“We must reduce spending,” one man was saying.
“That’s ridiculous!” another shouted. “How is the crown supposed to upkeep the army, then?”
“There would be no need for the army but for the threat of war,” the first insisted, stubbornly. “By maintaining peaceful relations⸺”
“We’d lose all power amongst the nobles and the bannermen,” King Edwin Ferros, Caelus’ father, cut in. A silence ensued.
“Still, Duke Matthew’s point does stand; how is the crown supposed to avoid debt?” someone finally said.
“The light will show His Highness the way,” the priest, who sat two chairs right of the king, replied.
“Pray? That is your advice?” a man scorned. “Perhaps you should lead us in a sermon, priest, and see if gold rains down from the skies.”
“Fools scorn the power of the divine until they need them,” the priest answered crossly.
“I⸺”
“Enough.”
‘When Edwin Ferros spoke, gods and men alike listened,’ a wiseman had once said. It rang true in the audience chamber; his firm tone left no room for arguments. “This meeting is at an end,” he announced, before he rose from his chair, and left, leaving the shell-shocked nobles behind.
XXXXX
Edwin Ferros was a proud man. He was a confident one, too. Controlling one of the largest empires in all of the land, as well as being one of the strongest swordmasters on Alqara, even past his prime, some may say that it was only natural. So it was a shock when he was greeted by his second born son upon his arrival at his solar. That was surprising, as he didn’t detect anybody’s presence, even when entering the room. Perhaps my age has finally caught up to me.
“Lord Father,” he—Caelus—greeted, curtly. That was unsurprising. Since the tender age of four, Caelus had always been rather distant towards his family. Six years later, he was still the same; his face an unreadable mask of politeness.
“Caelus,” Edwin answered, before he strode over to his desk by the window. Flinging the curtains aside, he looked out at the pale morning sky.
“I would like to ask for permission for a leave of absence.” There he went again, with his formality. Edwin said nothing; he took a drink from the cup of water that was placed on his desk, and waited for Caelus to elaborate.
“I will be gone for at most two weeks.”
“I haven’t given you permission yet?”
“Will you refuse me?” Caelus’ tone was curious, but one wouldn’t know that from his face. Like always, he bore flat, emotionless eyes.
After a long silence, Edwin answered, “No.”
Caelus bowed, before leaving, easing the door in a way that it never made a sound.
----------------------------------------
An assassin’s life was dangerous.
There were constantly new perils: tightened security, talented guards, unknown magical artifacts, and sometimes assassins from rivaling factions. Nisha bested them all, time and time again. Yet none were as strong as this boy that stood in front of her now.
Her entire body was stuck to the ground, except for her head. From her vantage, she could only see a seemingly ordinary-looking son of a noble; blonde hair, blue eyes, pale skin that had no blemishes, and dressed in rich clothing. In the dimly-lit storage room she was now stuck in, he seemed no more solid than a ghost.
“Nisha je Olmavel,” he said. His voice was no louder than a whisper, but it seemed to crawl in the air, creating dozens of ghostly echoes. Nisha je Olmavel, they said. Nisha je Olmavel.
“How did you know my name?” she gritted, still struggling to rise. There was an unnatural silence to the air, which had also taken on a rather heavy feeling.
“Who sent you?” was his only response.
“...”
“Did Duke Pulchra send you?” She flinched. The Pulchras were a powerful noble house in the east, swearing only loyalty to the imperial house of Ferros. They were also known to be fiercely religious, and contributed most to the Elven Persecution. Almost half of the once vibrant Viget Forest, the homeland of the elvenkind, was burned by Roone Pulchra, the current head of the house.
“As I thought,” the boy sighed. He waved his hand in the air; Nisha was freed. Instantly, her daggers were in her hands as she lunged at him, only to be dragged by an invisible force in the air. He sighed again. “I can help you,” he insisted.
“Liar,” she bit.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
“I understand. After all, they burned your home to the ground.”
“...”
“But not the inhabitants, I should think.”
“You know nothing⸺”
“Perhaps, but I do know that your mother, sister, and the rest of the villagers were taken captive by the Pulchras. After all, he is a hypocrite.”
She gasped. With another wave of his hand, her seemingly ordinary semblance disappeared, revealing pale gray skin, deep purple eyes, white hair, and a pair of pointy ears. “How did you know?”
He cocked his head as if he didn’t understand. She gritted her teeth. Now, he was just playing with her. She hated that feeling, being played.
“How did you know I am a Dark Elf?” she demanded.
“...”
“I’m not going to get any straight answers, am I?”
“Most likely not,” he agreed, pleasantly, all the further annoying her.
“...”
“But I would like your help, Nisha,” he said. She tilted her head at the boy. He waved his hand, and Nisha was freed once more. “I think it will mutually benefit us both,” he continued.
“What?” she asked, knowing yet still taking the bait. Damn you, curiosity.
“The decimation of House Pulchra,” he finished.
She squinted at him suspiciously. “What’s it in for you?”
“Money.”
“Tch. Why did I⸺”
“House Ferros is not as stable as it may appear. As I’m sure you knew, when you sneaked in here to assassinate my father.” He gave her a piercing look. A pause ensued.
“Fine,” she finally said, breaking the uneasy silence. “But why should I trust you?”
“For the same reason I trust you. That is, none. Besides, I know where,” he leaned closer. “The Countess of Fae is.”
----------------------------------------
Caelus rested easy tonight. It would be the last time he would see this bedroom for a while. Still, he accomplished much today. Caelus had gained permission to leave from his father, as well as made a new ally in Nisha, who would come to be known as the Pale Shadow, the world’s deadliest assassin.
In Everquest, Nisha was originally supposed to be captured by Edwin Ferros when she failed to assassinate him. It was the first and only time she failed a kill in her remarkably long career. This was all mentioned in a conversation Edwin had with Marquis de Florenzes, the Knight of Burnished Steel. There would still be years before the novel Everquest would start. That he’d learned from the system.
For ten years, he had explored the system’s capabilities. Not only did it reveal hidden information on other named characters of Everquest, it also was capable of displaying his own skills.
‘Caelus Ferros
Title: None
Nationality: Sovereign of Alqara
Awakened Level: N/A
Passive Skills: [Celestial Synthesis (Unique)], [Elemental Affinity (S+)]
Active Skills: None’
In this world, some people would ‘awaken’ the year they begin their adulthood, that being the age of fifteen. Since he hadn’t awakened yet, Caelus couldn’t develop any active skills. However, he was still able to utilize magic, through [Celestial Synthesis].
‘[Celestial Synthesis (Unique)]: The user is able to synthesize basic elements to form magical properties.’
That was a very, very useful skill to have. I never realized the original Caelus was so talented, he thought. Then again, in this medieval fantasy world, people still believed that fire, water, earth, air, and aether. That was the same philosophy ancient thinkers like Aristotle believed, too. Aristotle, in particular, was well-known for that theory. He assigned two qualities for each element, based on their thermal temperature and humidity. Essentially, fire was hot and dry, earth was dry and cold, water was cold and wet, and wind was wet and hot. Aether, the essence of immortality, was separate from the earthly matter.
They would be proven wrong centuries later, when Robert Boyle published The Skeptical Chymist in 1661. It was Boyle who first introduced the concept of atoms. Later scientists would expand upon his work, eventually resulting in the modern periodic table.
Of course, the periodic table does not record all of the elements. There are countless undiscovered elements. What’s more, each element had dozens of variations. Elements are named such for their number of protons in a single atom, disregarding how many neutrons may exist.
Atomic number 8. Oxygen. More specifically, oxygen-18, with its ten neutrons. Oxygen-18 was naturally heavier than air, thus easier to control. Caelus had compelled the oxygen in the room to ‘gather’ and ‘push’ through the help of [Celestial Synthesis] in order to immobilize Nisha. Lucas. Not Caelus. He was not Caelus. Not now. Hopefully never. He was getting too used to referring to himself as Caelus, he reflected. After all, it would be hard to remember oneself after living for ten years in someone else’s skin.
‘Survive until the start of the novel.’ The system had told him. Then he would be returned to his original world. Hopefully. The system’s cryptic answer never confirmed nor denied whether he was allowed to return to his world, or whether he could return. It just said ‘a reward’.
Lucas. Not Caelus, he reminded himself again. Yet there was an odd feeling inside of him, similar to discontentment. It was almost as if he was missing the big picture. He mentally shook himself. Worry about that later.
First things first; bring down House Pulchra.