The vault wasn’t hard to find, they really needed to create more unique wards. It took minutes to create my door and begin emptying the vault. If I am being honest it was disappointing. This being the kingdom vault I expected far better magical treasures but what I found was mostly shards, gems and gold. The few magical items stored there were of all things cursed, either there as safe guards or to trap thieves. I still took them, better than leaving them around. The whole demon possed dagger probably didn’t need to fall into the wrong hands.

Once that was done I set about searching the rest of the castle. Collecting small safes from nobles who lived in the castle, some odds and ends but mostly blackmail material and deeds. Pretty boring, honestly the best thing I acquired was a few hot rolls I took from the kings kitchen. I can cook fairly well but baking was a mystery I had yet to crack. These were amazing, still want from the oven and dripping honey butter. Most of the time I water watching various people do a variety of sneaky things. After dinner I started following the king, he still wore the ring and I needed to see what he did.

I wasn’t too shocked to find him in the room of a young woman. He was trying to talk her into bed and she was trying to get him to kill the queen. This must be the one they argued about, after listening to her I had no sympathy for her. She was as much of a viper as the queen.

“Just have her killed my lord, than we can easily be together.” Watching her flutter her eyelashes at him was a bit much.

“I can’t, for your safety. She has her people here in the castle. I don’t know what I would do if you were hurt my love.” What he said sounded good but the fact that he said it all to her well developed chest made it less sincere. It didn’t seem to bother her though, somehow she managed to push them to the very breaking point of the fabric restraining them.

“But surely you could protect me?” As she spoke her hand traced the muscles of his arm through his top coat.

“Of course! Don’t worry my dove her time is coming. There are things that must happen first. Be patient and soon you will be my queen.” The king still hadn’t looked up from her chest, this man was a fool.

She would have him dead a month after they married. I couldn’t watch anymore, drifting back into wall far enough that they were just muffled noise so I could track him but not have to hear this dribble. While I waited I read the missives I had stolen from her private safe, turns out they were mostly love letters from a Duke who planned on helping her kill the king. These people are so petty, with all this chaos and they were still playing these childish games.

Finally the very frustrated king left her chamber, his lust unfulfilled. I followed along as he stomped up the stairs to his chamber like a petulant child. I did find it amusing that most of his mutterings were cursing the queen for stopping him from having what he wanted. When he made it to his private chambers he dismissed his guard and went into his bed chamber. This next bit would be a pain in the ass and I knew it, but I need to find out who knew about everything. If I had to hunt someone else down I would rather do it before he dragons died. That meant I needed the king to tell me. The trick was figuring out how to do this but still remain hidden.

Luck saved me from having to take the king hostage, not long after he sat down with a drink a secret door at the back of the chamber opened and an older thin man joined the king.

“Hex, what news?” The king asked while reclining in a chair.

“We still haven’t found the queen’s assassin and the rogue mage is still a mystery.” The man reported concisely.

“And our allies?”

“Earl Wast is in his chambers below and ready to take his shards in payment. The rest still remain clueless regarding the dragons. They think the two cities were destroyed by some new elven magic. Aside from the Earl and the prince the others are clueless.

“Good, is there anything else I need worry about?” The king sounded tired.

“No your majesty.”

“Than go, alert me if anything changes and give the Earl his shards, the man won’t betray me.”

“As you command.” Hex slid back into the shadows and this time I could feel him moving.

I acted quickly this time, following him to a room not far from the kings. It was a small bedroom and office combination. This man did not value wealth or comfort. As soon as he stepped into the room I followed him out of the wall and took control of his shards. The man dropped to the floor with a gasp, I stood over him looking down at him for just a moment.

There was a ward woven into the man, a token ward. If I killed him the king would know. Instead I put him to sleep and pushed him into to floor. Stripping him of everything except his small clothes. I made sure there was enough air he wouldn’t die, then set about searching his room. I found various papers regarding me, some about the Queen and oddly one about the kings busty mistress.

The kings spymaster was fully aware of her plots and so was the king. According to these they were actually planning on blaming her Duke for the queens death, leaving her alone and at the kings mercy. Plots within plots, these people had way too much free time. I also found various things regarding the secrecy of the dragons, as far as I could tell there were one the the five of them. It did make my life easier. When I made it back to the kings chambers I found him still lounging in the chair almost as if he was waiting for something.

“I know you’re there, come out.” He stared in my general direction. He could feel me but couldn’t pin point my exact location. Shrugging I stepped out of the stone and walked to the glasses he had beside the liquor. After pouring myself a glass I sat opposite him in a chair letting him start the conversation.

“So your him? The half breed who’s caused so much trouble?” I studied him as he spoke. The first hints of grey were showing around his temples but other than that his youth still held most of his age at bay.

“Syn” I said smiling as I sipped the amber liquid in my glass. I felt the man hidden in the shadows behind me start to move and pulled him and his three friends into the stone. “You didn’t value those men did you?”

“No since they failed. Why are you doing this?”

“To save the domain.” My answer caught him off guard by the look on his face.

“To save the domain? What do you mean?”

“Whoever pulled the foolishness with the dragons, aside from being cruel also set our world up to fail.” I wasn’t sure I wanted to bother explaining it all but the whiskey was decent enough to keep me talking for a bit.

“That doesn’t explain it!” He snapped, not used to people ignoring his demands.

“Does it matter? If I explain it will you give me your ring?” I had already realized he was stalling waiting for more troops that would never arrive. “You can stop wasting time. Your spymaster is sealed in a wall and your guards have run into a stone wall trying to come to your aid.”

“Sealed in a wall?” He stared at me in shock, to make my point clear I collapsed the space I sealed him in making the king jump as the token in his pocket broke. “You just killed him!”

“Yes.” I took another sip feeling him start to pull on his shards. With a flex of my will I took control of them, shutting down his casting.

The shock made him gasp and start to fall forward, as he did I moved using magic to sped my actions. My blade sprang out of my hand and with a flick I took off his finger just above the ring. With a twist of my wrist I flicked the falling digit into my waiting hand. My sword had disappeared back into storage before he even knew what happened. Well until the pain hit him, then he screamed.

“You cut off my finger!”

“Yes, I wanted your ring.” I sat back sipping my drink again, waiting for his next move. While I waited I used my will to start moving the three rings through the stone toward the dragon below.

“You cut off my finger!” He screamed it this time launching himself at me. I flipped over the back of the couch and rose to my feet on the other side as the king smashed into the space I had been sitting.

I felt the stone shift below me pulling me into it, someone else had joined the fight. I felt another mage coming through the wall casting as he came. I couldn’t hold the kings shards and defend this attack at the same time. I tried to crush the kings shards but the star pattern fought me just long enough for the other man’s sword to swing toward me. I had to release them to counter the slash.

With a flick of my will my armor covered me and blades filled my hands. I shifted to shadow and slipped out of the stone and under the cut, parrying it away with my right as I moved. My new opponent was younger than the king but matched him in looks, the prince had arrived. My left stabbed back through the couch at the king, catching him in the shoulder as he dodged.

The prince threw fire in my face as he spun off the party using the momentum to bring his heavier blade around with speed. It was too heavy to block and I was out of position to dodge. I stepped back into shadow and slipped through the flames and around the blade. The king had collected enough of himself to pull his magic to him and throw a powerful spear of ice at were I had been.

The prince dove out of the way dodging the ice spear which put him out of my reach. I could feel my power slipping, it had been a full day and my arrogance in talking to the king as coming back to haunt me. I would have to use my magic sparingly to make it out of this alive. The two I was facing may not have been used to fighting together but they were learning quickly.

The king circled around the furniture blocking my escape out through the balcony while his son moved to flank me. The prince had a blade and magic the king had his magic. This wasn’t a good place for me to be but I didn’t think I had enough energy left to escape through the floor. I faced the prince relying on my senses to track the king. It was a good plan but relied on the king using magic. When his dagger sank into the back of my shoulder I knew that had been a mistake.

The prince moved as soon as the king threw, my right blade came up parrying his overhanded strike despite the pain screaming from the dagger. It drove me to my knees but my left blade still flashed forward slashing across his stomach. A thin line of blood appeared at first making him stumble back. I was preparing to spin and attack the king when I heard him scream.

What I saw when I looked back was his feet as they disappeared into the dark sky above the balcony. Badbs mad laughter echoed off the walls telling me what had happened to the king. Turning back to face the prince, he stood leaning on a desk his hand trying in vain to hold his intestines in while he pushed magic into healing it. I was about to finish him when a massive roar shook the entire castle. The rings had made it to the dragon, my time was up this was about to be come a giant pile of rocks.

“Badb I’ll need some help!” I shouted in my mind as I spun charging out the balcony and launching myself into the air.

The wind wiped around me as I cleared the railing and started to fall, I had to hope Barb could make it to me in time. The absolute faith I had in my friend let me watch the golden head of a massive wyrm break through the ground floor of the castle. Our eyes met for just a moment and I felt his thanks in my mind. Than Badb was there flying under me perfectly in his true form, with a wingspan of fifty feet he swooped under me letting me land smoothly on his back.

“Pride almost got you there my friend.” His laughter echoed in my head as the wind whipped around us.

“Not my best decision.” I admitted as he swung around giving us a clear view of the destruction.

The dragon had made his way out of the hole and was demolishing the remains of the castle. Finally having an outlet for his pain and frustration, towers fell walls collapsed as the pride of a kingdom turned to rubble. Magic lanced through the air as defenders threw everything they had at the great beast, all of it washing off like rain. Slowly the flashes tapered off, fewer and fewer people tried to fight, choosing to flee. None made it out of the castle who looked like a warrior of any kind, to my surprise though I saw maids and butlers flee unmolested. The staff streamed out of the castle into the city below.

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Panic had risen in the streets but from my view high above I noticed the dragon hadn’t broken even the bridge separating the castle from the town. As the last tower fell in the castle he launched himself into the air, in the distance I could feel his mate. She had finished hers as well and was coming to him.

“Follow them?” Badb asked

“Yes, I think this will be a sight to see.”

I watched as the mighty King struggled to stay aloft finally managing to glide to the ground half way to the estate, his queen meeting him halfway. As the met there was a massive explosion of magic, the flash blinded Badb and I. I felt him pull up sharply launching us up and away from whatever that was. Slowly my sight returned and I could feel power washing though the sky as Badb turned back toward the two dragons.

What met my eyes was beyond belief. Filling the field below was a massive frozen statue of shimmering stone, two dragons intertwined in the joy of holding one another. Sealed for all time, I didn’t have to consider anything to know nothing would ever scratch that stone. It was the king and queen perfectly represented, their bodies perfectly preserved in stone. We circled it serval times taking it all in, finally as the sun broke the horizon it revealed the true beauty of it.

As the light of dawn kissed the stone its shimmering colors shifted, different hues began to show, each scale dictates in detail representing both the gold and white of each. The sight was breathtaking in the light. What was more I could now feel the magic coming off it. A permenent ward, keeping the area around them perfect and green, trees stood around them and I could see beasts moving in the new forest as it grew. I watched a hunting party try and enter, the stood dumbfounded stopped by a barrier they couldn’t see.

We flew through it easily drawing their attention, the confused looks on their faces made me smile. I already knew the ward would welcome beasts of all kinds but none of the races of man would ever enter this place. This was a safe area created for one purpose and no magic in this domain could break it. I had no doubt many would try though. As we flew closer to the statues I felt them, between scales there were small caves each holding a hatchling. Hundreds maybe thousands of them sheltered in the king and queen, slowly growing from the magic the stairs gave off. The dragons would be returning sooner than I thought.

Around them for a hundred miles the land was changing, growing rapidly as cultivated lands were absorbed. A forest was growing before my eyes using the last of their magic to accelerate its growth. Before our eyes trees rose to a hundred feet and spread creating a dappled landscape of shadow below them. Magical and normal beasts alike flew, ran or crawled into it creating a a diversity that would shape the future of the forest.

It was breath taking to watch and as the magic slowly faded I felt the barrier fix in shape and power. A ley line deep underground twisted up linking to it, powering it for all time. At the center of the forest I felt a gentle pull guiding us there. When my eyes cleared the tree tops they revealed a small cleared area, a simple cabin surrounded by cultivated fields tended by three giant crystal spiders. Somehow my land had been moved here, a sense of rightness filled me as we landed in the cleared area.

I slide off Badb’s back and fell to my knees gasping, the dagger still stuck in my shoulder reminding me I was still wounded. Badb’s beak pulled it out with no warning making me gasp in pain. Even as my mind tried to find an answer I could feel the wound healing. A soft glow emanating from Badb where he stood behind me.

“Thanks my friend.” I said rising to my feet once the pain faded and I could stand.

“Thank you.” His response caught me off guard with his reply, thankfully my friend knew me well enough. “All of this is now my home, not some ring or cage. That is all because of you.”

I didn’t know what to say as I gazed into his ancient eyes, suddenly a weight settled on me interrupting my thoughts as it forced me to the ground again. Kneeling there I heard the door open in front of me and Arawns feet stopped in front of me.

“Sorry my friend the aura will ease in just a moment. Well not ease it will no longer effect you.” He smiled down at me with an amused look on his face. Almost gently he laid a hand on my shoulder meeting my gaze. “Syn, this domain is yours, as I am bound by my word to transfer it to the one who stabilized it. I Arawn Morna grant you all the powers of ownership and authority over this domain. Rise Lord of the shard domain.”

Suddenly the weight double and then it was gone, my mind spun overwhelmed by the new sense that forced their way onto me. I fell back to my knees the world spinning around me as my mind adapting to the new senses. Slowly it settled, twisting through me altering my being one final time. Then it all clicked into place, my senses back under my control but so much more.

I could now feel the entire domain, ever dragon hatchling, every bird, all the creatures of this domain including the races of man. They all existed in my domain, I could alter or change any part of it. Grant life or extinguish it, all things were held under my power all save one. Badb stood with me, not my subject by my companion, he felt it too a return of his ancient authority and with it came the memories he had long since lost.

Once he stood here before the companion of this domains creator, long before that he had just been a simple raven in another world. All of it came back now, the understanding with the memories. The overwhelming loss of his first friend, a man who had risen to immortality and than fallen. Killed by his arrogance at challenging the man in front of him. It had been him, Arawn who was attacked and killed the man. He had saved Badb by trapping him in the ring and taking the burden of this domain onto his soul. He had done it and limited himself to preserve it all. No, not for this…he had done it for Badb, done it all because of the sorrow he saw in a simple companion at the loss of his friend.

“Thank you.” The words fell out of Badb’s mind.

“My pleasure.” Was his simple response but even as he spoke his form was fading. “Syn, my soul connection to this place is fading since I’m no longer needed. You’ll face a great many challenges soon. Trust Badb he knows more than you think about what is coming. Trust his guidance. Live long and prosper my friend.”

With those last words his presence vanished from my domain, there was nothing left of the man’s spirit. He had simple fadded out into somewhere else. I could still sense all the bolt holes but now they were mine, completely mine.

“Badb? What happened?” I asked as I stood to my feet.

“That is another story my friend, for now you must be ready. This will be an interesting experience.” Badb’s voice in my head held excitement, desire and fear.

“What do you…” I was cut off when my vision shifted and I found myself seated at a table in a stark white room. Badb’s calming weight sat on my shoulder, his presence radiating calm familiarity.

A smiling human appeared across the table from me, balding with round framed glasses resting on his nose. They highlighted the amusement dancing in his eyes.

“Syn, welcome to your unification process. This will be interesting since your a unique case. Normally people meeting me don’t already have a domain and aren’t born in a domain that should have failed with the death of its creator.” His voice carried hints of laughter as he spoke. “But Arawns involved so that’s really not to surprising.”

“Who are you?” I asked completely confused but remembering my manners.

“A good start! Please ask all the questions you like. I am Gregory.”