Dean…
As Selene disappeared, after dropping off the resignation papers and announcing her departure from Duranell, Dean tried to go track down Marcus as a means to try and convince him not to leave with Selene. Yet by the time he had shown up at his home, he was already gone along with her.
Two days had already passed as he neglected his duty to inform the king as he had been drinking himself into a stupor over it.
Eventually however, it seemed that word had already reached the king as two royal guards entered the brotherhood hall and called out to him.
“Dean Smith! His majesty the King, Arobynn Aphstadd the first, requests your presence at once,” one of them said as they both slammed the butt of their halberds against the stone floor of the hall.
He lazily turned his head around to look at them as he said, “What’s that? The king...wants to see me? Tell him I’m busy…”
A flash of impatience showed on both of their faces as the guards raised their halberds once again before slamming them down into the ground. This time, they did it with such force that the butt ends of them cracked the stone floor and became embedded in it as they let go of them and walked towards Dean.
One of them hauled him off the bar stool and held him up by looping his arms underneath Dean’s armpits while the other guard began punching him in the gut.
Dean immediately keeled over from the impact, feeling as if he was going to throw up as the guard that struck him forced him into sobriety and said, “A summons from the king will not be ignored, nor will you arrive in such a pitifully drunken state. Now, on your feet at once!”
The guard who held him in place let go of him to let him fall to the ground as he walked over to his halberd and pulled it free from the floor while the other guard did the same. They then stood at attention as they waited for Dean to get back on his feet.
When he stood up, he glared at them angrily as he said, “The fuck is the matter with you two?! Beating me while I’m drunk? You’re lucky I don’t kill the both of you right now for that!”
The guard who struck him simply repeated his previous words in a harsh tone, dismissing Dean’s threat, “A summons from the king will not be ignored!”
Dean hissed in anger at the both of them but said nothing more as he walked past them, and as he did, they both turned to face his back so as to escort him to the royal palace.
As the two guards escorted Dean, he noticed something different in the air for the first time since Marcus and Selene left.
The air felt much lighter, as if their sheer presence in Lycea was increasing the atmospheric pressure. It felt...more peaceful and serene with them gone, much to Dean’s disdain.
When he reached the throne room of the royal palace and walked through the doors, he was shocked to find that not only was King Arobynn in attendance, but so too was Queen Hylla of Brunhildt.
Rather than have the King’s chair situated front and center in the throne room, a table had been brought in as both rulers sat on either side of it, with King Arobynn on Dean’s left, and Queen Hylla on his right.
Dean’s mouth hung open in bewildered silence as he tried to piece together the reason why he was invited to such a meeting between two monarchist figures of opposing nations.
As if picking up on Dean’s confused expression, King Arobynn said, “My summons for you was not in error Dean Smith. You are indeed needed for this dialogue.”
“V-Very well...although, I am admittedly lost as to how my council would hold any weight,” the King said to him.
Queen Hylla looked at him and said, “You hold an unmistakable resemblance to Dorian Lykos the Second and Sophia Atrytone. Could you perhaps be a secret child that my Valkyries failed to assassinate?”
Hearing this from her, Dean’s heart sunk in his chest like a stone in a pond and his blood ran cold as she had uncovered the truth of the matter so quickly.
As if to placate his shock and fear of what he heard, King Arobynn raised a finger as if to call her attention and said, “He is indeed the son of Dorian and Sophia, and the younger brother to Camilla Lykos, but he has since relinquished his title and birthright to the throne of Duranell to me. There shall be no concern of where his allegiances lie, or where his sword will be pointed.”
Hearing this, Queen Hylla scoffed as she turned her eyes back onto Dean and said, “Your elder sister is stirring trouble and dissent within my kingdom. I wish I could demand you take responsibility for the sins of your kin but...she is clearly beyond your control or influence.”
Dean forced himself to speak up as he said, “Camilla Lykos is likely the third or fourth most powerful person on the planet, of which I cannot hope to equal.”
A look of disgust flashed across Queen Hylla’s face as Dean admitted his own weakness so openly.
She turned her head away from him, only barely keeping her eyes barely fixed on him for a moment as she said, “So it seems.”
“Regardless of the blood relations between Dean and Camilla, the fact that she was able to conceal her heritage for so long while remaining on the battlefield is concerning. She has gathered enough strength and power to level entire continents on her own if she so wanted to, but that is not the biggest threat that she poses. The platinum wings she bears gives her an air of authenticity that I simply cannot replicate. She commands not just strength, but a sense of purity as well as unity. Being the product of two nations that have been warring for many a millennia, if Camilla intends to take the throne of Brunhildt, either from the stance of the authority she commands, or by force, she may very well do just that. Even if Dean Smith here is irrelevant to her campaign, the potential unity of our historically opposing kingdoms through her would change the very course of history.”
“What do you intend to do with her if you manage to put an end to her campaign and capture her?” Dean asked nervously.
Without skipping a beat, Queen Hylla turned to him with her head tilted back so as to look down on him while saying, “Execute her of course.”
“Of course…,” Dean echoed with a hollow tone.
King Arobynn seemed to get frustrated with the fact that Queen Hylla was leading the conversation as he said, “There is some equally troubling news that has come to light regarding the resignations of Selene Kiser and Marcus Wright from the Darkmoon Knights brotherhood and outright disappearance from Duranell altogether. These two warriors were essential for holding a strong front in the event of an opposing kingdom planning an invasion.”
When he finished saying that, he looked at Queen Hylla with an accusatory look in his eyes, to which the Queen smirked and looked away smugly.
“The Brunhildt kingdom has already built a foundation of victory over the Duranell kingdom upon the corpses of the Lykos lineage. Duranell is nothing but a rotted scrap of its former glory, with its throne housed by a scheming Mordrinite Lord.”
“The extent of your hypocrisy knows no limits, does it Vulcara?” Arobynn spat back at her as his eyes furrowed in anger.
Queen Hylla’s eyes flared with rage at the insult as her grip upon the armrests of her chair tightened and the wood splintered.
Yet before she could lunge after the king, a sudden blood curdling presence passed through the air, and the sound of armored foot steps falling upon the polished marble flooring echoed through the throne room.
Yet it did not come from the entrance, but rather from a room on the right side of the throne room, behind Hylla’s chair.
Kayron’s voice echoed through the room as he said, “Oh, how you two bicker like little children fighting over who took whose toy…it is grating to my ears to listen to you two. Be silent.”
Hylla appeared to go frozen with fear upon hearing his voice while King Arobynn seemed only slightly bothered by his appearance.
Dean on the other hand, could not fathom why this bastard, why Kayron of all people, had suddenly appeared in the Lycenean Throne Room.
As his hand reached for the handle of his sword, King Arobynn raised a hand to stop him as he said, “Stay your hand Dean.”
“W-What?! But this is-,” Dean tried to protest, but he was cut off by Kayron’s wretched voice.
“-the very same man who put Arobynn Aphstadd and Hylla Vulcara on their thrones!” Kayron declared and neither of the two spoke up to refute his words.
“That...that can’t be possible…,” Dean stammered as he took a step back.
Kayron then walked past the two rulers, who remained silent, and said, “Oh but it is, and here is the really funny part. The very same way that you are the king’s faithful dog, he is on that throne to serve my interests. So in that regard, that makes you my dog as well. Unless you have something useful to say, be a good little boy, sit down, and shut up.”
Dean tried to look at the king for the order to eliminate Kayron here and now, but received no answer other than a dismissive shake of his head.
Is this really all this boils down to? Subservience to the scum of humanity?
He grit his teeth as he knew that he could do nothing to disobey the king, and by extension, Kayron.
As he turned around and approached the table seated by the two rulers, Kayron waved his hand as a chair made of crystallized blood appeared at the table and he rested his elbows upon it.
He then addressed the two rulers and said, “It seems that the both of you have impossible issues to deal with and seem to require my services. All the while, you both are unaware of the true threat approaching your rule.”
He then looked to Arobynn and said, “You, the paranoid fool that you are, seemed to believe that by losing Marcus and Selene to an opposing kingdom, would risk the threat of invasion from Brunhildt.”
He then turned to Hylla and said, “And you, oblivious little witch that you are, seem to believe that Camilla is the only threat to your rule.”
Then, as if speaking to both of them simultaneously, “You are both ignorant of the bigger picture at play here. The successor to King Dagon appeared before your very eyes, yet due to your fixation on your arbitrary concerns, failed to see how this same successor will ultimately realize your greatest fears.”
“What are you alluding to?” Arobynn asked.
Hylla said nothing, but the expression on her face seemed to say she was wondering the very same.
“In Forrosa, there is a legend, nay, a religion based upon the arrival of the God of Wrath, with the identity of this god being revealed to the world as the named successor of King Dagon. The God of Wrath would sweep over every kingdom, raze them all to the ground, conquer the world, and build upon the fallen kingdom of Amaskia to serve as its foundations, the single mightiest kingdom the world will have ever seen. It was Ares, a god of war, that named Marcus as that very successor. In case you haven’t heard already, dearest Hylla, Camilla Lykos pledged her loyalty to the God of Wrath and is currently on her way to Forrosa as we speak, alongside the Lich Nashandra, and Forrosa’s own champion Frosk. These three are among four kings to be chosen by the God of Wrath to command those that remain after all the kingdoms of the world are destroyed, and inherit what is left of the world after he builds his own kingdom upon their ashes.”
“H-have you found the identity of the fourth king by chance?” Queen Hylla asked, stammering as she struggled to process everything he said.
“Unfortunately, I have not. But I am continuing to look for the final king even now. On top of that, I am recruiting new people into my ranks every day. All those who have suffered the reckless antics of gods and monsters throughout the world, all of them come under my care. Those who are strong, and those who are weak. All of them serve an important purpose to me. Through them, I may be able to create counter measures in the event that the God of Wrath decides to take action. In fact…,” Kayron’s voice trailed off as he looked Hylla up and down, sizing her up which made her uncomfortable.
“I have an experiment I would like to run with the Vulcara bloodline. Would you perhaps be willing to participate in the chance to obtain the power of Freiren, the Half Elf child of Dagon?” he asked her with a twisted smile on his face.
Although Queen Hylla appeared tempted to accept his proposal, she seemed to think better of it as she said, “I will take my chances.”
Kayron nodded as he said, “Perhaps its for the best that you don’t accept. I’ve gotten a hold of many of the Vulcara bloodline, and all those who attempt to wield the Tome of Freiren spontaneously combust quite violently. Only one such person under the Vulcara line has been recorded to wield a Tome of Dagon’s children, yet not just one, but four. The Tomes of Vulcan, Sol, Armos, and Dracula. I do not know the reason for her absurd constitution as she should have gone up in flames the moment she touched a second tome of Dagon, yet she seems compatible with all of them. I aim to find someone with a similar constitution to bear Freiren’s tome. Perhaps you can provide me with fresh bodies to throw at the tome and see if something...sticks.”
“I will…consider it, but I must ask…if what you say is true, then what actions must we take to prevent such an event to take place?” Queen Hylla asked.
Kayron went silent as he contemplated an answer, looking between Arobynn and Hylla as he did so.
When he finally chose the moment to speak, he said, “For now, you must remain passive and observe how events unfold while I prepare for the future and continue to build up strength. Whatever leverage we can take hold of, whatever advantages we can gather, we must do so.”
Then, as if he had remembered that Dean was still in the room, he turned his head ever so slightly to look at him and asked, “Perhaps you have some information to offer us?”
Swallowing in regret and fear, Dean said, “When Marcus and Selene left for Forrosa, they decided to leave Thalia to live in Lycea in the house Marcus purchased. I believe Thalia is staying in Duranell to train as she is under the tutelage of Fayebel Onyx of New Alfheim and the protection of Alta Onyx.”
“Hmm…I think it would be best to leave her to her own devices. Alta and Fayebel are both royals of New Alfheim, with the former being the only heir to the throne. If either of them are killed or captured in an attempt to gain leverage or control of Thalia, King Rohen may yet declare war on Duranell. I suggest that you peacefully try to ease her into the brotherhood through the offer of monsters to aid in her training,” Kayron said.
“Are you seriously considering making the younger sister of The God of Wrath a political prisoner?!” Dean exclaimed.
“Of course, but it must be done in such a way that she is not aware of it. She must be a willing pawn without being aware of it,” he elaborated.
“I see…,” Dean muttered.
“Now, unless you have something else useful to offer, then you can take your leave,” Kayron said dismissively.
Then, almost as if on impulse, Dean’s sense of wariness over the situation presented before him vanished as he opened his mouth once more to say, “In fact, I do. Are you aware of the relationship between Marcus Wright and Moyako Kaneko?”
Hearing that seemed to peak Kayron’s interest as he said, “I…have been made aware that they are familiar, and that Moyako had an agenda fueling her participation in the contest. Something to do with ‘bringing Marcus home’, whatever that means. Do you have any insight to offer me in that regard?”
“Marcus Wright is Moyako Kaneko’s father.”
Hearing this, both King Arobynn and Queen Hylla went very still as they looked upon the expression on Kayron’s face.
The very same man turned his head slowly to face Dean and asked, “Is that right…?”
A disturbingly satisfied smile spread across his face as he said, “That is very helpful.”