contrast the pure shining silver of the few clean spots left on it. For such a proud state, only one man could be capable of wearing such a piece of mastery in craftsmanship. Only one man was worthy to wear this beautifully hand tailored, silver Bellatorite.


    Count Aurelio Ortansio gazed at his city. It was practically a mound of dregs when King Ferdinand Agenor VI bequeathed it upon him when a territory was needed to legitimize his then promotion to count. The streets were full of trash, vermin and worst of all, Bloodfallen. The poor, uncivilized refuse was an eyesore to look at years ago. Of course, Bloodfallen were needed to do much of the work of the kingdom, they had the right, the privilege, to do the less desirable tasks that Crownborn should never even have to think of doing. Aurelio had always considered them to be beneath those born with divine heritage. It was the natural order of things. Despite their low birth, they were useful still. With enough instruction and work, they could be made into fine soldiers and citizens. His city was the fruition of molding them into what they were supposed to be, loyal subjects and servants that were reliable and effective. Over the course of a little over a decade, Count Aurelio had rebuilt the fallen city, its previous name forgotten. Now, it was called Garadan, the City of Noble Fortune. Bloodfallen still far outpopulated the Crownborn of the city, but his Bloodfallen had been well trained and reared to properly serve their Crownborn superiors. The city was adorned with great, ornate walls and battlements, the streets were paved to perfection, there were several markets full of thriving goods and trade, and the city guard was fully manned, armed and dutifully experienced. All of this was what Aurelio lived for. To create a beautiful and strong people ever progressing up and forward to greater heights. Despite all he had achieved thus far though, it still was not enough. With his most recent triumph, the dukedom of his province would be his.


    The company of warriors had halted as their lord stopped to look at their home. Aurelio sat completely still on his Agenorian destrier. Rays of sunlight were breaking through the clouds. His soldiers stood in reverence and awe at their lord. It was as if he was a statue sculpted by the gods. His Bellatorite armor completely covered his entire body. It was plated and had silver dragon scales patterned into it to form his house crest of a regal, flowering hydrangea. A magnificent, silver cape attached to his pauldrons flowed as a gentle breeze passed by. After a still silence of a few ponderous moments he removed his helm. His hair went slightly below his shoulders and was a sleek black. Despite the dirtied state of his armor, his head appeared to be clean and kempt. The skin of his face was a smooth beige and was almost flawless, without blemish aside from a large scar running down from the right side of his forehead to his mouth. His silver eyes glowed with an energetic youthfulness that was a telling sign of his great vigor. He was fifty-three years old. Though many his age were either very robust or starting to become scrawny and showing signs of age fatiguing them, Aurelio had maintained a strong and tempered figure. He would not let himself erode and decay. That was for the weak. And he was of the strong. He would live as long as possible to build and leave a legacy that the Kingdom of Agenor would be proud of for the rest of its days.


    Raising his Silver Bellatorite greatsword to the twin suns Aurelio roared, ¡°FOR AGENOR!¡±


    In unison reply all his soldiers shouted, ¡°FOR AGENOR! FOR AGENOR!¡±


    ¡°My proud and loyal warriors,¡± Aurelio said with a loud and commanding voice. ¡°You all have proven your worthiness and dedication. This journey has been long and perilous, yet I stand here victorious. We stand here victorious. Go now. Return to your homes and rest for a little while. You have earned this respite after all we have been through.¡±


    The soldiers shouted altogether in unison again, this time in veneration of their lord, ¡°ORTANSIO! ORTANSIO!¡± and they all began to march the rest of the way to the city.


    Aurelio still lingered watching as his company of two thousand warriors passed by. Indeed, it had been a long and perilous journey. Less than half of the men he had taken remained of his five thousand strong legion. It had taken about a month to rally his soldiers from the villages and lesser cities of his county. Most of his soldiers were Bloodfallen as was most of the populace of the kingdom as Crownborn were becoming more and more rare as the years passed on by. Interbreeding by careless nobles throughout centuries past had led to the chosen lineage of divine blood becoming diluted. Aurelio was one of very few purebred Crownborn of few purebred Crownborn families left in the kingdom. He held himself high and considered his ability to transform things of lesser nature into greater things a gift of his divine heritage. Even though most of his people, his soldiers included, were Bloodfallen, he had made them truly his. He refined them and made them respectable even for how lowly their blood was. The loss to his forces was great, but it was not without gain, for they had achieved the goal of their journey. He could replace Bloodfallen with more Bloodfallen easily, but the Crownborn soldiers he had lost weighed heavily on his heart. These past couple months he had lost the greater part of the portion of Crownborn soldiers that were part of his military.


    A long wagon covered in sheets passed by. The sheets were of a special make being woven of white and yellow linen blessed and sanctified by priestesses of both Athena and Hygeia to purify and cleanse the bodies of the fallen. A strong perfume emanated from the sheets, and though Aurelio hated the smell; he hated far more what the perfume was supposed to help mask. Despite the sheets being well secured and covering entirely the mass that was underneath them, a strong, lingering stench still broke through. The smell of death. Rotting and decaying corpses lay in that wagon. Aurelio raised a shining gauntleted hand to his face in an attempt to try and mask the smell. It helped a little. The actual smell did not bother him that much, but the memory that it brought was burned into his mind. An image of large, sharp teeth entered his head. They were oozing with a foul, faintly yellow liquid. He saw large black scaled appendages as large as the trunks of old trees that ended in six fingered claws on hands and feet. A large head with four great ram horns stared at him with sunken, deep green eyes full of malice. The great jaws opened and the foul, oozing liquid was expelled like water bursting from a dam. Silhouettes of men were running to attack the great figure as its fell breath engulfed them. He remembered cries of utmost pain and anguish so full of despair that it unnerved him just thinking about it even after it was all over. The silhouettes started to melt. It was steady, fast enough to where he could see within seconds their dissolving forms, but slow enough to where their cries lasted as if for an eternity. The great head swayed on a thick and flexible neck, craning eerily and uncannily, this way and that way. The green eyes fixated on the mass of melting soldiers. It almost seemed like the great beast was grinning, like it was enjoying the cries coming from the puddle of metal and flesh. The jaws opened again, slowly. And then they were gone. All was silent and everything was starting to become shrouded in a shadowy darkness.


    Aurelio came back to himself.


    A cold sweat had come over him. The wagon of the fallen was now far past him. It was only a fraction of what they could salvage and even then, some of the bodies were in such wretched states that they were unrecognizable, some missing heads, arms or legs, and some with their skin and flesh partially melted. He had witnessed horrifying sights before. Countless battles against many adversaries had hardened him. Goblins, trolls, giants and demonfolk had all met his blade. He had witnessed the depraved nature of these foes firsthand on many occasions. Yet, this most recent campaign had completely fazed him unlike anything he had ever fought before. Ever since the fateful encounter just only days ago, the feeling had kept gnawing and biting in the back of his mind. He was better than this. This would not last. He would not let it. He would not allow it. This had been something completely different to anything he had taken on before. It had been the most difficult task of his entire life. It was reasonable to have a bit of battle shock from such an encounter he thought to himself. Keep standing tall. Keep standing strong. The soon to be new duke of the Thasos Province must keep his composure.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    ¡°Uncle Aurelio, Uncle Aurelio!¡± a young man shouted with a flamboyantly enthusiastic voice as he rode up to Count Ortansio.


    Aurelio looked over to see the young soldier riding up to him. He also rode on an Agenorian destrier, it was a bit younger and smaller than Aurelio¡¯s and trotted proudly with its shiny, black mane flowing through the air. The soldier bore a coat of arms draped on his horse and his armor cape was that of a phoenix and a silver dragon circling each other. It was the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Agenor and on the front of the soldier¡¯s chest piece was a golden red phoenix with silver dragon scales forming a five-pointed star around it; the crest of the royal family. The young soldier, a boy of seventeen years of age, was Prince Carlos Agenor. He was a son of the king¡¯s younger brother and had been sent to Aurelio to become his squire ten years ago with the intention that Aurelio would train him to be a great warrior. The prince was a pureblooded Crownborn and Aurelio treated him as much like a son as he treated any of his own children. Somehow, despite the hard training, the countless amount of discipline that had to be worked into him and the grueling battles he had already been in, the boy still had a sense of innocence and youthful whimsy. No matter how many times Aurelio had tried to make the boy address him as Lord Ortansio over the years, the young prince would always feign fealty to the concept for a few days and then slowly progress back into calling him Uncle Aurelio. The prince was a comely lad who had become quite popular with the young ladies of Aurelio¡¯s court in Garadan. Like Aurelio, the boy had the marks of the noble bloodlines of the Agenorian Kingdom, he had sleek black hair slightly shorter than Aurelio¡¯s, light tan skin and mesmerizing silver eyes. Aurelio already had plans on who he was going to marry the boy off to, which of course would help stabilize his power in the kingdom even more in addition to taking the dukedom of the Thasos Province.


    ¡°Uncle Aurelio,¡± Carlos said with the same enthusiasm he had when he was riding up, but now with a bit more formalness to his voice. ¡°This is such a great day! You have achieved something neither father or Uncle Ferdinand have achieved. It has been over a century since something of this magnitude has been accomplished in the kingdom. This is so exciting!¡±


    ¡°Do not speak lightly of the king, boy,¡± Aurelio said in a mixed stern yet gentle tone. ¡°My achievement is not solely mine. It is also an achievement for King Ferdinand and all of Agenor.¡±


    ¡°Oh, sorry, sorry. Honestly though, I don¡¯t think anyone else in the kingdom could have done it. You really are the best. I had absolutely no doubt at all that you would be victorious. Oh¡­ I wish I could have been there when you landed the final blow. This will be a legend that bards and minstrels will sing of for decades if not centuries to come.¡±


    ¡°You should be grateful you were not there. Now knowing the things I saw and went through at that time, I am grateful that I had made the decision to have you fight off his minions away from where I fought him. Some of the soldiers that were there with me, the ones that survived, have been petrified with terror on their faces since the encounter. Some of them won¡¯t stop muttering. I fear they might be going mad.¡±


    ¡°But they are Bloodfallen, aren¡¯t they? I would not have succumbed like them especially if you were there. Our divine blood protects us from malice and dark magic. Right?¡±


    Aurelio sat there for a moment quiet. Amongst the survivors, twelve of them had been Crownborn, and they were just like the rest. Should he tell Prince Carlos the truth? Should he tell him that the mere thought of the encounter filled himself with fear?


    No.


    Some things were better left unsaid. ¡°I have always been confident in our noble blood, Prince Carlos. I always will be. But this was not something I would have wanted to risk having you too near to. Be proud you were able to participate in this campaign. You played a vital role. With most of his minions being taken care of by you and your unit, I was able to completely focus on my task. But, enough of this. We can talk later at the celebration. You need to go have a rest like everyone else. I won¡¯t have an Agenorian prince being without proper repose while within my care.¡±


    ¡°But Uncle Ortansio, if anyone is needing rest, it surely is you? You had the greatest burden of us all. I will not return back to the city until you have.¡±


    Stubborn boy. Aurelio had wanted to sit here and meditate without interruption. That great battle was still fresh in his mind, and small things kept reminding him of it, and each time he was reminded of it the same scene would play again in his head. That same, awful, dreaded scene. The prince always picked these unfortunate times to bother him. Carlos meant well, he had become the honorable and strong warrior that he had personally trained over the years, but sometimes he was a little too honorable, and perhaps a little too clingy as well. But by the shining Crown Regalia, the prince was right. Aurelio had broken more bones on this last campaign than any other point in his life. He had suffered many cuts and lacerations, and worst of all, he had been hit by the burning liquid that seeped from the jaws of the beast. He had not taken a direct hit, but was grazed barely by it as he was agile enough to get out of the way. The pain was indescribable and he could only wonder how much worse it was for those that had been hit directly by it. Fortunately, his wounds and broken bones healed much faster than normal men. The divine blood he had been blessed with gave him a vitality that was impressive among men. Even with such powers of recovery and clerics specialized in healing within his company, the wounds he had received were taking much longer to heal than usual. His left leg was in a bad shape still. By the end of the battle, the split bone from that leg had been poking out of his skin. It would be back to normal, battle-ready condition in time, but it would be a week or two until then.


    ¡°Fine,¡± Aurelio said. ¡°Have it your way.¡± And he started off to enter the city.


    Carlos rode next to him and seemed very eager about something. He kept looking at Aurelio up and down as they rode. ¡°Uncle Aurelio, you got to tell me what happened. It¡¯s best if you start reciting the great tale now so that you have the most accurate version fresh and ready for Isabella to write it down.¡±


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you the one saying I should get rest above everyone else, Prince Carlos? My mind is weary as much as my body is. The tale can wait. I am not so old yet that I forget the most important battle of my life just days after it has happened.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, Uncle Aurelio. It¡¯s just so exciting I can barely contain myself.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll have plenty of time to let that all out when we celebrate later.¡±


    The main gate was drawing close. There was a great mass of voices conversing loudly within the walls. The streets were busy, no doubt, expecting the triumphant return of their city lord, the one and only, Count Aurelio Ortansio. They passed the gate and within seconds the crowds were cheering for their city lord. It was the least they could do to praise him. A great evil had threatened their kingdom and it had been making its way first through the Province of Thasos. And it was thanks to Aurelio that this evil had been vanquished, and that it had not been able to proceed any further in.


    It had started four months back. Thasos was the most north western part of Agenor and it bordered the great land of Daxodias which was a land full of beasts and terrible monsters. It was not unexpected if things of that nature came over the border to raid and pillage, but that was exactly why Aurelio had been stationed there. He was the kingdom¡¯s defense against such things. Though, unfortunately, the first attack was not within his domain. It had happened at the capital city of the province, Thessabel City, which had been governed by Duke Balthazar Belus II. It was a coastal city with a great navy and a formidable infantry two thousand strong. Like Garadan, being a city of the Thasos Province, it served as a first defense against the enemies of the kingdom that would come from the great sea or from the north. Overnight, the city had been laid to waste. Its navy had been decimated. Few of the ships were able to escape the great dread that had come. Once the surviving ships made it back to land safely envoys were sent to warn the rest of the kingdom.

 Chapter 2: Bellatorex Part 2

    Current date in world: July 19, 2326 TP


    A Black Dragon had come.


    And not just any Black Dragon. An ancient Black Dragon by the name of Mavrodaxius. Tales of the dreaded dragon went back centuries. Agenor was not the first kingdom to have a city sacked by the dragon. Many tales passed by bards and warriors throughout the years told of Mavrodaxius ravaging through villages and kingdoms centuries ago, destroying great cathedrals and castles, defiling rivers and lakes, stealing livestock and ruining crops. The worst parts of the stories always involved the treasure and the people. The scaled beast would break into treasuries of the wealthiest nobles and work his way through to the pockets of the lowliest of workers. The foul dragon deeply coveted gold and treasure like most any other dragon, but he had derived a wicked pleasure in the act of taking it away. And once he had taken everything save for the lives of his prey, he would relish in their pain and slowly erode that life away. His servants would taunt and torture those he took. He would make false bargains to return captives in exchange for more treasure, but he never returned what he took for the ransoms. Eventually, once he tired of his games, he would devour his captives, but even still that was not enough. He had to make every last moment of their lives pure agony. He would pickle his victims using the fell, miasmatic liquid that seeped from his jaws. Both humans and dwarves he enjoyed to feast on, but most of all he enjoyed devouring Crownborn maidens. For Crownborn maidens were able to produce the one thing that could slay him.


    A Bellatorex.


    Warriors born from a far more ancient world, Bellatorexes were endowed with holy powers from the Holy Crown Regalia of the gods. Their original purpose was to slay the malefic dragons during the old ages where dragons fought against each other in world quaking wars. Only those who were born directly of divine lineages could become Bellatorexes; only those chosen for greater purposes could take on such great responsibility, those who are called Crownborn. Aurelio had been told the ancient stories from his youth, of a time where entire armies consisted of all Crownborn who were Bellatorexes. Such fanciful tells had filled his younger self with a dream to revive the glory of the past. He had gone through rigorous years of training and finally underwent the ritual to turn him into a king among warriors. Aurelio studied and read the histories and the lore pertaining to his dream. One thing always stood out to him. One thing that regardless of where he looked, the consensus was the same. Dragons became virtually invincible once they reached a particular age, most scholars argued around the age of adult, which for most dragons was about a century. The only thing that could slay a dragon of adult age or older, was another dragon or a Bellatorex. In order to provide Bellatorexes with the tools necessary to achieve their purposes, the smithing god Hephaestus used the Holy Crown Regalia to bless the world where in which a powerful ore grew within her great earthen veins. Bellatorite was born of the same power which gave the dragons their breaths and elemental affinities. After the ancient days passed, and the wars were deemed to be over, Bellatorexes and Bellatorite began to slowly disappear and fade away, but were not entirely forgotten, nor did they entirely die out. In the current day and age, they had become archaic.


    These days, Bellatorexes had become more of a status symbol than a calling. Aurelio hated that. Sure, he loved the status and prestige that came with being a Bellatorex, but it was worth nothing to him if it was not paired with the holy purpose of its origin. Most of his fellow counts and dukes respected the title not out of reverence, but out of fear and greed. Whoever was or had a Bellatorex in his command sworn by oath was magnified greatly in power and wealth. That was how Aurelio became a count. When he had successfully passed the ritual and ascended to a Bellatorex form, the king officially recognized his achievement with the status promotion and an envious royal stipend. Since there were no available cities in the kingdom for a new count, the king decided to have a new city built close to the royal capital city to legitimize Aurelio¡¯s promotion. Grateful for such favor and glory from the king, Aurelio respectfully declined having the new city built, and instead made a plead to his liege to let him rebuild a forgotten and abandoned city in the Thasos Province. At the time, Aurelio knew border raids and small skirmishes from northern enemies were becoming more and more frequent. He held great respect for Duke Belus and wished to help him fortify the northern border against the scum of Daxodias. The king had been moved by Aurelio¡¯s sound reasoning and his stalwart valor, and granted his request. The kingdom had become stronger than ever, and had a total of seven Bellatorexes amongst its five provinces. Thasos had been one of the two provinces that had two Bellatorexes.


    Aurelio gazed out at his people; he was proud yet a great hollow feeling had been lingering in him. Yes, he had been victorious, he had slain the great evil, Mavrodaxius, and he was most likely going to become the new duke of Thasos. But the cost was heavy. Duke Belus, a great leader, father and protector was dead. Aurelio desired dukedom, it was the highest he could go in the kingdom save for being the crown prince or the king, however, he never would have wanted it to have been this way. Aurelio had looked up to Duke Belus as a father figure; his own father had died in defense of the kingdom many years ago before he had become a full-grown man, and when he trained under Duke Belus, he had found another father. He would always respect and honor the sacrifice his father made for the kingdom and he saw in Duke Belus the will of his father still living and breathing in service to the kingdom. Aurelio had sought out the same Silver Dragon that had given her blood to turn Duke Belus into a Bellatorex. He remembered the cold eyes, staring as if into the very depths of his soul. A chill came over him yet it was comforting, and it filled him with strength and confidence. She spoke the Draconic tongue in an elegant almost melodic way. The words sang in his mind once again. Only blood given willingly from a dragon host can create a Bellatorex. I give mine to you now so that you may be a pillar of justice and light in a world that weeps. May the grace of Bahamut and Zendivos be with you always. Those words helped ease some of the pain; some of the emptiness he felt. He needed to stay strong, for his city, for the kingdom, and for his family. The people kept cheering for him. Children on both sides of the road carried small hand-woven baskets full of flower petals that they tossed to rain down on him in celebratory glory. Yes, this was good, he would continue to ride and bask in the glory and¡ª what in the shining Crown Regalia was that?


    Great and lofty banners were erected off to the side on a branching road leading to the main road that Aurelio was riding on. The banners bore a crest of three burning black spires; the crest of Duke Wingurich. Right when he was overcoming his darkened mood something else had to come pushing its way in to make sure he could not have his much deserved; his much-needed peaceful time of rest. Though Aurelio respected the duke out of duty recognizing his services to the king and the kingdom, he found the man to be very distasteful. The duke flaunted his wealth every where he went. He always had to have the most decorated entourages. Everyone in his company had to look better than anyone else outside of it, even the lowliest of ranks he would shower in the most expensive finery just to gloat. The man had been quite the fighter in his early years and had been considered to be the exemplar of peak physical form during his time as an active general. After a grueling battle where he had slain the goblin king of Southern Zenikardia, he had suffered many wounds having been stabbed and lacerated multiple times by swords and spears, the duke retired from the battlefield. That battle had been twenty years ago, and despite the best efforts of the clerics and healers, some of his wounds had never fully healed. Ever since he moved with a strange gait which was not made any better by all the weight he had gained over the past two decades. Aurelio used to envy the confident, proud way Duke Wingurich rode on an Agenorian destrier, but it had been years since anyone had actually seen the duke on a horse. These days the duke always rode by carriage.


    To his dismay, Aurelio saw several things that made the presence of the duke¡¯s company even worse. It seemed that the duke had brought many of his children. He was a rather lustful man and had had countless maidens and mistresses come to his bed over the years. The duke had fathered so many bastards Aurelio would have wagered that the man had lost count of how many children he actually had. Aurelio had himself a mistress and a bastard born daughter, but his were quite commendable exceptions as opposed to the debauchery of Duke Wingurich. It seemed the duke had brought an entire battalion of bastards with him all adorned in his house colors of orange, yellow and black. Worst of all though, the duke had brought the king¡¯s royal jester, Grand High Master Jester Fidivos. This Fidivos was a mysterious man, apparently no one knew his origins or how old he exactly was, and most importantly no one knew if he was Crownborn or not. The first princess, the eldest daughter of the king, had taken a liking to him and had convinced the king to make the new position with the very exaggerated title no doubt being something that Fidivos had whispered to the princess to act in his favor. On a whim, the king had made Fidivos equivalent in rank to a count though with none of the material privileges allotted to one. The mere fact that a court jester of undisclosed blood heritage shared the same rank as him made Aurelio gloomful. He had made a Crown Oath to serve the king and the kingdom until his death. Though he could make claims, complaints and criticisms of the king if it was truly in desire to help the king and the kingdom, he dared not bring up this jester. It was beneath him. Instead, whenever this Fidivos was in attendance, Aurelio did whatever he could to ignore or undermine the jester. Though if he became the duke of Thasos perhaps he would have no need to anymore.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    For the sake of noble propriety, Aurelio grudgingly approached Duke Wingurich¡¯s company to formally greet them. Before he could say anything the door of the duke¡¯s carriage swung wide open. There stood the second most powerful man in the entire kingdom, the duke of Athanaric Province, Thorismund Wingurich. He was adorned in jewels and golden bangles. A crown of Black Bellatorite lay upon his head and there was a ring on every one of his fingers. And a robe of exceedingly intricate detail, repeating a pattern of a burning spire was wrapped around him. The large man moved slowly, but with a sense of force and power still despite his girth and gait. ¡°My dear Count Ortansio,¡± he said with a very heavy and pompous tone. ¡°It has been months since we have last seen each other. Your dear old Duke Wingurich started to miss seeing you at the royal court, so he decided to come surprise you with a special visit.¡±


    ¡°I know full well the reason why you are here,¡± Aurelio said trying his best to maintain a neutral and formal tone. ¡°I welcome you here to my city as an honorary guest from the royal court. But I will not play these games with you, Duke Wingurich.¡±


    ¡°What games? You think it is a game that I would take all this time and effort to pay a visit to an old friend to see how he is doing?¡±


    Aurelio contemplated.


    Duke Wingurich had taken the same Crown Oath he had so he need not worry about the duke betraying the king or the kingdom. However, the duke always found ways to keep his sacred oath while lining his pockets and belittling his rival counts and dukes. Aurelio knew the duke had been given an order by the crown to assist in the hunt for Mavrodaxius, but envoys had been sent nine days ago to intercept his company to let him know his help was no longer needed. Why was he here? What was he scheming?


    ¡°You came here to claim glory and have the foul beast that plagued this land as your trophy,¡± Aurelio asserted. ¡°You took your time coming here to help with your reinforcements and you were hoping by the time you arrived that the beast would have been weakened enough by your allies that you could have swooped in and taken the kill as your own. Hoping for our deaths would have broken your Crown Oath, but exploiting our sacrifices was well within your limits.¡± Aurelio knew better. He should not have made such accusations to the duke, but from the moment he saw the duke¡¯s company everything in him started to boil and he just could not help but let some of the steam that was his inner thoughts out.


    ¡°Lord Aurelio,¡± Duke Wingurich said with a strong sense of sincerity in his voice. ¡°You know better than anyone that it takes time to rally soldiers and to make sure all the proper preparations are made, especially for a purpose of such importance. I came as fast as I could while maintaining my company to the highest degree of quality. What good would it have been if I had rushed here with exhausted soldiers and you had needed the help to win the battle?¡±


    ¡°Pardon me, but your company looks more like its ready to go on a festival parade than to battle.¡±


    ¡°Well, of course, you know me. I brought entertainment. It helps keep morale of the soldiers up. It¡¯s also a not-so-secret indulgence of mine, and good entertainment is never a bad thing. I also bring gifts, both small and large. The small one I like better than the large one only because I get to have some as well. But the large one, that is a surprise for later.¡±


    ¡°You, giving gifts?¡± Aurelio could not fathom that the duke would ever consider such a concept unless it involved some substantial return in exchange. ¡°That is quite unheard of I must say. As far as I can remember, unless the king is present, you¡¯re always the one receiving the gifts.¡±


    ¡°Oh, Lord Aurelio, you hurt me. I cannot help that I am so attractable to givers of gifts. I admit, it is a great fault of mine. Being too desirable to please comes with both its benefits and its downsides. It would be disrespectful to decline gifts. It would be dishonorable, and I am an honorable man, so I must always accept that which is given to me.¡±


    ¡°The only small and large gifts that I would like right now are peace and quiet. The past two months have been long and hard. You know nothing of what I have been through. If you knew how I felt, if you knew what I have seen and what I have experienced, then you would be on your merry way back to Athanaric.¡±


    ¡°My lords,¡± a new voice said. It sounded very refined and the words came out long and melodic.


    Aurelio recognized the voice instantly.


    It was Fidivos.


    ¡°I see that we are feeding the fire,¡± Fidivos continued. ¡°Before the party has even begun. If there is no fuel for the flames, how are we to cook the meat when it is time to feast?¡±


    Aurelio shifted his eyes from Duke Wingurich to the strange man who held the title Grand High Master Jester. Fidivos rode in a chariot pulled by a single horse. He was garbed in a strange Utakadian robe called a Yichang. The sleeves were long and opened widely at where the hands came out, though Fidivos had a habit of always concealing his hands inside the sleeves. Despite how much the duke tried to show off his own personal raiment, Fidivos was giving him ample competition. His Yichang had golden patterns running all along it, though it was not as detailed as the duke¡¯s, the Utakadian robe made up for it in a unique way. It flowed like leaves in a calm wind. Every movement that Fidivos made was graceful and elegant. He could have easily been mistaken for an elf the way he moved. But apparently, he was a human man. Perhaps the most peculiar part of his appearance was that of a bizarre red mask he wore that covered the upper half of his face. A black lens that completely hid his eyes was fixated in the mask. Where his eyes would be there were instead black circles filled in and a third black circle in between them. Coming down out of the black circles were long, slender, black claw-like prongs. The side ones curved in slightly near the bottom and the center one went straight down. The only exposed skin that could be seen on him was the unobscured areas of the lower half of his face. He had no facial hair and he had long straight black hair on his head. The little amount of visible skin around his mouth was pale tan in color. Every time Aurelio saw the mask, he could not help but think that it seemed awfully eerie for a jester¡¯s mask.


    ¡°As much as I would enjoy to watch you two rambling on, there are certain things that must take order.¡± Fidivos smiled, it was somewhat unsettling with the blank, black spots over his eyes staring dead at him. ¡°I must apologize, Lord Ortansio, for this disturbance. I know you are very tired and very strained. It¡¯s just that my good Lord Wingurich has become so fat that he needed some exercise. Seeing you so stoic, brave and strong. It was quite moving. It gave him the motivation he needed to finally get his large buttocks up and walk around for a bit.¡±


    Aurelio sat there petrified on his horse.


    Fidivos had just insulted the most powerful man in the kingdom, save for the king himself, right in front of his face with absolutely no hesitation. The duke had been known to severely punish even Crownborn for insults of lesser degree. Was the jester mad?


    Duke Wingurich just chuckled in response. ¡°Master Fidivos, I believe you are correct. In fact, I¡¯ll walk the rest of the way to the city palace. It shouldn¡¯t be too far. I indeed need some exercise. Well, Lord Aurelio. I¡¯ll be seeing you later at the palace. If I get there before you, then you owe me one thousand gold skwama.¡± The duke bowed his head to Aurelio and then with the best of his ability, he started to walk in the direction to the city palace. Several of his attendants rushed out of the carriage and started to follow him. A few soldiers on horseback followed as well. However, a large part of the company, including the duke¡¯s carriage remained. Fidivos was also still there staring at him.


    The jester seemed so calm; he had seemingly taken over the situation. He was in control. The air around him as if in recognition of his prowess stirred. It was as if the majestic ripples of his robe were simply moving according to his will.


    Aurelio recalled the last thing the duke had said. He would never have agreed to a bet with the duke. Even if the bet in question, involved the duke completely losing the usage of his legs and being forced to crawl, Aurelio still would not agree to a bet. The duke always found ways to win regardless of limitations. The only way to win bets against the duke was to simply not bet against him at all. But ignoring him when he wanted your attention was also dangerous. Walking the fine line between avoiding his games and avoiding his wrath, was an art that Aurelio had learned over years of interacting with the duke at the royal court.

 Chapter 3: Bellatorex Part 3

    Current date in world: July 19, 2326 TP


    ¡°Finally gone,¡± a refined feminine voice said.


    Another person had exited the duke¡¯s carriage.


    She was a young woman who was dressed just as fine, perhaps even finer than the duke. She had straight brown hair that was styled into a ponytail. Her skin was fair and her eyes were auburn. She lacked the defining traits of a true blooded Agenorian noble, yet she stood with a confidence that suggested she was on an equal level to Aurelio.


    It was Amalia, the Flame Spire.


    She was one of the duke¡¯s daughters that had been born as a bastard, though she had been legitimized as one of his true blooded children. This was thanks in part to the fact that when she had been taken to the kingdom¡¯s sacred Crownborn authentication chamber as a young child, she had been revealed to be an impure Crownborn. Her mother was completely Bloodfallen, yet her father¡¯s pure Crownborn blood was enough to pass down the gift to her. On top of that, despite being an impure Crownborn, she had managed to become a Bellatorex.


    She was a bastard born, impure Crownborn Bellatorex.


    She looked at Aurelio, examining him with a keen eye. ¡°You would not believe how annoying father can get. I know you think he is unsufferable. But if you had to ride in that carriage with him all the way up here you would think what interactions you have had with him were cozy, comforting walks among the flowers. That was the longest amount of time I have ever spent with him and I dare say I will never spend that much amount of time with him for so long, and so cramped again. Unlike you, my honorable lord, I love my father very much, but I find myself sympathizing with you despite your unwarranted disdain for him.¡±


    Her eyes then moved quickly to the side.


    Carlos was still there by Aurelio. He had been silent this entire time, but it was obvious many thoughts had been running through his mind as these back-to-back interactions with the duke, and now his daughter played out.


    ¡°He is a pretty thing,¡± she said eyeing Carlos as if he were a piece of art displayed for her critical eye. ¡°I have met him a few times, but he never left any remarkable impressions. His head looks hollow. Yes, definitely hollow. Hopefully the main gallery has something a bit more interesting.¡±


    ¡°My lady,¡± Fidivos said. ¡°That is a prince of the royal family. That was quite rude.¡±


    ¡°Well then, he has every right to respond in kind. Or if he would like to, he could utilize the Grand High Master Jester.¡±


    ¡°As much as I would hate to have to fulfill my royal duties, alas, you are correct my lady. If he chooses not to respond, then it is my responsibility to respond in his place.¡±


    ¡°Uh,¡± Carlos said. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I am not offended by the lady¡¯s words. If I seem to be lacking then I must find out how I can improve.¡±


    ¡°Since the prince is unwilling to respond himself, then it is up to me to fulfill my royal duty.¡± Fidivos grinned, his smile was full of devious delight.


    ¡°No, really, it is fine. There is no need to carry this any further.¡±


    ¡°Acting in defense of the prince, I, Fidivos, hereby conduct my royal duties to respond to such insults as is necessary of my position. Lady Amalia, you are a good for nothing girl who thinks she knows everything she needs to know, but you can be quite dull minded when it comes to certain things such as that one time when you insulted the dwarves of Mount Thaleia who were supposed to forge your Bellatorite arms. The amount of additional fees, apologies and promises that could have been avoided if you had kept your mouth shut would have saved dear old Duke Wingurich from so much trouble. It is a miracle that¡ª¡±


    ¡°You insulted the dwarves of Mount Thaleia?¡± Aurelio exclaimed cutting Fidivos off. He had worked so hard to strengthen the Agenorian kingdom¡¯s relations with dwarven kingdom of Thaleia for years. This was the first time he had heard of this insult. Despite how tired and strained he was, a flame sparked from within him. She may be a Bellatorex, but she was an impure Crownborn, she might as well be a pure Bloodfallen. ¡°What in the name of the Ten Holy Prongs have you done? Why am I now just learning of this?¡±


    ¡°Relax. Relax.¡± Amalia said. ¡°The dwarves and I are good friends now. Sure, I may have made fun of their beards a little bit, but that¡¯s in the past. They love me quite a bit actually. I think I have visited them more than you have, well at least within the last two years anyways. My lovely spear of Brass Bellatorite was forged in their mountain smithy. My armor is also currently being forged there. It is a gift from my father for a special occasion.¡±


    ¡°Your tongue is very loose Lady Amalia. I must kindly ask you to keep yourself under control while in my presence. We may technically be of the same military rank, but I am your senior and the leader of this city and county. Please, show some respect.¡±


    ¡°My apologies, Lord Aurelio. I can get carried away sometimes. Blame father, he has spoiled me. He showered me with all of the luxuries befitting of a noble daughter while not ever requiring me to take my lessons. I never was able to learn proper noble woman behavior.¡± Her tone shifted and suddenly her whole demeanor changed. ¡°That aside, I do have very important things to discuss with you. Would you mind riding along with me?¡± She now sounded very serious. ¡°I suppose Prince Carlos can come along as well.¡±


    Amalia stepped onto the chariot of Fidivos.


    Was she going to ride with him? Why did she need to bring this jester with her?


    Aurelio sighed.


    He was too tired to care. Too tired to think anymore on the subject. He was still furious about her remark concerning the dwarves. He still found her to be unsavory because of her impure origins, despite the fact that she had been legitimized and was a Bellatorex like him. But his spark of burning flame quickly died down into smoldering coals. He would humor her, but he would do so on his own terms. Without saying another word, he started to ride to his palace.


    Within a few seconds, Carlos and Fidivos had caught up to him and started riding at his pace.


    ¡°Look,¡± Amalia began. ¡°I am here under direct orders of the king. I did not come here accompanying my father. He came here accompanying me. He did not need to come, but he insisted. My orders are to stay here and help you fortify the northern border. Intelligence gathered by the king¡¯s network of scouts and spies suggests that Mavrodaxius is just the beginning of something bigger to come. The king wants at least two Bellatorexes active in this region at all times from this point forward.¡±


    Aurelio was stunned. She was barely a woman grown. Sure, she had become a Bellatorex, a feat that no mere mortal could achieve without sheer determination and strength, but she did not look battle hardened at all. From how he understood it, it sounded like she was going to replace Duke Belus. Was this Duke Wingurich¡¯s work? Had this been his design to have one of his bastards come and replace one of the greatest men the kingdom had ever known? It was nonsense, yet she said it with such confidence as if it were true. Then he noticed that she was waving a rolled-up scroll that had all the signs and details on it that signified its authenticity as being directly from the king. She offered it out clearly intending for him to take it. He grabbed it and opened it as they continued to ride.


    It was true.


    Written on the scroll in the king¡¯s own handwriting it said:


    ~By royal authority that I hold, I hereby declare that Amalia, the Flame Spire, of House Wingurich, is to be stationed at the city of Garadan to act as a partner Bellatorex to the Thasos Province. She is to be married to a son of Count Aurelio Ortansio. I have allowed her to choose who she is to wed of the sons that are available, but if Lord Ortansio insists, he may have a say in the matter as long as one of his sons is ultimately chosen. Though Lady Amalia has already received ample training from the royal military, she has requested that Lord Ortansio further train her to prepare for what threats are yet to come. I hereby grant this request and order Lord Ortansio to train her according to how he trains his own personal forces.


    I would like to formally thank Lord Ortansio for all he has done for the kingdom. He is truly the shining example that we should all look at for what it means to be an Agenorian. I do not doubt that we all still mourn the death of the much beloved Duke Belus, but we must make haste and prepare, for if we do not ready for what is to come, then his sacrifice will have been in vain. We have reason to believe a force just as strong, or perhaps even stronger than Mavrodaxius is making its way to the kingdom from Daxodias. It is paramount that Thasos have a strong and proven warrior as its duke. Therefore, I hereby grant the dukedom of Thasos to Lord Aurelio Ortansio who rules in Garadan City of the Ortansio County. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Due to the current remaining heirs of the Belus family that survived the sacking of Thessabel City being too young, the husband of Amalia is to be made the proxy count of the Belus County and the proxy ruler of Thessabel City. Reclaim and rebuild the city is the order that I give to Lady Amalia and whoever she is to be married to. Lord Ortansio is to support her and her husband in this endeavor.


    Lastly, all demonfolk currently within Agenorian domain are to be chained with Moly Daedalite and are to be sent to the capital. If any demonfolk are too difficult in restraining and transporting they are to be executed.


    Signed by your king, Ferdinand Agenor VI~


    Aurelio stared at the words deep in contemplation and looked back at Amalia.


    His eyes widened as he began to fully realize what he had just read. This child of Wingurich was to marry one of his sons. The worst part about it was that all of his trueborn sons were impure Crownborn despite both parents being pure, a fact which meant he or his wife had latent Bloodfallen blood within one of them; a fact he did not like to think too much of. If this half-breed married one of his sons the noble Crownborn bloodline would become even more diluted. But these were direct orders from the king. He clearly had a reason for all of this. Perhaps he was desperate. Perhaps Duke Wingurich coerced him into this. Either way, no matter the reason, he had to follow the orders. The king was wiser than this. It must be a good reason despite how muddied this all was. It took every fiber of Aurelio¡¯s being to fight the urge to find flaws with the king¡¯s orders regarding Amalia. He could deal with this. It would only be one son and the rest of his unmarried sons he would make sure to marry to pure Crownborn noble women.


    The part at the end about the demonfolk though, it was strange. They were generally unwelcome in the kingdom for they were a savage like and barbarous people. Ancient lore and stories said they had been created by Hades to fight his ancient enemy. They were originally a clan of humans who worshipped Hades and when he required a strong army upon Turaida they volunteered to become his soldiers. The old stories said Hades with the help of a demon god turned these humans into the demonfolk. The demon god¡¯s influence was stronger than Hades¡¯ and freed them from his control, and from then on, they roamed as a wild and violent people. After many ages they had become numerous and very strong, yet they were unordered. Despite now that they had the most numbers in their population than ever before, they were scattered into many tribes and tended to stay within the land of Daxodias only leaving its borders to pillage and plunder the peoples living right outside the borders of the great land. Demonfolk did not make great slaves. They absolutely refused to submit to any master. They were also very dangerous. Laying hands on them was a death sentence, which despite that, some fools still tried. Their innate magic was wicked and powerful, but it had limited reach and most lacked control over it. However, it would often be triggered if they felt in danger or if they were enraged which resulted in horrible injuries to those that directly touched them. They were also all apparently Bloodfallen, most likely because of their unholy origins Aurelio reasoned. Because of all these things, the only use the kingdom found for them was for sport. They were hunted and they were used to be gladiators in coliseums forced to fight criminals, beasts and each other. Why the king wanted them all sent to the capital was very strange indeed. Aurelio had a few that were imprisoned in Garadan, he would need to make the arrangements to have them delivered which was a tedious process. Moly Daedalite was relatively rare. Because of its magic dulling properties, it was often fashioned into chains that could restrain the demonfolk. They were still dangerous, but it made it a bit easier and safer to handle them.


    ¡°So, these are orders from the king,¡± Aurelio said. ¡°From the contents of this scroll, it sounds like it was mainly meant for me. I will be holding on to it. And it would seem that I am now the duke. The orders of the king I am sworn to follow. However, if I had not made it clear, I disapprove of you. I will tolerate you on behalf of the king, but that is the most respect you will have of me unless you prove otherwise.¡±


    ¡°You are too kind,¡± Amalia said still with the same air of seriousness. ¡°I assure you; I am here to serve. Lord Ortansio, Duke Ortansio, I have sworn no oaths to my father, nor to the king. If it may ease you, I am willing to make a Crown Oath to you and the son I am to marry.¡±


    Aurelio stared at her intently. He was under the impression this entire time that she was sworn to her father which if that was true, then that meant anything she did would be in her father¡¯s favor. If she was not, then that was somewhat alarming. How could Duke Wingurich be doing all of this, coming here to his city with his daughter to marry her off to one of his sons without any ulterior motive in mind? How could the duke profit off their marriage if she had no oaths sworn to him? Perhaps he was thinking too deeply about it. Well, if she was telling the truth, then he would test her on it. She had just offered to make the oath to him. So why not just do it then and there?


    ¡°I accept your offer,¡± Aurelio said. ¡°You will make your Crown Oath here and now to me. And to ascertain that you were telling the truth, in the oath you shall state that you have truly had no other Crown Oaths made to the king or your father. This is your first test. If you can pass it, perhaps my thoughts on you will turn more favorable.¡±


    Right away she answered as if she had rehearsed for this very moment. ¡°I, Amalia, the Flame Spire make now a Crown Oath to Lord Aurelio Ortansio to serve his family and to be a faithful and strong wife to the son I am to marry. In this oath I confirm that I have taken no other Crown Oaths before this one save for the one I made to the dragon that gave her blood to me. Accept this oath, my lord, and I shall be bound. You have my word that my father, at least in my case as far as I am aware, has no schemes in place regarding this occasion.¡±


    As was the case with all Crown Oaths, a faint divine light started to enshroud her, a light that would bind her to the words she had said. For a moment, Aurelio thought he was imagining it, but she was genuinely offering herself up to him and his family. Two of the kingdom¡¯s Bellatorexes had died fighting Mavrodaxius meaning only five were left in the kingdom. If Aurelio accepted this, he would have two of the remaining five in his control, himself and Amalia. She was probably the youngest, weakest and least experienced out of the five, but still, a Bellatorex was a Bellatorex.  Before Mavrodaxius had come, Duke Wingurich was considered the most powerful duke in the kingdom, he had been tied to Duke Belus in having control of two Bellatorexes, but he was much wealthier and had special connections that made him a valuable asset to the kingdom. If Aurelio took one of Duke Wingurich¡¯s Bellatorexes then he would be the most powerful duke in the kingdom in the blink of an eye. Not only that, he would be fortifying himself while weakening Duke Wingurich¡¯s position of authority at the same time. He still had his reservations about Amalia, but this was simply an offer he could not refuse.


    ¡°I accept your oath,¡± he said.


    The divine light glowed a bit brighter for but a moment and then it sank into her, and it was gone. The oath had been made.


    ¡°I am glad we could get this done and over with so soon,¡± she said. ¡°I thought you were going to be a bit more difficult to work with, but it seems I was wrong.¡±


    ¡°It is the fool that refuses a chest of one thousand gold skwama just because it is covered and filled with mud. Some may call me a stubborn and a stern man, but I am no fool. I will take the chest every time. No matter how dirty, no matter how filthy, its price remains the same.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I should take that as a compliment or feel insulted.¡±


    ¡°Knowing Duke Aurelio, I think that is quite the compliment,¡± Fidivos suggested.


    Aurelio looked over to Fidivos. ¡°Quiet jester. You¡¯ll be allowed to have your fun at the celebration later. I have had enough of your talking for one sitting.¡±


    Fidivos remained silent the rest of the way.


    They continued on.


    The palace was not far off. It would still take them a short while to reach it.


    ¡°I have a question, Lord Aurelio,¡± Amalia said after they had been riding silently for a few minutes.


    ¡°Ask your question, promised daughter.¡± His views on her were already starting to change, if only a little. The taking of the oath with such confidence impressed him.


    ¡°What does it mean to be a Bellatorex?¡±


    ¡°The title, the word itself is derived from an ancient dialect of the Draconic language, it means warrior king. Our scholars have taught us that the ancient Bellatorexes fought alongside the children of Bahamut, the dragons with metallic scales, to fight against the evil dragons, the children of Bahamut¡¯s sister, Tiamat. These evil dragons we often call the chromatics for their solid-colored scales. In those days that have long passed, the battles were magnificent. The ground shook as dragons fell from the sky. Thunder roared across the world. Great tempests and storms were conjured that carved out the very face of the earth. It was terrible for how great the enemies were back then, but all the more glorious in their fall, and the triumph of the righteous metallics and their Bellatorex armies. We are their successors. If it is at all possible to claim even a sliver of the glory they once had, that is what we must strive for. To be a Bellatorex is to be a beacon of light. To be a Bellatorex is to be the one that calms and caresses a weeping world.¡±


    Aurelio found himself being extraordinarily passionate. He quickly understood why. All everyone cared about was the prestige, the wealth and power. Besides the scholars, no one seemed to care anymore why Bellatorexes were important. People, both Crownborn and Bloodfallen just wanted to see fantastical warriors capable of extraordinary feats.


    They were so much more than that.


    He looked into Amalia¡¯s eyes and he saw genuine interest and sincerity.


    He started to smile slightly. Was he actually starting to like her? Just one, simple question had revealed so much.


    It was not too long before they had finally reached the main palace gate.


    There standing proudly was Duke Wingurich who waved out to them gleefully.


    He had beaten them to the palace.

 Chapter 4: The Road Home

    Current day in world: July 18, 2326 TP


    ~Caden~


    One more day. One more step. How long had it been? Weeks? Months? Years? It had felt like an eternity.


    Caden lied in a muddy patch of grass. His fire had just about died out. His eyes were heavy and his body ached all over.


    By his side was a beaten and rusted sword that somehow still held strong though it had been through many grueling battles. He stretched his hand out to the blade. ¡°Soon you will have rest.¡±


    The sword had once been a sight to behold having been forged in steel by the dwarves of Mount Thaleia. Even in its worn-down state it stood as a testament to their mastery over stone and metal. The sword had not failed him.


    ¡°Get up lazy scales,¡± a squeaky, accented voice demanded. ¡°Breakfast is almost done.¡±


    A little creature covered in green scales was messing around with some pans and skewers by the dying fire.


    It was Shashu. He was a Green Kobold, a race of dragon kin who were small and known to be tricky and feisty. Usually, kobolds served under a dragon master, they had a natural instinct that made them want to serve their much larger, and in their own words, much higher kin. Shashu was green, a color commonly associated with evil dragons, but he served a metallic master. His master was a high priest of Bahamut and in turn he was a priest as well. He had been sent on a pilgrimage about a year ago and four months into that pilgrimage, while wandering through the dangerous forests of Daxodias he had stumbled upon a young, human man who had been barely clinging on to a thread of life.


    His pans were full of all types of roots and mushrooms mixed with various meats that had been scavenged. It was a mystery to Caden how many different types of meats were in those pans. He could also make out bits and pieces of bugs native to the Daxodian woodlands, with many shells and many legs, things that were once very exotic to him, but now were as common as a bowl of porridge.


    The kobold hummed and sang as he finished up the cooking. Caden could understand some of the words in the verses, but he had not learned much of the Draconic tongue when he had been taught it in his younger days, though Shashu had been trying to help him learn it again. He was making good progress, at least according to Shashu.


    Caden glanced over to see what the green kobold had piked on the skewers.


    It was fish.


    They looked a bit off, but so did almost everything found in the Daxodian wilderness. If it was Daxodian it always had more of something, it was either bigger, longer, hairier, smellier with more layers or limbs.


    Caden got up and stretched out his arms.


    He was a complete mess.


    But that was to be expected after having traveled for months in the same set of clothes walking for miles and miles through dank bogs and swamps, and mossy overgrown forests.


    Honestly, he should have been dead. Nightmarish memories flooded his mind, from them he saw his fellow soldiers running away from something dark and dreary, something that had been malice incarnate. It had gotten a hold on him with slimy, clawed arms and had swallowed him whole. One thing he knew for certain, it had been a demon of the Abyss. A foul creature only heard of in nighttime stories.


    The pain he felt had been like no other.


    Every inch of his body had been stinging.


    He had felt sick and so nauseated. Every time he tried to make his body expel the feeling, of what foul thing that had crept inside, it got worse.


    With his trusty blade, he had managed to rip his way out. Perhaps it was by the grace of Athena. There was an owl. For a brief moment he saw it as he had climbed out of the cavity of the beast. In the blink of an eye, it was gone. But he had felt that warmth. That sweet caress of a goddess. Many scholars taught that the Prime Pantheon of gods had died ages ago in a horrid war, and that their titles and names had been taken up by lesser forms. Dead or not, he had felt the blessed hand of the goddess. It had felt so wonderful. But as soon as it had come, it had gone. He had felt relief for a brief moment and then all the suffering had returned. Even in death, the demon was not finished with him.


    He could still feel its presence. Its essence was still inside of him.


    He knew he was cursed.


    ¡°Young master,¡± Shashu said. ¡°We have a big day ahead of us, we shall be entering Zenikardia very soon. Eat and restore your strength. I have prepared for you some fine dishes to help with your pain and to breathe some new life into those legs.¡±


    The kobold walked over and presented two plates full of the mystery meat, bugs, roots and mushroom concoction he had made. It honestly did not look too bad.


    Caden was still getting used to the kobold. Most of his life the interactions he had had with them involved hunting and killing them. Drake rats most soldiers would often call them. They were menaces and pests that stole food and skwama. They also could be very dangerous especially in numbers. Shashu had shattered most everything he thought he knew about them. He was polite and well spoken. Once he had gotten to know Caden a little better, he had started to call him young master, though he was not a dragon.


    Caden grabbed one of the plates and started to eat.


    It was delectable.


    He remembered the first days after he had narrowly survived being consumed by the demon. The most he could do was crawl at the time. It had been so hard and painful. He remembered his stomach growling as he had gone without food for several days and the only water that he found to drink was in mirky puddles. At the first chance he had he grabbed a big worm he found in the mud and ate it raw. Next were bugs. He even tried tree bark and all sorts of leaves, seeds and strange fruits. He had gotten sick several times. He lost track of the number of times he expelled grime from his mouth not being able to stomach something. He was somewhat knowledgeable in identifying safe things to eat, but we was no ranger. At many times he had started to vomit blood and would just pass out. But more than all of the pain that he had felt, nothing could describe the loneliness. That day Shashu had found him may have been the best day of his life.


    Once the kobold saw that he was eating he allowed himself to partake as well.


    ¡°Shashu, why do this all for me?¡± Caden asked.


    ¡°It is the way for followers of Bahamut to help those in need,¡± he said. ¡°I simply abide by the tenants of the great metallic father.¡±


    Caden took a few more bites of his breakfast. The raw worms and bugs had been disgusting when he had first eaten them, but the kobold had somehow cooked them to be fairly palatable.


    ¡°But you were on a holy pilgrimage? You had been sent to do something important.¡±


    ¡°Mysterious are the ways that Bahamut works. I was told to travel to the Great Daxos Bell Tree and I would find what I needed to do. My directions never said I had to be there. And indeed, I found something. A human barely clinging to life who looked like he needed the good word of Bahamut to ease his weary soul.¡±


    ¡°I think it was Athena¡¯s grace that helped keep me alive until you found me.¡±


    ¡°Well, Bahamut is not against working with other gods, he may not be part of your Prime Pantheon, but he has worked with them in the past. Perhaps they have a holy plan for you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not Crownborn though. I barely made a good soldier either. I had trained under Count Aurelio Ortansio, a master swordsman and a Bellatorex. He always said I was promising with a blade, but that I was clumsy, that I always needed more practice. I guess he was right. If I had been more skilled maybe I would not have been in that sorry predicament.¡±


    ¡°I am not Crownborn either. Yet I make do with the gifts I have been given. Don¡¯t be too hard on yourself young master. You should be proud that you have survived up to this point.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Shashu¡¯s words were comforting.


    Caden in all his life, had never would have thought that a kobold of all things would be something that he looked forward to waking up to every morning. Every time he opened his eyes as he woke up these past few months and Shashu was there, he was filled with a joy that little by little numbed some of the intense pain he still felt.


    After they had finished eating, the kobold started scampering around collecting all the dishes and making sure everything was accounted for. He carried with him a Daedalite device called an Angel Cube. They were uncommon, but not extremely rare, and were very valuable and useful. Their main function was to hold and preserve. They were very light and could float around those they were bonded to. Though the kobold appeared to not be carrying very much, he had in fact a small portable room that could hold quite a bit inside of it, filled with all his belongings. The cube was about the size of an apple and it had intricate patterning. Once he had everything in place, he started to put it all back inside the Angel Cube.


    Within a few minutes their camp had been cleared and clean.


    ¡°Well, young master, we should be getting started. The day will not wait for us.¡±


    Caden got up. When Shashu first found him, he still had to crawl for days before he had the strength to stand, and after about two months had passed, he then began to walk. The kobold had medicine and knew how to cook meals for dealing with certain ailments and aches. He had used his sword as a walking stick, but now he could walk normally.


    The pain was still there. But Shashu had helped him numb it and helped him to ignore it. He could move very well now. He had started to practice again with the blade and at times he even sparred with Shashu with staves that Shashu had stored in his Angel Cube.


    He was healing.


    But it was not enough.


    Shashu had determined that he had a grave curse. They had managed to stop it from growing like a weed, but it needed to be pulled out from the roots. Unfortunately, not even the blessings of Bahamut or the sweet caresses of Athena were enough to do this. He needed something stronger.


    They were making their way south, back to Zenikardia.


    It was Caden¡¯s homeland.


    As much as he wanted to go home and rest, that was not the reason they were returning.


    Shashu was given a special relic when he had been sent on his pilgrimage. His dragon master had given him a beautiful sapphire globe called a Prong Seeking Orb. It was made from Blue Bellatorite and sapphire gems, and its primary function was to point the wielder to one of the ten prongs of the Holy Crown of Zendivos. They were the only magical compasses in the world capable of locating the prongs.


    He had given Caden the orb deeming that it was he who it was destined for.


    It would guide him to the cure for his curse.


    Just from holding it, Caden could feel the powerful magic swelling within it. Shashu instructed him that while holding it he could will it to seek a prong or that which he most desired. However, after being given its directive, it would only be good for finding that thing, but it would continue to show the way until that thing was found. As much as Caden would have liked to find one of the Holy Crown Regalia, divine artifacts that were infused with the very power of the gods, he had no idea if it were even within his potential to harness such awesome power. He decided it would be safer to give it the directive to guide him to the cure for his curse.


    When he had willed it, the orb glowed and instantly it produced an arrow of light that pointed the same direction regardless of where he moved it. To his astonishment, while he held it, it even spoke to him in his mind. It pointed to Garadan City and told him there he would find a demonfolk woman and that she would be the key to his salvation.


    It was a challenging task that had been set before him.


    The first step as hard as it had been was almost done, they were almost there, just a few days of walking away. The second step would be very tricky. He would need to get into the city, get inside Count Ortansio¡¯s palace, go down to its dungeons and free the demonfolk woman the orb spoke of. He had no idea why he needed to free her, but Shashu insisted that the orb¡¯s magic was absolute in finding what the wielder wanted.


    Caden did not know much about demonfolk. They lived primarily in Daxodias, their numbers making many, many tribes. On quite a few occasions both he and Shashu had been close to encountering them, but laying low and hiding was enough to avoid them. From what he knew of them, they were violent and barbarous. On many occasions he heard scholars calling them uncivilized. He had observed what he could of them when those close encounters happened, but it was hard for him to determine anything from what he had seen. Shashu feared and respected them, but would not really talk much regarding them.


    There was one time when he was much younger where he had been shown them being held in the dungeons of the palace. They looked like humans, but their demonic features were very pronounced. Their skin ranged from various shades of blue that on some was so dark it looked grey. The adults were large and often stood at around seven to nine feet tall. And each one had a set of vibrant orange red eyes, along with a set of horns on their heads, and a tail on their backsides.


    As a child they had struck much fear into him.


    But now, he felt like he understood them, if only a little.


    The harsh wildlands of Daxodias were as hostile as the stories made them out to be. Multiple times both he and Shashu found themselves in tense combat with goblins, aggressive predators and other kobolds. The green kobold had been surprisingly competent as a fighter. Luckily, the fights had happened after Caden had started to walk again, and he had been able to hold his ground. Though each time they had clashed with enemies and beasts, he had taken more wounds and become worn down. Because of these battles that he had needed to recuperate from in addition to his curse and wounds from the demon, their progress had been incredibly slow.


    Every step was another step of uncertainty.


    But those steps of uncertainty were also steps forward.


    ¡°Shashu,¡± Caden said as they began to walk. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°No need to thank me young master. I am simply doing what a faithful servant of Bahamut should be doing.¡±


    They continued on.


    Caden thought back to that memory a year ago.


    One of Lord Ortansio¡¯s sons, Sir Sergio, had been infatuated by a noble lady from Thessabel City who said she would marry the man that could bring her the head of a great goblin chieftain that had slain her father in Daxodias. Caden had trained with Sergio at a young age and they became good friends as they had practiced together. Sergio had always been the better swordsman and the better soldier, which was to be expected from the count¡¯s son.


    Caden had wanted to live a simple life. His family lived in a village in Ortansio County a short journey southwest of Garadan City called the Moss Grove. He had signed up to be a soldier with the modest goal of becoming a tower guard or a gate guard. Either of those would have been good enough for him. They did not need to be the best combatants; they just needed to sound the alarm and effectively send messages when needed. Caden could do those things fairly well. Though he had trained hard and tried so many ways to improve, he had always failed his swordsmanship tests and could never get promoted past a basic foot soldier.


    Sergio had promised him that he would get him any position he wanted equal or below his rank if he came with him to hunt down the goblin chieftain.


    ¡°I just need to fill up a company of one hundred strong before father approves for this type of expedition,¡± he had said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll keep you in the safest place at all times, plus, I have General Telamon on board. You¡¯ll just come for the ride to fill in as one of my hundred and we¡¯ll take care of everything else.¡±


    Sergio had lied.


    They had an ample fighting force especially with General Telamon coming along, but it had been much more than just coming along for the ride.


    After journeying for seven weeks, they had finally found the cave where the goblin chieftain made his lair. The chieftain had been cunning. Traps were littered all around and inside the cave. Around eighty of the hundred men that Sergio had gathered were Bloodfallen, Caden being among those eighty. Sergio and Telamon had made the Bloodfallen go in first. They had lost twenty by the time they reached the entrance to the cave. The traps having been triggered around the entrance had alerted the goblin host. By the time they had gotten to the goblin chieftain, only ten Bloodfallen soldiers remained.


    Sergio had promised that he would be safe.


    In the personal chambers of the goblin chieftain that is when everything finally turned into darkness. A small latent fissure to the Abyss was inside the chamber and all the bloodshed had been enough to fuel it to open briefly. It had all been part of the goblin chieftain¡¯s plan.


    The demon appeared.


    It had been a horrible revelation.


    Sergio and Telamon had realized too late that they had walked right into a death trap, for they had kept their confidence high the entire way to the chamber slaying the goblins as they had used their Bloodfallen soldiers as human shields.


    Caden had known several of the Bloodfallen soldiers that had fallen. Some of them were his friends. He had seen Sir Elias who had a dear wife and a newborn daughter back at home, get skewered by goblins after Telamon had pushed him to activate a trap.


    That was the first time Caden had ever felt such anger.


    Throwing his training to the wind he had jumped in raging.


    While he had been blindly hacking away that was when the demon had been summoned.


    Caden had managed to slay the chieftain in his desperate bout to avenge Elias.


    He had dragged the corpse of the chieftain over to Sergio and Telamon who both were unscathed. He had been wounded and bruised badly, and had not realized that a demon had been summoned.


    At that moment Telamon had looked directly into his eyes, ¡°A Bloodfallen cannot take the glory of Crownborn. I¡¯m sorry lad, but you need to fall. Glory to Agenor.¡±


    And he had kicked Caden into the amorphous form of the manifesting demon.


    The last thing he saw as he was being engulfed was Sergio and Telamon carrying out the goblin chieftain¡¯s corpse followed by a few of the Crownborn soldiers.


    Caden came back to himself.


    Shashu was whistling a jolly tune as he skipped along.


    They came out to a clearing on a tall hill.


    Off in the not so far distance was Ortansio County nestled in the land of Zenikardia where beautiful green fields and patches of forest stretched out beyond the horizon.


    Caden was finally returning home.

 Chapter 5: Reunion

    Current day in world: July 19, 2326 TP


    ~Isabella~


    ¡°Get up! Get up!¡±


    Why was a servant yelling?


    Isabella was certain that today she had no lessons, no practices or any other noble lady responsibilities.


    ¡°Lousy girl, get up! Your father has returned!¡±


    That was not a servant.


    It was her mother.


    The mother of her brothers and sister.


    She opened her eyes and saw hovering over her bedside the lord lady of Garadan, Adosinda Ortansio. The woman was in her fifties and had given birth to seven children which consisted of six sons and a daughter, and still she looked as beautiful as she did in the paintings that depicted her thirty years ago. She had the elegant black hair and silver eyes that most Agenorian nobles had. There were signs of age in her face, but those signs only elevated her commanding presence.


    ¡°Father has returned?¡± Isabella said with genuine excitement.


    She had been eagerly awaiting these past few weeks. She had feared greatly for her father. He had gone to slay an ancient Black Dragon which was something that she had only ever heard of in fantastical tales of ages long passed. However, she had been ecstatic in addition to the fear she felt, for she craved to hear the legendary tale that he had been a part of.


    She was a priestess cleric of Calliope and had grown to love recording the tales that her father and brothers shared of their missions and adventures in duty to Agenor. Within the past year she had scribed the epic tale of how her brother Sir Sergio won the hand of his wife, Lydia. Soon she would be able to scribe the tale of how her father slew the dragon.


    She stretched out her arms and gave out a great yawn, and slowly started to get up from her bed. Within seconds servants were grooming and dressing her. Adosinda watched, staring with cold eyes. She had always been very strict with her and was completely devoid of any affection for her as well. Yet she always doted on and showed such love to her brothers and sister. Isabella never thought it was unfair, those were Lady Adosinda¡¯s trueborn children after all. Though she always thought that she could at least be a little bit nicer to her. Father was nice. He absolutely adored her. Perhaps Adosinda was cold towards her as a way to help balance out father¡¯s exceedingly expansive affection for her. Or perhaps it was the all too obvious answer. She never liked to think too much on it, and so she focused her thoughts elsewhere.


    ¡°Mother.¡± Isabella had always been required to address Adosinda as mother in recognition of her as the true wife and lady lord of House Ortansio. ¡°Have any new reports come in? Are Sergio, Bruno, Leo and Camilo fine?¡±


    ¡°They are all alive and three of them are in great condition. Sergio, my lovely boy, as always has come out a shining gem unhurt. Bruno and Leo have suffered from minor wounds and a few broken bones.¡± She paused. ¡°Camilo has been sent to a monastery for specialized healing.¡±


    ¡°What happened to him?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. The report was too vague. All I know right now is that he got hit by something akin to the dragon¡¯s breath. But he is alive. And he is an Ortansio. The blessings of the gods shall heal him.¡±


    Several minutes passed as the servants finished dressing her.


    Right as they were about done someone came bursting into the room.


    ¡°ISABELLA! ISABELLA! FATHER IS HOME!¡± a young lady yelled as she ran up and hugged Isabella.


    It was Leandra, her younger sister and the youngest of Aurelio Ortansio¡¯s children.


    She was absolutely stunning.


    She wore a silver dress that looked like it had been woven out of moonlight.


    Isabella embraced her sister; she was both happy to share the moment with her and happy that she now had more company than just their mother. The servants had been in the middle of tying her priestess robe and parts of the elegant set fell to the ground as Leandra had rushed in to hug her sister.


    Adosinda looked completely stern and serious, but Isabella saw just for a brief moment her lips curl just by the tiniest bit to produce the faintest of smiles.


    ¡°Ladies,¡± Adosinda began. ¡°Behave yourselves. Your father just returned from the most important mission of his life; it is not only best for his daughters to meet him in a dignified manner but for them to prepare dignified as well.¡±


    Both of them looked at each other and then turned their heads towards their mother. They both grinned.


    In the sudden blink of an eye, they had both grabbed sheets from Isabella¡¯s bed and had thrown them over Lady Adosinda.


    ¡°You girls,¡± Adosinda said. ¡°Honestly, what am I to do with you two?¡± She removed the sheets from herself and the servants quickly came to grab them and started remaking the bed. ¡°Fine. If you want to not take this occasion with the respect required by noble ladies then be my guest. If you two, both, do not show up at the palace entrance to greet your father within the next ten minutes then I will make the cooks throw out all the ten layered honey cakes and have them serve you pickled kobold tails for dessert at the celebration feast.¡±


    They both let out cries of concern and quickly composed themselves.


    Adosinda smiled with a playful look to her eyes and left the room.


    It was moments like this that Isabella truly cherished. Had she pulled a trick like this on Adosinda by herself, she would not have heard the end of it. But with Leandra there, Adosinda¡¯s fury could only amass to playful punishments such as taking away their beloved honey cakes for a meal. Though she was not too sure about pickled kobold tails. Did the cooks even make stuff like that? And who in her right mind would eat such a thing? She shuddered at the thought of eating them. But that was enough thinking about strange dishes she would never try. She only had ten minutes now to finish getting dressed and go all the way down to the palace entrance.


    ¡°Hurry, get this robe on me!¡± Isabella said.


    Her attendants quickly got back to helping her and in less than a minute she was fully dressed in her Calliope priestess robe. The robe was silver and beautiful like Leandra¡¯s dress, and on the lower part of the skirt of the robe there was a beautiful purple and blue hydrangea.


    ¡°You look so lovely,¡± Leandra said.


    ¡°You do as well, sister,¡± Isabella replied.


    They left her room together.


    They ran through the grand and spacious halls of their home, the city palace of Garadan. Almost every corner they turned servants were here or there, cleaning this and that, moving sheets and linens, delivering messages and fetching all types of things.


    As they continued to rush through the halls her thoughts went back to Camilo. Her dear younger brother. She was not much older than him, they were separated in age by less than a year, but she was still older than him, and that made her his elder sister. The sister that he needed to watch out for him, the one to protect and comfort him. She was supposed to be the one to guide the way for her younger siblings to show them what it meant to be an Ortansio.


    She was very excited to see father and her other brothers, but Camilo needed her.


    After she had her reunion with father, she would go straight to the monastery holding Camilo and stay by his side until his wounds healed.


    She had failed him once before as an elder sister.


    She would not fail him again.


    That day two years ago.


    She would never forget that day.


    They had both been fifteen years old at the time, though her sixteenth birthday had been close approaching. Out of all her brothers, none of them had dared risk the process to undergo the holy ritual of becoming a Bellatorex. It was quite understandable honestly.


    Only Crownborn could become Bellatorexes. Very few actually attempted the ritual and even fewer came out ascended to that holy form. The dragon host¡¯s blood quite often would reject the bodies it was attempting to translate into Bellatorexes. The process when successful could be very painful. Isabella could only fathom how much more horrible it would be if it was a failure.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    Even for pure Crownborn there were substantial risks.


    For an impure Crownborn like her brother, those risks were much more magnified.


    Camilo had decided to risk the ritual. She knew he had always been compared to his older brothers and father, that he had always been in their shadows. Father had always made it clear that it should be a choice made willingly to take on the holy calling. He wanted his children to become Bellatorexes, he had told them so many times of how proud and honored he would be if one of his children became one.


    Their family had made the trip at Camilo¡¯s request to travel to the mountain range where Mount Thaleia was rooted. In one of those mountains, Mount Pelion, a sister of Mount Thaleia, a great Silver Dragon had made her home. She was the same Silver Dragon that had given blood to Duke Belus and her father.


    When she had entered the dragon¡¯s lair it had been the most magnificent and mystical place she had ever been to in her entire life. The dragon, Asimizoi could make and shape clouds and they hovered all around and in her lair. The great halls were lined with crystals of all kinds of wonderful and beautiful shapes. Sculptures of ice and silver stood proud depicting the dragon and her kin, but also of humans and Dwarves who she had befriended.


    She remembered that first moment, being led by Asimizoi¡¯s Silver Kobold servants to her throne and laying eyes upon the dragon for the first time. There was something powerful stirring in the air. Asimizoi was very large, but it seemed that to Isabella at the time, she had felt like she had been getting smaller and smaller the closer she got. She knew Asimizoi was good spirited and kind, but just being in her presence sent a primordial fear that ran through her. When Asimizoi had spoken, she had said soothing and comforting words in response to help dull this powerful, terrifying pressure that she naturally emanated.


    Asimizoi had looked upon Camilo and spoke with him, and had found him to be worthy to give of her blood. She made him make a Crown Oath the same as father, that he would be a beacon of light, an exemplar of justice and to comfort a weeping world. To Isabella, this type of Crown Oath had been especially strange because it was intentionally vague and open ended, Asimizoi herself had said that it was for both her father and brother to interpret what the oath meant.


    After the blood had been given, they had made their way to the Kingdom of the Dwarves of Mount Thaleia. It was there that they had needed to go, for the Dwarves had one of the rare consecrated, Bellatorex rite chambers that was needed to perform the ritual.


    The ritual had seemed to be going well, but Isabella had known, she had felt that perhaps Camilo was not yet ready to take on such a task and burden, yet she had never spoken up.


    Camilo drank the sanctified blood and the process began.


    He had started to glow silver, but within seconds the silver glow had fluctuated between black and red.


    He had fallen to the ground groaning and breathing heavily. His veins had been straining and he had started to sweat profusely. His entire body had started to convulse and he had started yelling out cries of immense pain. His skin had started to crack all over and blood had seeped out of the cracks. It felt like it had lasted ages.


    Isabella had stood there that day terrified.


    Her fear had petrified her, she had wanted to move, to go help comfort and possibly heal him with the priestess powers she had been learning.


    After it had seemed that much time had passed, he had lain there motionless.


    Isabella, had just stared at him, with dark thoughts looming inside her, that her younger brother had just died there in grueling pain before her eyes.


    The Dwarves who had been waiting outside the chamber, bless their beards, had rushed in once they realized something had gone terribly wrong. They had administered to him their best medicines and potions.


    He had survived.


    But he had failed to become a Bellatorex.


    That day had haunted Isabella ever since and she still blamed herself for not being strong enough to speak up or to help him when he had needed her.


    Out of all Lord Aurelio Ortansio¡¯s children, Isabella was the one that he most desired to become a Bellatorex for she was his only pure Crownborn child.


    As much as she loved her father, she would not do it. The experience with Camilo haunted her. Over the past two years she had had nightmares of that dreadful day; the scene playing out over and over again. She did everything she could to shut it out, but it clung to her like a nasty stain that would not wash out.


    Isabella and her sister finally reached the entrance of the palace.


    The great massive doors were already open.


    There stood her father, mother and Prince Carlos along with an entourage of various other high-ranking knights and nobles. Standing next to her father were some strange faces she knew did not belong to people that lived in Garadan, but they looked familiar. Within seconds she realized who one of them was. The large, older man who was probably in his sixties, adorned in way too much jewelry was definitely Duke Wingurich, the ruler of Athanaric Province.


    She ran up to her father with Leandra and they both in perfectly timed unison embraced him.


    ¡°My dear, lovely girls,¡± her father said. ¡°Your father has missed you so much. It¡¯s so good to see my beloved, sweet flowers.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s so good to see you father,¡± Isabella said. ¡°We missed you a lot as well.¡±


    ¡°We sure did,¡± Leandra agreed. ¡°We were so, so worried about you. But we knew you could do it.¡±


    ¡°Now these are some fine, lovely ladies you have here, Lord Aurelio.¡± Duke Wingurich had approached closer to them. ¡°They are a nice set of priceless gems.¡±


    What was Duke Wingurich doing here? Father really did not like him, Isabella always heard father complaining about him. He often would call Duke Wingurich a greedy snake, a necessary one that the kingdom needed, but still a greedy snake in the end. She thought he looked more like a greedy hippo; he was much too round to be a snake.


    She saw two other figures standing really close to Duke Wingurich. One of them was a finely dressed lady that looked like she was around a similar age to herself, perhaps a year or two older. The other was an exotically dressed man with a very peculiar mask. She knew who he was. No one could forget someone this odd looking. She had met him around a month or two before Mavrodaxius attacked Thessabel City. She had been attending the royal court with her father at the capital city of Agenor.


    ¡°Oh, where are my manners?¡± Duke Wingurich said. ¡°We have met before, but it is proper that I introduce myself. Duke Thorismund Wingurich at your service.¡± He gave a proper and dignified bow which was surprisingly elegant despite his size and girth.


    ¡°Amalia, the Flame Spire,¡± said the lady by Duke Wingurich. ¡°At your service.¡±


    ¡°Grand High Master Jester Fidivos,¡± the masked man said. ¡°At your service.¡±


    Both Amalia and Fidivos bowed.


    ¡°Lady Leandra Ortansio,¡± Leandra said while giving a short bow of her head.


    ¡°Lady Isabella,¡± Isabella said while also giving a short bow, she purposely omitted using Ortansio while mother was in close proximity even though she had been made a legitimate child of father.


    ¡°While I would love to enjoy the company of everyone here, I think only one will do for now. I am very tired and require rest. I shall have time to converse and celebrate later with everyone,¡± father said. He took mother¡¯s arm and started to walk away from everyone. He was limping though, and then Isabella noticed that her father was using a cane; something was wrong with his left leg.


    ¡°Father!¡± she cried. ¡°Wait, what happened to your leg?¡± She ran up to him and immediately started to perform her clerical healing magic. Though she was primarily a priestess cleric of Calliope, the doctrine of the Prime Pantheon generally allowed for polytheistic devotion, she was also an acolyte of Athena and Apollo.


    Her divine healing spell was cast upon him specifically targeting his leg. A faint divine light glowed in the area she was concentrating on. It faded slowly as the spell ended. As with the casting of most spells she felt it straining her a little bit as she was casting it.


    ¡°That does make it feel a little better,¡± father admitted. ¡°I¡¯m thankful that you are such a dutiful daughter, but it is of no use. My personal clerics and healers in addition to my own innate Bellatorex healing powers were not enough to fully heal my leg. It will need time.¡±


    Isabella looked at the leg she had tried to heal with a look of both sadness and disappointment. Was this her punishment? That when she actually decided to take action her healing would not work effectively. Then she remembered. She needed to go see Camilo.


    ¡°Father, which monastery is Camilo at?¡± she asked.


    He gave her a surprisingly sorrowful look. ¡°He is at the Apollo monastery. Same as my leg though, all our best clerics and healers have done everything they can for him. He needs time to heal. He will be given constant attention and administered the best medicines and holy healing spells that are within my domain and power. Do not worry yourself over him. We have some of the best healers in the kingdom, he will be fine.¡±


    Without saying another word, she bolted toward the Apollo monastery. She quickly found a palace carriage and gave the driver directions to get as fast as he could to the monastery.


    It was not very far from the palace, but the ride felt long to her. Each minute felt like an hour that dragged on and refused to end.


    The carriage finally arrived at the monastery.


    Because she was the city lord¡¯s daughter and technically a member of the monastery, she did not have much trouble getting in and through to the more restricted areas. Stepping into the place had already started to calm her a little. It was sanctified by holy prayers and rituals daily which made it an especially powerful place for healing. The beautiful stained-glass windows depicted Apollo and were fitted in ways all around the monastery that at all times of the day while the suns shined, the monastery was bathed in a heavenly, golden light.


    One of her fellow acolytes guided her to her brother.


    He was lying on a white and golden bed with light translucent curtains circling it.


    She opened the curtains and found him wrapped almost completely in golden bandages with Elven script written on them.


    ¡°Those are our Chrysaphian holy healing wraps,¡± the acolyte said. ¡°They are some of the most coveted healing wares in the entire world for their effectiveness is nearly unrivaled. They are an invention of the Chrysaphian Elves and they are the only ones that can craft it. Lord Ortansio paid a great price for these, a great price indeed; but for his son the price is of no concern to him.¡±


    Camilo¡¯s eyes were closed.


    He was breathing slowly.


    From what she could see of his skin, it looked like it had melted and had deformed.


    ¡°Dear brother,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry.¡± She began to cry as she hovered over his bed. ¡°First the Bellatorex ritual and now this. I should have helped you the first time.¡±


    Isabella began to use every single healing spell she knew.


    The acolyte like father began to tell her that it was of no use, that they had already done everything she was attempting.


    She did it anyways.


    She used up every bit of magical, holy power that she could channel and cast the spells.


    After half an hour had passed, she had completely exhausted all the magic she could perform for the day in addition to physically exhausting herself in the process.


    The acolyte moved by her passion, had joined in despite her initial objections.


    Isabella was on the brink of collapsing.


    She leaned on the bedside and held her brother¡¯s hand.


    Looking at his face she saw his eyes starting to open by just a little.


    ¡°Isa¡­bell¡­a,¡± he muttered, it sounded like it was painful for him to say just one word.


    ¡°Yes?¡± she replied with strong passionate emotion in her voice.


    He said nothing else and his eyes began to close again.


    She stared intently at his face hoping.


    Minutes passed.


    She found solace in two things. Her healing was enough to give him the energy to say something, even if it was just one word. And he was still breathing.


    Then feeling all of her exhaustion finally reaching its limit, she collapsed and passed out.