╚╩╩╩╝ Camparn ╚╩╩╩╝

I’d never ridden a horse for so long before. It was quite tiresome, unlike what I had expected.

In my efforts to curry favor with the king, I agreed to follow his son as a sort of vassal. My benefactor seemed quite happy with this, but that changed once I met the prince I would be serving. He was not the crown prince, like we’d hoped, but the king’s youngest son, Pierce.

Thankfully, young Pierce was easy to influence and control. He was educated, unlike the men who served under me, but he was afraid and unsure. He hung on every instruction I gave him, desperate like a lost puppy.

Right now, though, despite my pushing for a more comfortable means of travel, the boy insisted on riding on horseback. Why? I didn’t know. All I knew was that riding a horse for this long was doing damage.

Thankfully, Dreah soon came into view. The buildings stood high over the horizon, almost touching the sky. The city housed the College, a place for commoner and noble to learn together, as well as a place for a commoner to earn a noble title.

The idea of it all disgusted me. The institution was created centuries ago and, despite several attempts to bring it down over the years, the buildings still stood tall. They preached equality and inclusion, but I knew how big of a lie that was. The nobility were still given preferential treatment.

I’d once attended. Though it was many years ago, the grudge remained just as bitter.

Suddenly, the ground shook, and our horses all started to veer off course.

“Oh, this is good!” My benefactor whispered in my ear. “We must hurry!”

“What is it?” I whispered back.

“An opportunity.”

I urged my horse forward, with several others following.

Our purpose in coming to Dreah was about a reported rebel cell rooted in the school. There were several of these a week, but one in such an important institution called for a proper investigation.

Slowly, the sky turned a dark shade of red, spreading far and wide. A dark shadow cast across the fields, freezing everything it touched.

“The power is different, but it’s definitely them.”

“Who?” I asked, watching the sky.

The moment that the shadow passed over me, I felt my chest tighten as an unknown presence seized my heart.

“This is the power of a Nasii. It seems that my old friend has become enraged.”

“A Nasii?” I asked, struggling to form the words.

“A being much like myself. But while I hold power over a person’s fear, this Nasii gains strength from emotion itself.” The voice whispered in my ear, unaffected by the power. “This much fear, all in one place. It reminds me of when I was whole.”

A blast of red energy flashed over the city. When the light faded, the buildings that once reached into the sky were gone from the horizon.

Unable to move, I waited and, after some time, the red sky faded and I’d regained control of my body.

“Hurry to the city.” The voice commanded. “Emora must be weakened after using that much power.”

I drove my horse forward, ignoring the aches that rippled through my body.

It took us nearly an hour before we arrived at the city. The damage seemed to be all contained to the College. Thinking of this, I had a hard time resisting the desire to grin.

A gloom of dust covered the city. The locals were already digging through the rubble, searching for survivors or loved ones.

“I doubt anyone could have survived the rampage.”

The prince hurried past me, running up to some officials. They spoke for some time while I watched as people scrambled over the carnage like ants at a picnic. I wonder how many of them were, like ants, trying to steal what was left behind.

“They’ve caught someone related to the incident.” Pierce said, hurrying to my side. “What should we do?”

“Bring them in for questioning. We need to determine who is behind this incident and find a culprit to appease the people.” I explained.

Nodding, Pierce ran back to the officials and told them to bring them out for us to interrogate.

The soldiers set up a large, thick canvas tent for us to do our business out of the eye of the people. Pierce and I sat inside, waiting for them to bring the suspect in. The young prince shook in his seat, though I couldn’t tell if it was from anticipation or something else. He had been quite excited to be of use to his father.

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One flap of the tent flipped out and four people came in. Two of them were in metal cuffs with a chain leading up to a silver collar pressed tightly against their necks. A woman and a young man, though the boy looked more like a starved animal than a human. That, plus his lack of an arm made look quite pitiable.

“My prince, this is Amara Leonte and her nephew Warner Manasette.” One of the guards who had brought them in spoke, shoving them into the two chairs opposite of the prince and I. “They were found at the center of the carnage. Warner was heavily injured when we found him, but Amara was mostly unscathed.”

Turning to the woman, I watched as her face paled under my gaze. “Care to explain?” I asked.

“The boy.” My benefactor whispered in my ear. “Emora has touched him.”

“You,” I said, turning to the boy, “what happened to you?”

In response to my question, the boy started to thrash in his seat, though there was little he could do in his condition.

“I’ll kill her!” He shouted, tipping the chair over. His words devolved into manic screeching as the guards picked his chair back up.

“Manasette?” Pierce spoke up. “You’re the duke’s son?”

“You know him?” I asked, turning to the boy.

“I’ve met him before. He looks completely different.” The prince muttered.

“Try to make him recognize you. Maybe we can get a full sentence out of him.” I mumbled.

Clearing his throat, Pierce turned to the ravenous boy and said in a shaky voice. “Warner, do you recognize me? We met at the castle last year.”

Warner slowly calmed down and stared emptily at the prince. He looked like he was in a trance.

“We need a name.” I told the boy. “If you help us, we’ll help you.”

“Hazel.” The boy muttered. “She did this to me! I’ll kill her! I’ll kill her!” He started thrashing around again.

“The boy will be of little use. Emora has crippled his soul.” My benefactor advised me. “We need the woman to speak.”

Turning to Emora, I waved to the guards at the edge of the tent. “Take the boy away for now.” After he was removed, I glared deep into the woman’s eyes. There was something there, something that was convincing her to keep her mouth shut.

“Why do you not speak?” Pierce asked. “Has the true culprit threatened you? If so, we shall assist in any way we can.”

“If you’re afraid of consequences, then know that our men are searching the hidden labs that you were hiding in.” I added.

With a small voice, Amara spoke. “Lord Claude. His children.”

“Which Lord Claude?” Pierce asked.

“Callum.” She clarified.

“That man has no children. He is not even married. He has served the royal family for years, and you deign to slander his name? He has been at the front lines for the past two years, leading our country in victory against Farrol!” Pierce started shouting, causing the woman to wince and shrink.

“What is the punishment for lying to the crown?” I asked the prince.

“We cut out your tongue and brand you as a criminal.” Pierce answered, grinning.

“Guards.” I called out.

Amara began to thrash around, trying to escape her bindings. “Please! I…”

“My prince, we have something to report.” One of the guards came in, holding a sheet of paper.

Taking the paper, I felt a smile spread across my face as I read it’s contents.

“What does it say?” Pierce asked.

“Several reports of extortion, bribery and blackmail, all tied to our lady here.” I explained.

Amara’s face turned whiter than the paper that doomed her.

“But that doesn’t explain what happened here.” Pierce muttered.

“I see it like this: Amara here has been using her position to gain political power, disposing of potential threats. She’s been using these underground tunnels to do all of her dirty business. Her latest victim happened to be the heir of an extremely powerful, unknown power that caused the death of all of these people.”

“No, I-” She started.

“Save it!” I interrupted her. “You’ve already lied, so nothing you say is of worth now.”

“Guards!” Pierce shouted toward the door. When they looked in, he continued. “This woman is a liar and a murderer. Deal with her according to the law.”

“No, please!” Amara cried out, but she couldn’t get any words out before the guards dragged her outside.

“What do we do now?” Pierce asked, a glint in his eye.

“House Leonte will try to distance themselves from her, but we can’t let them. We will do the same with the Manasettes. We will have those two publicly executed for their crimes, but only after they have faced the people.” I answered.

“I will have the men build a gallows and stocks for them to be held in.” Pierce replied.

Looking at the young prince, I felt a sense of pride I’d never experienced before. Hamil had always been hard to control and never fully followed my orders. This boy, though, he did everything I asked down to the letter.

Speaking of Hamil, I haven’t seen him in a while. I should check up on him once I get back to base.

Leaving the tent, I felt something grip my chest. It was a feeling that I recognized, but it was different. It was close to what I felt whenever my benefactor exposed his presence, only this was much stronger.

Turning to the southwest, I saw ominous clouds looming in the darkening horizon, flickering with lightning.

“Follow that feeling!” My benefactor practically screamed. “That’s my body!”

Before I could make it to the horses, Pierce ran over to my side with a couple of soldiers in tow.

“Lord Timor, I need your assistance.” The young prince asked.

“What is it?”

“We just received report of violent riots in Renae. Lord Renae was supposedly behind the kidnapping of several young nobles and their families have taken up arms. What shall we do?”

I’d honestly forgotten about this. I’d left Sylas in charge of my plans for Renae while I was gone.

One of Gelling’s brats was obsessed with Renae’s daughter. He came to my agents some time ago and asked for them to bring him the girl. It was the perfect opportunity to finally rid that area of the scum that I lived under for so long. It took quite a lot of preparation, but we were able to forge documents linking Renae and Gelling to a series of crimes, finishing with the kidnapping of the Renae girl and her friends. Once they took the girls, the evidence would find its way into the hands of the Chief Inquisitor. From there, the city would crumble, and the nobility would be at each other’s throats in the struggle for power.

“Let’s go.” I replied. “We must ensure that the fighting ends quickly.”

It would be several hours before we would even see Renae. The damage would already be done by the time we stepped foot into the city.

As we rode, I felt the tightness in my chest grow stronger and stronger.

Suddenly, the ground shook with a bright flash of light. In the distance, lightning brighter than the sun flashed followed by an earth-shaking rumble moments later.

A few minutes after the violent thunderstorm, the tightness in my chest disappeared.

“Impossible!” My benefactor cried out in my mind. “We must hurry. My body has been sealed once again. We have to find out who is responsible!”