An Imperial entourage consisting of a luxurious looking carriage with five mounted knights accompanying it on each side is making its way to the next nearest city. As the carriage passed, the observing commoners whisper among themselves, guessing who could be in the cabin. Farmers settled in the fields between cities often see similar groups passing by, but as a form of entertainment, they tend to gossip and talk about what possible businesses these nobles might have. With a glance, while the entourage is impressive, it is the standard retinue for an official, so nothing looked out of the ordinary. The carriage itself, while luxurious, is not as impressive or grand as the official Imperial Empress’ personal ceremonial carriages. However, none would expect that The Heiress to the Imperial Eldian Throne is in the very carriage passing by, and is on a journey to the Sol village in the south.

By right, a larger entourage and high level Imperial Knights and Magi would be dispatched to accompany her, along with flag bearers and attendants, but as the reason for the trip is meant to be discreet, it was decided that her carriage had to appear more modest so as to not alarm the citizens. While it had been announced that The Heiress will be sent to the Village in the south to rehabilitate and recover from her illness, information is kept secret as to when and where she would be leaving the capital city.

Stjarna Dagne Frei Eldottr slightly raises the curtain at the window of the carriage to peek out. She sees the lush greenery and bright colours of the orchards and farms of the local farmers. She smiles to herself, watching in silent appreciation. It is not frequent that the Imperial Heiress is allowed to leave the Palace, much less the Capital City. Stjarna only wishes she is leaving for a less sombre reason and at a proper time when she is healthy, but at the moment, her purpose of leaving the Palace is to seek aid and advice from the High Priestess in the Bethel of the goddess Jord.

High Priestess Bjarta Hlin Solfastdottr is currently known to the be the wisest in the land. Her divination skills and her alleged ability to be able to contact the gods is known throughout the Solveig continent. With Stjarna’s illness having puzzled scholars, physicians, healers and even the renowned Imperial Court Magus, the Empress has no choice but to ask for the Priestess’ wisdom.

Of course, the Empress did not mean to have her ill daughter make such a long journey to Sol instead of calling the Priestess to the Palace, but Stjarna herself had insisted and made numerous points that did not allow her Imperial Mother to reject her suggestion. It was out of fortune and the blessing of Jord and Dagar that Stjarna had recovered slightly and is able to travel.

However, that isn’t the full story.

Stjarna has had her strange illness for the past year. With fainting spells, hot flashes and her inability to control her magic, there had been many accidents in the Palace surrounding the Heiress. From what experts who have been summoned by the Empress could gather, it appears that the Heiress has a severe case of Contumacious Energy, in which her internal magic is too much for her physical body and begins to consume her from within. Previous known cases often leaves the patient weak and lethargic, but in Stjarna’s case, her body is constantly feverish and commonly leaves her falling unconscious from how much energy is being consumed.

It had been known that Stjarna is a magus with great potential ever since she reached the age of nine. A renown soothsayer had predicted that her potential is limitless, her fate vast and so bright, it is blinding and comparable to the light of the gods. Such words had left the Empire delighted and eager to see where the future Empress would lead them to. Her popularity and charm had already won over the majority of the Imperial citizens since she was a babe. As she grew up, she is endearingly referred to as the Shining Star of Eldia.

It was only a few weeks ago that her condition had worsened. Stjarna had constant fainting spells and her body temperature had burned to the point that her attendants and even the Empress could not touch her without feeling their skin being singed. She remained unconscious for longer periods of time and when she woke, she appeared dazed and her magic flared without warning, having set fire to her room more than once that guards and magi had to monitor her throughout the day.

But a certain night had changed everything.

Stjarna sighs and looks away from the window. It will take a few more hours before they would have to stop and rest for the day. The sky has already begun to turn orange, the sun steadily lowering towards the horizon.

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The Heiress’ personal guards continue to keep vigilant of their surroundings. It had been a smooth but albeit uninteresting journey so far, which one would accept as a good thing. The guards are dressed as simple cavalry guards, but are actually made up elite Imperial Knights, who are either Divine Blades or Divine Magi trained in both normal skirmishes and combating the Speglun.

At the front of the carriage leading the entourage is the Knight Captain Rerir Siggson and his Lieutenant Kole Brokson, who are keeping a lookout on the path before them. The Captain is a skilled and experience Divine Blade Master and had reaped some accomplishments in the last civil war. He has served by the Empress’ side for more than two decades and is one of her most trusted aides. His appearance gives off a stern and proper aura, but he is also known to be paternal and responsible towards his subordinates. His long service and merits has his name spread through the army. His lieutenant meanwhile, is a young man almost half the Knight Captain’s age with dark eyes under the visor of the helmet.

As one of the youngest Knights, Lieutenant Kole Brokson is both admired and respected as it is no easy feat to be included in the ranks of the elite. Furthermore, he’d even advanced from a Hallowed Knight to a Divine Blade within three years. He’s displayed his competency and prowess in missions and battles against Speglun, leading to him being hand-picked by the Empress herself to be part of the Heiress’ personal guard, especially with what had happened to the Heiress that night.

Kole himself is satisfied with his promotion. To serve the Imperial family directly is the most prestigious honor, and as a young man, he still has the desire to claim as many accomplishments as he can. His drive comes from a childhood memory as a boy growing up in Smith’s Brand. That fateful morning, he had skipped out on his chores and went into the nearby forest where he’d met a young boy and a very large man. He remembers the man looking like a seasoned warrior, clad in worn, ragged armour, with a giant axe gleaming in his hand. He’d seen the warrior defeat the fearsome Speglun with one swing of his weapon and from then on, Kole had wanted to be just like him.

He’s thankful to be blessed with talent and skills that had allowed him to advance his ranks fairly easily. He hadn’t known that he had such talent himself and had thought that he would follow the footsteps of his blacksmith father. Perhaps wielding a hammer and wielding a sword isn’t too different? Instead of taking over the family business, Kole had left for Arinn and enlisted himself in the army, leaving that responsibility to his younger brother. His family hadn’t been happy with him, but since Kole had made a name for himself they - or at least his father - had begrudgingly forgiven him. As long as he promises to visit once in a while, his father wouldn’t kick him out.

While prestige and ranks are some things to aim for, in reality, being a Divine entails harsh training and studying. He’d slogged through extreme training and practicing spells that sapped enough of his willpower to leave him knocked out for a week. Having gone to sites with high Speglun activity has also left him mentally hardened. Thankfully, the Speglun appears in less populated areas, but yet numerous lives have still been lost and he’s even seen possessions that has left the victim’s body physically mutilated and others mentally tortured or comatosed. Having once lost many of his skilled peers to merely one Speglun also shows how powerful these creatures are.

Kole hears his Captain stop his horse and sees him turn his head slightly with a raise of his right hand. It’s a signal to stop, and Kole relays the instruction to the rest of the entourage. As the Captain has stopped them suddenly, everyone is immediately tense; it means that something suspicious is in the area.

Someone behind Kole mutters, “Where are the scouts? They should have alerted us…”

The Knight’s sentence is immediately cut off as a throwing dagger is lodged in his throat.

“Magic shields up!” the Captain yells at the Imperial Magi and immediately rallies his Knights with a skill that increases their constitution and willpower. Kole looks around the area. There is only one road with some shrubs, but the treeline of the nearby woods to the left immediately attracts attention. He’s already caught sight of a couple of figures, faces covered and clad in black.

He’s just about to direct some of the Magi to attack them when four similarly dressed assassins appear out of nowhere. They attempt to pounce onto the carriage but is barred by the magical shield. Unfortunately, as the shields are focused on the carriage, that had left the Magi vulnerable. Before any of them can react, one of the Magi is downed by an assassin tackling him and plunging a dagger in his throat.

Chaos erupts as more of the figures appear. Kole tries to contact one of the hidden guards and scouts but receives no response, confirming that they’re either killed or completely incapacitated. They are left to fend for themselves without back-up. It’s twenty guards against thirty assassins, and since the Knights are of the elite, it should pose no problem. However, it appears that the other side is also of commendable skill.

Nearly a third of their forces are already down and it’s starting to cast a bleak picture.