The summer wind greets everyone in the capital city of Heavenshore as the sun stands in the middle of the sky. Filled with houses of white stone, and orange roofs. Streets are well cared for, with people constantly bumping with each other as they walk the streets with full baskets of food.

But there was tension among the citizens, windows closed, and children were kept inside. With guards wearing ornate steel armor with chainmail helmets that covered most of their faces, they observed the people with hawkeyes.

And near the shore, overlooking the endless sea west lays a castle. Its many towers with armed guards carrying crossbows in their hands, and their walls let the banners of the kingdom of Luath move with the wind. A blue background with a golden majestic bird carrying in its claws a sword, and in its beak a scroll hiding within a secret.

The castle itself was large, and while it put focus on looking like a beautiful piece of architecture meant to impress anyone who laid eyes on it, its shape, form, and positioning were clear signs of its beginnings as a powerful fortress, and anyone could see it since the castle was so tall and large that you could see it from anywhere within and outside the city.

Watching over anything that the horizon reached as if making a statement.

And inside it, kneeled a knight.

"Thank you for telling me this, Liam," king Frodiff the untamed said after taking in the information his knight had provided after his encounter with the two cloaked strangers.

Frodiff is a man of pleasures and warfare. Dressed like any man of his status should, but his boots are for the training camp and not the ballroom, and his fluffy blonde hair should have been cut weeks ago. With a strong physique and sharp edges to his face, his blue sapphire eyes look at the safety of the castle walls with disinterest as his right-hand rests on the handle of his sword.

Liam takes it as his chance to stop looking at the blue carpet and stands up. Now looking at the decorated throneroom with its stained glass window right above the ornate white wood throne. Standing at each side of the king his royal guard. A man hid beneath silver plates of armor, a long blue cloak with golden patterns, and his helmet a sharp point like the long beak of a bird.

But taking in more attention than the king himself was the other guard, monstrous in size almost four meters tall its body was unnaturally thin. They too were covered in silver plates that kept the creature beneath it a secret, it squatted next to the king with a giant sword only a creature its size could wield, its end was a hook and the blade itself was a deep red, like if it was made out of freshly spilled blood.

"You are on the path of becoming a hero, so I expect these two aggressors to be found and their heads to be brought to me" his bored tone suddenly grew more serious, almost threatening "and if you lose the sword of Akania to them or anyway...your punishment will be swift" with a wave of his hand, Liam is dismissed.

The knight leaves the inner fort of the castle and has to go down a tall set of stairs where more guards stand vigil, Ludica waits for him at the foot of the stairs.

Without the steel plates on herself, the careful details of lines sewn into the tunic can be seen, and allow now to see her ample bosom that steals the impure glances of the standing guards. Her auburn hair twirls and falls beneath her shoulders held tight and tall in a fluffy ponytail, her white eyes meet Liam's and she offers a small practiced smile.

"How did it go?" she asks, her sweet playful, knowing well Liam's distaste for the king.

"Short. It is the best I can ask for every time I have to do this" he replies with a sigh, giving her his left arm so she can hold on to it "But at least that's over, let's go home"

"Of course," she accepts it and grabs his arm as they walk out of the castle walls and into the city.

A head taller than her, the couple walks through the crowds as the men glance at the priestess as subtly as a kick in the head, and their wives smile at Liam with hungry eyes. Only the children looking at them from the few open windows look at them with admiration.

They reach a fancy home near the main plaza of the city, south of the castle that faces east. They enter the finely furnished home, with paintings and the walls white in color.

"I will make something in a moment, go check on your little charity," Ludica says bringing Liam's face close for a kiss, but he refuses, staring at her with annoyance.

"Don't call him like that"

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"You know it's affectionate" she replies, and Liam leans close for a kiss "Tell him to come down and help me once he is done with you," Ludica says caressing his cheek before letting go and walking away into the house.

Liam relaxes and smiles at her as she walks away, turning away before seeing her wipe her mouth with her hand. He walks up to the second floor and enters his large room, an empty armor stand next to the window looking at the street outside. He lets his bastard sword rest next to it and lets his red cloak fall on the wooden floor.

"Liam," a boy says, dressed humbly for the wealth that surrounds him, standing beneath the doorway with his arms crossed.

"Gotz, want to help me?" Liam asks with a smile as he stretches his arms, for getting out of that suit of armor that needed an extra pair of hands.

The boy is at least eleven years old, he sighs and with a calm but serious expression he walks up to him, Liam turns around and Gotz can begin taking out the pieces of armor.

He has light brown hair, silky and reaching below his ears, his eyes a powerful emerald green look at everything with disinterest, and his skin is a little tanned, a sign of life in the field before coming to the city.

"Did you finish your studies while we were out?" he asks, taking out his helmet and tossing it on the nearby bed.

"Yes," Gotz gives a dry, immediate answer "Can I join the knighthood?" his question makes Liam sigh, a question he is forced to hear every time he returns home.

"No, Gotz. You need to be fourteen and pass the test of knowledge before you even have a chance at proving your might in the test of arms" Liam helps with the task, taking out his gauntlets "Once you know at least all the basics I will personally take you to them, be patient"

"I don't want to be patient...he could be dead by the time I become a knight" he replies, his voice sour as the cuirass falls to the floor loudly and he kneels to help with the cuisess and greaves "Just let me be your squire, I can learn faster by watching you"

"You know I can't, you are the son of a carpenter "

"Can't you lie and say I'm your son?"

"And say what? That I made you when I was five years old? Not even I was that lucky with the ladies at that age" Liam chuckles, and even if he doesn't see it, Gotz smiles briefly too "Just be patient and keep studying, with my recommendation you will at least be able to try the tests...and demons don't die of old age, you have all the time in the world"

Once the cuisess fall as well Liam turns around, showing the plain white shirt and brown leather pants, as well as his hairy chest and toned muscles. Two golden rings hanging from his neck in a leather lace

"Now go help Lud to prepare the food, she doesn't show it but she misses you too," Liam says as he messes up Gotz's hair, and the boy leaves the room.

His smile slowly fades as he looks at the street outside his window, and then at the castle, lost in thought as he takes out his necklace, looking at the two rings for a moment before leaving it hanging from a nail stuck to the wall.

Ludica cuts the onions and radishes with precision, her expression unlike any she puts on when there are eyes on her. Playing the role of the wife chokes the life out of her, but it is something she has to tolerate, her face reflects on the boiling water of the cauldron, and she can almost see the sentinel standing behind her, mocking her.

The footsteps of the boy shake her from her delusion, and the practiced smile returns as she turns around to greet him.

"Finally, there is some meat on the table, it's too hard for my delicate hands to cut. Can you lend me your strength oh mighty hero?" she says pointing at it, and Gotz simply walks over to the table and begins cutting the meat silently.

She holds her stare on him for a few seconds, it always amazes her when she sees the vibrant red aura of the young boy, that envelops his body almost like a furious fire. He just can't stop thinking about it, can he? Reliving the moment time and time again.

A child who lost a father in the worst way possible. Killed right in front of his eyes.

The night comes, and with Gotz inside his bedroom, Ludica gets nude to enter a cold wooden tub that the boy filled with water earlier. Her body is carefully groomed, not a hair in sight or imperfection, and roses float on the water to so that she always smells of them.

"Leaving so soon? I hoped we could spend some time together tonight, in the comfort of a warm bed" she asks, smiling mischievously.

"You are cruel, Lud. You know we can't do that until I'm named hero" Liam replies as he secures the personalized scabbard for his sword on his back, made so that he can carry the large blade and wield it if the need arose, but only with the light clothes he now wears.

"I meant hugging each other, sleeping together in blissful silence as always" she glances at him, they are inside their room "What did your impure mind think about?" Liam shakes his head lightly as Ludica chuckles.

"I'll be back later," he says approaching her and kissing her on her forehead.

"Say hello to your friends for me, would you?"

Liam doesn't respond, instead, he closes the door behind him, letting Ludica rest her tired face. Always smiling, always becomes so tiring.

With moans of pleasure, a wooden bed hits the wall frantically as the smell and sounds of sex permeate the entire room, a group of girls of all ages lean against a door outside of the room, giggling and trying to peek inside before a much older woman shoos them away.

Finally, release as the woman screams in ecstasy, and Liam lets out a grunt of pleasure as he rests on top of her. A young woman, with a face so cute and pure it is almost hard for him to look at her, but it is her light brown hair and brown eyes that made him choose her, and always her, from among all other more experienced and more sought after whores.

He leaves the bed slowly and with heavy breathing sits on a nearby chair, catching his breath and using a wet towel to clean the sweat off his chest and face. His eyes look at the woman, still laying on the bed lost in her world, and then at the belt on the ground.

Even if he knows he shouldn't, he can't help it and reaches for it, taking out from within the leather pouch the object of his inner turmoil, of his guilt.

A wooden comb with a white daisy painted carefully on it.