"You may rise, Archmage Elowyn."
"Yes, Your Majesty. For what purpose has my presence been requested?"
King Thorian looked at her with a scrutinising gaze.
"Noah. What are your opinions of him?"
"I believe you refer to the former Hero, Noah?"
Upon noting King Thorian's silence, suggesting his confirmation, she continued.
"He is slightly superior to me in terms of combat ability. He has a resourceful head on his shoulders and often had acted together with the other three when they made decisions regarding their direction. What I find truly fearful about him is his versatility, which extends to more than just his monster forms. Any mistakes he makes will not be repeated; all inefficiencies would be eliminated if he had made efforts towards a goal once before."
A short silence occupied the room. Archmage Elowyn, in her large and grand flowy black and blue robes, allowed her black shoulder-length ponytail to fall against her neck as she continued to kneel. King Thorian broke this silence with a more chilling question.
"How many, or rather, who, would need to be on a squad for his assassination?"
Archmage Elowyn's stoic expression faltered for a brief moment, and her black eyes flickered in an indecipherable expression before she regained her usual stoic demeanour, though her voice lacked the usual edge it had.
"Your Majesty, I do not wish to advise your decisions, but... I believe this to be unwise, for several rea-"
"Silence, wench! You dare?! I have thought about everything you have or could have, and more! My decision is absolute! Now answer my questions and make it quick!"
The room filled with King Thorian's oppressive aura, and Archmage Elowyn caught her tongue. His behaviour right now reminded her of how he used to act when his brother was...she shook her head. There was no point in thinking of what could have been. Eldoria was stuck with King Thorian now for the next few hundred years, and there was no changing that.
'This tradition of strength taking the priority to occupy Eldoria's throne—no, any major throne on the continent... It has become a curse, one that will rot us from the inside before the demons do much from the outside. Damnation.'
After re-orienting herself with an exhale, she did what she was ordered to.
"I believe me and another peak archmage will suffice. Perhaps Galadrim, considering that he has been nearing the chief rank, and almost ready to leave the veteran rank."
"You will not go. Someone else."
As a Lord Ranked Peak Archmage, Archmage Elowyn was the only other being in the league of strength that King Thorian and Delor were in. If she wasn't a mage before a warrior and walked both paths simultaneously like Delor or himself, King Thorian would have her be the new commander. Unfortunately, mage combat would not be suitable for the Royal Guard. Though, she was still powerful, and he wanted to keep someone of her ability in Eldoria at all times for several reasons, from internal security to being a deterrent against external threats.
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"In that case, three peak archmages would do just as well, Your Majesty."
"Choose."
"I believe that Lirael and Draven would be good choices. They have been sloppy recently on their research, and it only worsened following the summoning of the former heroes. This would be a good opportunity for them to pick up their slack. I would have preferred to send Galadrim as well, but despite his rising strength, I find it difficult to trust him with anyone else other than me, especially with his recent suspicious movements. Thus, I opt for Seraphina as the third member, a person of relatively average strength among peak archmages."
King Thorian let another period of oppressive silence fill the room before he spoke again.
"Lirael, Draven, and Seraphina. The names were good enough. I don't recall asking for an explanation. I know you couldn't betray me."
Archmage Elowyn's face subtly contorted in faint anxiety, but she quickly hid it. Not that King Thorian would miss something like that, though.
"Your Majesty, even without my son, I am a person of loyalty to the thro-"
"Enough. Leave."
"...Yes, Your Majesty."
Archmage Elowyn rose to her feet, then left with footsteps that were a little heavier than when she came in. Watching her leave, memories of King Thorian's older brother filled his mind before he snorted in derision once the doors closed behind her.
"It doesn't matter how much they liked him or how good of a ruler he might have been. Right now, I am here, and he is six feet under, sent there by my very own blade. That is all that matters. I am superior."
His voice echoed around the seemingly empty throne room; his own voice the only one that had ever said those last three words.
"That settles that bastard Noah. Now, as for Evan, I suppose I'll go to Kuepit. The audacity of the foreigner to steal my own property, from under my nose…"
His fingers, which he discovered to be clenched, slowly let go of the throne armrests as he released a tired sigh. He stood up and left the throne room as well.
Above the throne, a brown eye the same shade as Elara's and King Thorian's blinked behind a small window, a silent fury burning within them.
The Prince, not borne of King Thorian, silently withdrew from his periscope that peered into the throne room. His fists trembled, and he left the small attic-like area he had dug out himself, which could only fit a small child such as himself.
"One day…definitely!"
The boy's silent oath did not lose out in intensity to King Thorian's own. Coincidentally, both involved assassination, just that one of them did not voice it out.