"What do you think was happening to the king?" Winston asked, gazing into the glass of cider that he was holding. He had only taken two sips, yet he was already beginning to be pensive.

Thomas's cheeks were full. He seemed to have stuffed his face with a whole platter of chicken. It took him a moment to chew and swallow, and had to chug a glass of iced tea to free his throat and be able to speak. "You said it yourself, did you not? Stage fright."

"He's probably conducted knight baptisms dozens of times. Do you really believe he still gets nervous every time?" Winston let the cider swirl in the glass. As it slowed back down, the liquid waggled and reminded him of the king panicking. "Also...he seemed to be most anxious when he was saying my name."

"Why would the king be afraid of you?" Thomas chugged another mug.

"Good question."

"Winston! Thomas!" A knight in silver called. "I was just telling these ladies about how we always used to spend time together in the training field!"

Two mages in purple robes waved.

Winston's forehead crinkled as he did all he could to deduce who the person was. Was he already that drunk? He couldn't even recognize faces anymore.

"Sorry. Who are you?" Thomas asked.

Perhaps they really just didn't know who that guy was.

"Tim Taiga." The man scratched the back of his head. "Come on. Don't you remember me? We used to always spar."

Thomas's eyes slid to the corners of their sockets, peeking at Winston's reaction.

Winston wiggled his eyebrows.

"I guess we did?" Thomas faked a laugh.

"See ladies?" Tim faced the mages, fists on his hip. "Sadly I couldn't be in the Royal Circle with them. Almost! But, not really. They far are just too strong. But I'm getting there!"

Dorias had just been silently sitting on a table. Suddenly he felt a need to speak up. "I remember you. You guys did spar. You got sent to the infirmary, right?"

"Well..." Tim scratched his head again.

From another table, a man had been eyeing the three. His eyes were criticizing, like those of a judge looking upon sinners. He had light orange hair, and his cape was of the same shade, but his temper felt rather dark.

"Really?" Thomas patted Tim's head. "Sorry about that. We should spar again someday. Then you can get back at us."

Tim perked up. "Really? Yes, I would love to!"

"To be able to hurt someone enough that they need medical attention..." The light orange man crossed his arms. He was already standing, and has gotten in front of Winston, Thomas, and Dorias. "You must be damn good to be able to do that."

The lady mages stepped aside.

One of them gasped and covered her mouth.

"That's Alder Brom. A Royal Circle member!" the other said.

Alder snapped his fingers. Amber stones formed from thin air and began revolving around him. "Add the fact that you're now part of us. I'd like to see if you deserve to be."

"Trust me, son. You wouldn't wanna test us." Dorias sported another of his smirks. That one was especially menacing.

The people in the ballroom stopped whatever they were busy with. Others ogled with food in their mouths. Plenty put down their utensils so they can watch undistracted.

"Just show me." Alder grinned.

Dorias made a barely audible sigh. He shut his eyes. Then a sharp gleam shone from his direction as he unsheathed his sword and spikes of solid obsidian shot towards Alder.

Alder formed more amber from the air and used them to block the obsidian. The amber shattered, and the obsidian crashed to the floor. "Nice. I like your offense. How about your defense?" The wizard sent head-sized amber stones towards the three.

Dorias shielded himself with an obsidian pillar. Thomas let a stone phase through him, leaving it to crash on and destroy the table behind him. While Winston, with the hilt of his sword, blocked and smashed a stone to fragments.

"Oi!" Alder snapped. "That's not your power! Use it!

Winston used his thumb to caress the blue gem. "I gotta admit, I want to know what I can do too. But I'm worried how powerful it could be. I don't wanna destroy the castle."

Alder grinned again. "That's a way to flex. I'll just force you to use it then." He summoned more amber.

"Aren't you already doing that?" A female voice hissed. It came from a lady knight who had just entered the room. Her luxurious pink hair covered most of her face, save for her venomous red eyes that looked like they were jabbing everyone's souls.

"That's Odess Badstag. Another Royal Circle member," said an audience.

"Look at that mess!" Odess's eyes flared at the sight of the ruined table. "I helped arrange that."

"Ah." Thomas checked on the demolished table. "Rest in peace, chicken wings."

"You are gonna get beat." Odess tugged on Alder's ear, and dragged the man out of the room. "Just carry on, everyone."

"Wait! Odess! It was just for fun! I wanted to see them in action!" Alder winced as the grip on his ear tightened.

"I spent an hour skirting those tables!"

Dorias put his sword back in its sheath. "What a child!"

"Sorry about that." A teal haired wizard approached. "Alder loves to play a lot. Sometimes his games cause some damages." His green eyes twinkled. "The name's Synth Gopherfoe. I'd like to be friends. After all, we'll be working together a lot." He offered a hand and a smile.

Winston accepted the handshake, offering a smile back. "I'm guessing you're a Royal Circler too."

"Baronets are what we're officially called." Synth proceeded to shake the hands of Thomas and Dorias as well. "They say it sounds lame though so no one ever uses it."

"Are the rest of the baronets just as immature?" Dorias's eyes travelled upon all the rocks on the floor.

"You'll see. You'll get to know them all soon enough." Synth followed Dorias's glances at the fight's leftovers. "Don't worry about those, by the way. Our housekeepers are the most skilled in the kingdom. Speaking of housekeepers, just look for Mistress Opa once you're ready to get your rooms."

"Got it." Winston nodded, and that's exactly what they went to do after spending another half hour in the ballroom. They managed to take control of another table where Thomas got to fill himself more.

*******

By quarter to four, Thomas had exhausted all the space in his belly, so the three of them decided to explore the castle corridors and hunt for the mistress. They didn't manage to see much, as Mistress Opa proved to be an easy find. Apart from seeming to literally have twenty copies of herself roaming the castle all at once, each of those copies had a caravan of knights following her.

"I consider myself a knight of some sort too!" Mistress Opa tee-heed, spinning a chain of keys around her index finger. "While you guys fight monsters and armies, I fight mess, germs, and occasionally stubborn children who find their way into the garden. Little litterers."

"How long have you been working here?" asked a mage.

"I was born here. Tee hee. But I haven't been in charge of housekeeping until I was seventeen. That was seven years ago."

"How much are you earning?"

Mistress Opa gave the mage a curious look. "I earn five amalgium a day, I'll have you know. By working twenty days, I could buy a plot at the Kingdom of Demeter. Why? Are you interested in taking my job?"

The mage laughed nervously.

"Tee hee. As a knight, you're earning six times as much as me." Mistress Opa pulled one of the keys from the chain and gave it to the mage. "Here you are, darling. This key is yours. You'll only need to use it once. Once you enter a room, the door will recognize you forever and open for you whenever you please."

"Thank you."

"You take this one." She handed another one to someone, and then more to the rest of her caravan. "You this. Here you are. There. Choose whichever of the rooms in this corridor you please. First come first serve!"

"Awesome."

"Thanks."

"Thank you Mistress Opa!"

"Now you three." Mistress Opa directed her attention to Winston, Thomas, and Dorias. "You don't belong here!" She slid her fingers along her belt and then rested them on her waist. "There are special rooms for baronets in the king's wing. Follow me! Double time! It'll be a long walk."

And a long walk it was.

*******

Morpheus Castle was gigantic. The tip of its highest tower pierced right into the clouds, and the wall surrounding the grounds was so long that one could barely tell it's a circle. Some have said that the building could fit the entire kingdom if every bedroom had two citizens. That being so, several gateways, made of swirling space-warping energy, had needed to be installed, so there were faster ways to get around.

"I know what you're thinking." Mistress Opa emerged from a portal they had just passed through. "This place must be a pain to clean. You're quite right, I'll have you know. Tee hee."

Dorias smirked at the lady. "That's not something I have to worry about. Not my job."

"You've mastered every corner of this place though, I'm sure." Thomas observed a marble statue of the late god Astel

"Why yes. I played in these halls as a child and began watching over it as a lady. I know everything that can be broken and every manner possible to fix them. Tee hee." She glanced at the same statue Thomas was studying. "But I don't believe I know the castle as much as the king himself."

Winston's ears and curiosity alerted.

"King Astel or King Lux?" Thomas asked.

"Darling Lux." She touched the statue, and it reshaped itself to the image of the human king

"Why?" Winston pried. "From what I've heard, you were born in the castle. King Lux was adopted when he was around thirteen. Shouldn't you have spent more time here than him?"

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"I agree that would make sense, I'll have you know. But King Lux has a genius feared even by gods. By the first day he spent in the castle, he already knew where everything was. Even chambers I never knew existed."

"That's impressive." Thomas also touched the statue. "Thomas Pantrem," he declared authoritatively, and the statue transformed into himself. "But that's even better."

Mistress Opa tee heed once more and handed a key to the man. "Since a sculpture of you is already in front, why not you claim this one?"

"Smart idea." Thomas accepted the key, sounding as enthusiastic as he could ever be.

"I'll take the room at the other side of the portal." Dorias opened his hand for a key. "I want to minimize my walk as much as I can."

"Here you are!" The mistress handed a key, and Dorias was quick to snatch it and walk away. "How about you? Do you have any preferences for your room?"

Winston looked down, in thought.

He never considered the possibility of being able to choose. Hence, he never really made any expectations. But now that he was thinking about it, there was one thing that he thought would be interesting to request.

*******

Morning of the next day, Winston took the liberty to enjoy a dip in a pool of hot water that came with his chosen chamber. Its warm embrace around his naked body erased every bit of weariness that his muscles had. After days of travelling from the Kingdom of Armor to Morpheus, Winston had finally been able to lay back and have some silence.

The spring sun waved hello from outside. Its orange rays poured into the room through a doorway opening to a balcony. The light painted the room with fiery chromatic colors, which shortly reminded Winston of Alder, the wizard who tried fighting in the ballroom. The way those mages reacted to his presence. They were in awe. That guy, and the rest of the Royal Circle, must have really given themselves some high esteem. Maybe they even try to keep that esteem set high. To think about it, that guy was really eager to find out about their powers. While Winston was serious when he said he was being careful of what his could do.

On the floor's Versailles tiles, the knight's armor and weapon laid still. The sun was also giving them orange tinctures.

Winston reached for the sword and caught it by the hilt, as he wanted to have it closer in order to study the gem.

"So!" Thomas entered by phasing through the room's door. "You don't know what your power stone does but you bought it for twenty malagmium coins?"

"Thomas! I'm bathing."

"It's just me. Plus, if you didn't want to be seen, you should have closed that." He pointed at the balcony.

"We're more than a mile from the ground. No one would have seen me."

"That owl girl was flying around. In fact she landed on my balcony to say that the king called for a breakfast meeting with the Royal Circle by eight."

"With the king?" Winston leaned forwards, placing his arms on his knees.

"I can only assume." Thomas phased back out of the door, but came back in dragging a white box into the room. "Also, Mistress Opa left one of these outside of my room too. The clothes I'm wearing were from it."

"Shouldn't we be wearing armor at all times?"

"Not in this castle, it seems." Thomas turned around, showcasing his purple tabard over a wooly white long-sleeved shirt. "Matches my hair, doesn't it? Well! I'd best be going. I'm gonna start my search for the Baronets' Assembly. At least one of us has got to find it in time."

Winston thought the door open. It did, and Thomas saluted as he slipped out. As the door closed once again at Winston's will, he was quite relieved to regain his privacy.

The gem in the hilt took back Winston's attention. It was lifeless, and yet, Winston could hear it whispering. "Unsheathe the sword," it said. Winston obeyed. He slid the sword out slightly, but shoved it back in as the hot water began crystallizing.

Now he knew what the enchantment did. Yesterday, when he asked around the marketplace for where the best power stones were sold, everyone led him to the same stall. That merchant has probably built quite the reputation. So when Winston asked him for the best stone he had, the knight had not a single doubt that he'd be getting what he wanted, so he didn't really bother to try it out.

Anyways, that's one mystery solved. Time for another one!

Winston got out of the pool. A walk-in closet was attached to his room, but inside it was empty apart from a stack of towels in a wardrobe. In there, he dried himself thoroughly, save for his hair which stayed stubbornly wet. He had also dragged the white box with him, unpacked it in the closet, and found inside a bunch of new clothes to wear. The knight slipped himself into white breeches and inserted the cuffs into new blood-glossed boots. He also put on a white shirt same as the one Thomas wore, and topped it with a scarlet tabard, which he tightened at the waste using a black belt where he attached his sword's sheath.

All dressed up, he was ready to roam the castle and begin his own hunt for the Baronets' Assembly!

"Thud!" The door slammed as he shut it behind him.

Winston couldn't tell whether it was the noise that frightened King Lux, but the king stood wide-eyed as he came out of his room at the same time that Winston did.

"Do you have any preferences for your room?" Mistress Opa asked yesterday.

Winston had decided to take the one right next to King Lux's. The knight figured that frequent close proximity with the king will get His Highness comfortable with Winston sooner. Plus! Winston's duty was to protect the king, wasn't it? He'd be able to make sure of that while he was near.

"Good morning, your highness!"

King Lux blinked twice. "H-Hello. Good morning."

"This is perfect timing!" Winston's eyes crinkled as a smile radiated his face. "I'm heading to the Baronets' Assembly. If that's where you're going too, it'll be much of a convenience for me because I have not the slightest clue where to find it."

King Lux blinked many more times. "S-Sure. I'll lead the way."

The king wasn't the only one surprised. Winston was pretty confounded too. Many tales told of King Lux as a very decisive person. He knew how to act in pretty much all situations, which is how he has managed to hamper all attempts at Morpheus invasions in the past three years. But how he was acting around Winston seemed to be against all the talks about him. He couldn't even seem to decide what to say, as he had just been silent during most of the walk, occasionally peering at Winston. The knight has caught him so many times that he had realized the king was catching glimpses of his silver hair. Maybe he was judging Winston's inattention to his wet hair. Seeing how beautiful King Lux's locks were, Winston assumed his majesty was a hair style connoisseur of some sort.

"Forgive me, your highness." Winston let out a little laugh. "I did try to dry it, but mine and the towel's efforts were to no avail."

"Huh? Oh." King Lux jerked his head to face a different direction. "I-It's not that. It's just.... The color is reminding me of somebody."

"Ah! May I know who?

"An old friend." King Lux looked down, and then back at Winston. "He was the only one I had as a kid."

"Ah." Winston gave a look of pity, then another that was more kind. "That's strange. Why didn't more want to be friends with you?"

"I was a weird kid." King Lux briefly blushed. "By the way, might as well I ask this now." He stopped his tracks, compelling the knight to do the same. "I would like to know more about Tardrem Torisetti. What happened to him?"

Tardrem? How did the king know him? He was one of the children who accepted the scholarships for the Academy of White Knights. Sadly... "Tardrem decided to leave the Academy of White Knights on his fourth year. Gossip said he felt unneeded because there were enough warriors stronger than even him. Last I heard, he's at the Kingdom of Demeter, living life as a farmer."

King Lux turned around to look out of a glass wall allowing view of the kingdom. "I see."

"Tardrem was a good warrior. I fought against him many times in the Tournaments of Ares. Even Animus found it a misfortune to have to let him go."

His Majesty's face was away from sight, but Winston reckoned there were tears on it now as King Lux's voice cracked as he spoke. "He made a good choice. His blood will be spent for millions. Not just me. I'm relieved."

Winston stared at the back of King Lux's head. The knight wanted to do more, but he was suddenly scared to touch the king.

"Thank you. Let's proceed." King Lux used his sleeve to wipe his face and continued down the corridor.

*******

It hadn't been much longer till they reached the Baronets' Assembly. It was a hovering dome, like a cycosphere, only that the floor was also glass, and was connected and powered by a ginormous chain coming all the way from the castle's tallest tower. At the center was a round quartz table, and at two sides were gateways. One of the gateways had maidens popping out to serve meals. While the other was where King Lux and Winston had just come in from.

"Did he send regards?" asked a knight.

"Hold on, Gian. His Highness is here." Dorias tilted his head at the king's direction.

The baronets were all standing around, gathered in several subgroups. Many were familiar faces, but more were not. "Good morning, Your Highness!" They greeted in chorus.

A magenta-haired girl in a magenta tabard curtsied. "We resolved not to take seats until there were enough space for the six."

King Lux curtsied back. "Good morning." He then surveyed the table and quickly identified the problem.

Just by a side, maidens were keeping trays balanced on their hands as they couldn't fit anymore on the table top.

King Lux made a gesture with his right hand, and the table promptly expanded and six new chairs appeared.

"Thank goodness!" The maidens swiftly transferred the pitchers and plates onto the table.

"I have to rest my feet!" A man in a cyan tabard crashed on a chair.

"Winston, over here!" Thomas also took a seat, placing his hand on one to his left to claim it for Winston.

As Winston sat on it, he took note that he was gonna be flanked by Thomas and Alder, and to Alder's left would be Odess, the lady knight.

Just with her eyes, she seemed to be trying to tear the amber wizard apart. Her glare was so sharp that Alder couldn't move lest he be cut to pieces. As she glared, Winston realized that he hasn't caught sight of her ears yesterday, as her pink hair had covered them. Apparently they were pointed.

"You're an elf?" Winston asked.

Odess's glare moved to him. "Elves aren't the only creatures with pointed ears. But yes, I am."

Winston smiled his shame away.

"Ahh! Cinnamon." A mage in yellow was smelling bread. "What better breakfast could there be?"

"Milk and cookies," replied a lady in purple and blue.

"Milk can be a little too sweet." Synth sipped from a cup. "I prefer tea in the morning."

"You prefer tea all the time." Alder snickered. "Besides, add a little honey, tea can be sweet too."

"You never have a point, but this time you do," replied the lady in purple and blue.

"What do you mean?!" Alder roared, but quickly cowered at Odess's glare returning to him.

"Do you accept the challenge?" A malicious grin crept onto a mage-in-black's face.

Rin collected some strands of hair and tucked them behind her ear. "I can take clothes off any man that I want."

Gleen shook her head. "She means that in a literal sense."

The black mage cocked her head to a side. "That's a yes."

"Animus did send his regards," Dorias said to four knights by his right. "You were his bests in the past two years, after all."

Those four. Icarus Padimcod, Blake Ersero, Gian Betland, and Slate Crimo. Also former trainees of the Academy of White Knights. Winston never realized they also ended up at Morpheus.

"We're twenty-six in total." Thomas whispered. "Almost a whole class. Reminds me of the academy."

It was also as loud. There were many conversations going on. So many that Winston couldn't keep track of them all at once. But he did overhear some context clues every once and a while. New clothes downtown, weapons at the solar blacksmith, power of gods, beasts in the Neres Lake. The topics covered anything under and within the sun. But soon the noises died down as King Lux began.

"Thanks for being here, everyone. On time as always. I know it's early in the morning, but we're here to discuss something important. Nothing to be stressed about though. As you've done in the past, you'll do again in the future." The king flailed his hand.

A solar calendar appeared at the middle of the table. On the current date, a replica of earth was rotating, while on several days in the future, there were spheres of a deep red color. "To those new: Thomas, Gleen, Rin, Layla, Dorias, and T..." King Lux picked up a cup of tea and sipped from it. "...Winston. This is our calendar of events. I have plotted out every single day on which enemies will strike. That way you'll all be able to anticipate and be prepared for when they come. On the days unmarked, you're free to do whatever you wish, as no attacks are expected. Such as today, you're even allowed to not wear armor because there simply isn't a point. By fall, there will be no attacks for nearly a month. You may visit your families then."

"Impressive. Morpheus has a schedule for war," Thomas remarked.

Winston leaned towards the calendar. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but the next attack is in three days? Is that what we're here for?"

King Lux nodded. "You need no correction. This one will come from Erudon. He believes I stole something from his library in order to gain my magic."

"I'll never believe you're capable of such a thing." The magenta knight sobbed into her palms.

"For a god of knowledge, he's a little bit idiotic," said the cyan knight.

"How many will there be?" asked a knight in dark gray.

"Their goal is to capture me and bring me to their god alive." King Lux stared into the cup of tea that he drank from. "They won't be an army as they'll be wanting to pass the knights at the entrance to Morpheus. There will be four."

"Oh. Pooh. We can definitely deal with that." A lady knight in white blew at her nails. "How many of us will you be posting?"

"Twelve of you." King Lux declared. "The four of them will have the same magic: Prism Trap. Three will spread out at the bottom of the castle. One will head above." King Lux summoned a visual in place of the solar calendar. "They're planning to cast Pyramid Cage, a spell that will capture everything inside it. Your mission will be to stop them from being at positions wherein they can successfully cast."

"We're gonna get them beat before a trickle of magic can drip out of them." Odess hissed, slicing a slab of meat with a small knife.

Alder grinned.

"I know you will, but it won't be that easy." King Lux closed his eyes, as if he was trying to dream while awake. "Each of the Prism Trap mages will have unique magic as well. Granted by Erudon himself. The one heading above will be Tau Slett, a wizard who can program life into any obect. He can fly, so Layla, Ling, and Ara should take care of him."

"Alright! Already in action!" Layla raised a glass of milk.

That lady knight in white, apparently Ling, admired her own fingers from every angle. "I'll be on him."

A mage in peach looked worriedly at a cake on her plate.

"Mycela, Clarence, Linus, and Bling." King Lux called. "Tau will be making a stone golem. It'll be your job to destroy it."

The lady in purple and blue bit into a biscuit. "That's it?"

The cyan knight brandished a fist. "I'll pulverize it."

"Easy peasy." A set of twins nodded at the same time.

"The second one will be Jerald Hesttaur." King Lux continued. "He has the power to adjust the temperature of anything. He'll be going to the library."

"Phantoms have no temperature." Thomas leaned back proudly.

"Neither do fears," the black mage said in a low voice.

"I'm counting on you. Thomas, Talc." King Lux nodded in agreement. "One will also be going to the armory. Navi Dimegent. He can reverse the effect of any magic."

"I won't need magic to beat him." Dorias boasted another of his smirks.

Odess's eyes glinted with excitement. "My blade will be enough."

"Finally, at the courtya--" The king's eyes snapped open, as if something in his dream had forced him to awaken. "I change my mind."

"I'll volunteer!" The magenta knight raised her hand. "Wait. What?"

King Lux lifted the tea cup once more and slurped all the contents from it. As he put it back down, his hand froze still and couldn't let go of the handle. "I change my mind." An intense emotion made his pupils constrict. "All of you will be deployed."