Chapter 26 - Birth of a Hero

Azurus waited at his bed side, tapping an impatient foot against the old floorboards. Roxanne's maid —Milly was her name— was dusting his chamber with a broom. She had her greying hair tied at the back and wore a long black dress with a white apron on top. She worked silently, eyes focused on her task. It was calming in a sense, listening to the sweeping brush of straws graze against the floor, almost like sitting beneath a tree as a light breeze passed by.

Sitting beneath a tree with Emeria.

Milly coughed, interrupting the silence. Azurus turned his head as she cleared her throat with her arm an inch away from her mouth. "It might help to wear a face veil when doing that," he mentioned, returning his gaze back towards the window. A missive from the queen had come more than two cycles past, giving orders to quell the insurrection. Azurus awaited a group of Queen's Guard to arrive from the Capital, still baffled at her majesty's decision to reduce her own security for this task —a task he was in charge of handling. "Breathing in dust can't be very Healthy," told Milly.

Her majesty is letting me lead this group of knights with the excuse that I've been on the field a while and have experience here… There was no other reason for the newest recruit to be put in a position of leadership. A convenient excuse so that others of higher rank in the Guard wouldn't complain.

"Your concern is appreciated, Sir Aegis," Milly said, brushing a small pile of grey into a wooden dusting pan. "Are you sure you're alright yourself? I could bring up some sweets. Might help to calm the nerves."

Azurus frowned. "Sweets don't calm nerves."

"It seems to work on the children."

"They enjoy it. It takes their running minds off of whatever else. Sugar makes one jittery. You'll notice the kids start jumping around again shortly afterwards."

"Now that you mention it…" Milly walked away, pausing before the doorway. "Is there anything you would like?" She sounded oddly like Meredith, Metsiphon's head physic. Did all women sound like that when they reached a certain age?

Anything I would like. Azurus continued to tap his foot, lost in his own thoughts about the question, not realizing that Milly was still standing in the doorway. The old manse vibrated, but it wasn't because of his tapping. Black horses and black armored knights crested the clear blue horizon, stretching out like the shadow of a reaching arm as they approached the Draumen estate. "Something I would like," Azurus repeated as he stood up and grabbed his sheathed sword that lay on his bed. "Some dried meat and hard bread that won't mold for at least a cycle. And maybe a flask of strong liquor to wash potential wounds." The last one likely wasn't necessary. Several wagons of supplies followed the guard. They would not have come unprepared.

Milly nodded as she ducked out, Azurus following afterwards. He skipped down the grand staircase, finding Lady Roxanne sitting in the common room, reading a story to Cadril as Rayn, her youngest, slept soundly with his head on her lap. Cadril was swinging his feet from the blue-cushioned couch he sat on. "Sword man," the boy cried as Azurus reached the ground floor. Roxanne's eye twitched in what appeared as a hint of annoyance.

"Forgive me, my lady. Was this a bad time?" Azurus asked.

She waved her hand. "I heard the rumbling a while ago," she said, avoiding the question. "They're here aren’t they?"

He nodded. "Are you certain I shouldn't leave some guards behind for you?"

Roxanne snorted. Something she did often when seeming confident. "Azurus, from what her majesty's letter entailed, you're likely to be outnumbered by the insurrectionist militia. You'll need every hand. Besides, what need do I have for more interrupting men when you'll be getting rid of the threat soon?"

Azurus nodded, though his instinct scratched at him. It was still up to him to decide. He was the contingent's leader after all. His original mission, it seemed, had come to an end. The queen clearly thought these insurrectionists a larger threat than the Trillians. Or perhaps she'd found the evidence she'd been seeking against the First Chancellor. Whatever the case, Azurus would no longer be capable of studying Chronary. At least not with Odain. He still had a few pages of theories and experiments that he and Odain had thought up of. The least he could do was continue researching on his own time.

"Say farewell to Lord Redmond on my behalf," Azurus said as he walked out the door, ignoring Cadril's pleas to let him swing the sword.

"Do return safely, Sir Aegis," Roxanne called after him. "This troublemaker will need a mentor when I send him to join the guard."

Azurus went outside where Eleanoire was nibbling on grass a few feet from the doors. The mare reared her head as he approached, staring expectantly, knowing that he would scratch her neck. And he did, tying his sword to her side shortly after. Milly came out and delivered the required food items before ducking back inside just as a few hundred Lotus Knights in black halted before the estate grounds. A few helmed riders clopped up to Azurus, delivering a large bundle for him.

"Your armor, Captain Azurus. And the mare's as well," one man said, his face mostly covered. The visor to his helm was raised, but his plain eyes showed no emotion. Nor did anyone else for that matter. If they were upset at having to serve under the youngest of the Guard, they did not show it. Trained to obey, but jealousy could take hold in even the hardest of men. I have no friends amongst them, Azurus reminded himself. He'd never had the opportunity to make any. He wondered if he could trust them with his back.

A single knight aided Azurus in strapping on his armor while two pairs of hands equipped a rudely snorting Eleanoire. He mounted and rode to the front of the contingent. "Move out!" he commanded, doing his best to stay calm and appear confident as Captain Aegis always seemed. He steered the contingent eastward, where this insurrection group was supposed to be stationed, taking one last glance at the Draumen estate. Roxanne and her two sons were standing outside, waving one hand as if bidding farewell to a son and elder brother. He allowed himself a smile, feeling warmth in his chest. Months spent in their home as if he were a part of it. Family, huh. Was this what that felt like?

Azurus sent out a few unarmored men to ride hard and scout the lands to the east. There weren't any major cities for many leagues. A few hundred miles southeast was Metsiphon and far north of that was the Black Marshes —the site of an ancient battle during the War of Ashes. A battle so bloody the soaked ground turned to a bog. Aside from that, nothing but vast farmlands and villages with populations in the hundreds lay between the knights and their supposed destination. Much of the land was a mellow gold, grain crops at their full height and ready to be harvested.

The harvest festival is soon, Azurus thought. Many a traveling group was on the roads, each one stepping to the side to avoid the Guard and tipping their hats in respect. Farmers and villagers traveling to neighboring residences to spend the festival with relatives and extended family. Azurus had spent every festival with Emeria since coming to serve her, exploring vibrant street markets while hidden beneath the hoods of dark cloaks. They'd managed to avoid balls held by the crown at times, and had instead slipped away to dance before bonfires on major streets.

Those memories felt ancient, having been away from Emeria's side for a more than half a dozen months. Hopefully this would be the end. Put a stop to these rebels and hope that her majesty commands me to return home. His mission as Richter could no longer continue. Word of the Lotus Knights stopping by the Draumen estate would soon spread and reach Odain's ears.

The Guard spoke little throughout the four day journey that it took, all of them obeying Azurus' order without so much as a grunt of displeasure. They hardly idled when breaking camp at night, most men going to sleep early. A well-disciplined group as they were reputed to be. On the night of the fourth, the scouts returned, reporting a group of two thousand rebels who were marching from village to village, recruiting more and more people. They were led by minor local lords. Azurus ordered the watch doubled for the night.

The camp broke afore dawn. Each man seemed like ominous spectres beneath a sunless sky when fully geared, their figures all the more harrowing once mounted on their black horses —an illusion only broken by the clattering of armor pieces and rustle of mail shirts beneath them.

Azurus wore his helm with visor kept up. Scouts with flare beacons lead the charge from a half mile ahead. Hundreds of hooves clopped down the dirt road, a deep rumble stalking them. Darkness retreated from the sky, but there was no blazing sunrise to be found. A shroud of clouds hung above as if to hide the inevitable bloodshed from the eyes in the heavens. Azurus crinkled his nose at the smell of damp soil. A smell too strong to be considered morning dew. It had rained somewhere near not a day past.

And then they came upon the perceived insurrectionists. Camped between two villages about seven leagues from each other were the targets. A ragtag camp with no lookouts or posted scouts. Azurus slowed his horse on a very minor incline, the knights riding to a gradual halt behind him. He peered down at the camp. Men were scrambling about, awakened by the approaching cavalry.

Not a shred of organization. Not a hint of a capable leader.

A short round man in the camp's center barked orders. He wore what appeared an oversized red coat. One of the only distinguishable figures within the camp. A few guards in mail surrounded him. There were a few others in rich coats with guards around them. The local lords inciting this whole sham.

Aside from them, no one else from amongst the recruited militia had any suitable equipment. No spears. No shields. Hardly any swords. What in Burning crops is this?

"Captain, your orders?" a deep voiced knight boomed, rearing his horse up to Eleanoire's side. Orne was his name. A capable second in command. "I believe we should put an end to this farce before they organize."

Azurus watched for a moment longer. He sensed the contingent's unease at his indecisiveness, the sounds of their metal plates clinking as they shuffled in their saddles not going unnoticed. "Before they organize was it?" Azurus said in a loud voice. "We could break for lunch and they wouldn't be finished organizing." Soft laughter resounded throughout the ranks, their hearts put at ease. "Raise a white flag. They've not a decent weapon amongst them. Someone go send a message. Let's see how they respond to a parley."

Orne lowered his head, saluting with a fist to his chest. "As you command," he said, riding out towards the enemy encampment himself. He was met with a group of men antagonizing him with sharpened wooden staves, though, they didn't try attacking him nor his armored horse. The fat man in the coat seemed to be running up, his guard following with drawn swords, shouting something Azurus couldn't decipher.

Orne turned back. "'You're outnumbered greatly. We've no reason to cow before a whore queen's dogs,'" he said, visor down. Azurus couldn't tell what expression he was making. "His words. Not mine."

"Did you have to repeat it verbatim?" Azurus asked, arms crossed. More laughter among the ranks. The knight shrugged, heavy armor rustling as he rejoined his peers. "Raise her majesty's banners and spread out in rows of ten!" Azurus ordered. The Guard did as was told, black banners bearing a white lotus dancing with the damp smelling breeze. As if in response, the insurrectionist camp waved flags of their own. No. Not flags. Bedsheets with a cruel painting of a lotus set ablaze. The Queen's Guard muttered amongst each other like a group of gossiping children, whispering and snickering. Outnumbered by about four to one, but not feeling threatened in the slightest. Azurus still didn't give the order to charge, one white flag flying high.

It took the entirety of dawn for the rebel militia to gather their wits. None amongst them had anything in the way of defensive equipment save for the lords' guards. They marched forth, slowly spreading out as if meaning to envelop their enemies with their greater numbers.

Azurus tightened his grip around Eleanoire's reins. This felt… wrong. Sick. Absurd. Pitchforks, staves, smithy hammers and kitchen knives. Not a militia. Just regular village peasantry and farmers like the travelers they'd passed. Hardworking citizens of Xenaria. A nation's population is its lifeblood, or so Emeria had once said. Or had Elizia said that? He couldn't recall.

Still, they marched forth.

Azurus grit his teeth. He snapped his visor down and drew his longsword. "Long live the queen!" he cried, his voice muffled by his helm. The horses neighed as heels were dug in to them. They galloped forth with all the strength of their mighty muscles. Azurus felt nothing. Not fear, not anxiety, not even confidence. He was expecting something else. Expecting soldiers and a spear wall to greet him and threaten his life so that he would at least be aroused to fight back. But there was nothing. The stave and pitchfork bearers weren't even moved to the vanguard. The militia line broke and turned tail mere seconds before the cavalry reached them.

Azurus swung down just as the Guard crashed into enemy lines. He swung just as he had practiced hundreds of times before, riding and swinging in air to get a feel for balance and horseback combat. It was no different this time. Amongst the thundering hooves and screaming men, he heard the hiss of his longsword slicing through wind clearly. The hiss turned into a soft swish, as if he were slicing through a dummy made of hay, and then his sword arm came up, half his gleaming and polished iron blade painted red.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

No resistance. No emotion. His first kill. And a terrible feeling of nausea.

He continued swinging down as his horse rampaged on, trampling all in her path. His blade went through flesh as an experienced butcher's cleaver separates meat into chunks. A pit continued to grow at the base of Azurus' throat. He held in his breath, his heart barely even audible. There was no thrill in this. Just disgust. With every swing, a scream was silenced. A life was ended. And a sin was committed.

And then there were no screams altogether. Just a few snorts of horses stalking a bloodstained field. The foolish lords that'd led this tragedy were riding away atop their shabby ponies. The sight of them forced down Azurus' nausea. He at last felt something. Anger and hatred. Their utter stupidity had led him and his men to committing this atrocity. To massacring a group of likely brainwashed peasants. It was insanity. "Bring those pigs back to me at once!" he roared, bloody sword pointed at the fleeing lords. "Alive!"

Dozens of the Queen's Guard galloped forth, their superior steeds reaching the targets with ease. The nobles were tied and dragged back to the field. Azurus dismounted, feet sinking a half inch into soft ground. He stood with his arms crossed as other knights forced the three captured targets down to their knees. Their discomfort was visible as their expensive clothes were splattered with mud. One wore a red coat, while a second was in blue and a third wearing grey. Their heads shook wildly, as if seeking some way out. The majority of the Guard were gathering bodies in one place to have them burned.

"Eyes on me," Azurus demanded.

"We don't answer to the queen's dogs," the man in grey said.

Azurus kicked the man in the gut with his iron boots. He could've sworn he'd seen the fool making eyes at Emeria at some ball a long time past. Why bother asking anything? He closed his fists. They deserve to be tortured. But it didn't make sense. These were landlords whose hands stretched no further than a village or a few farms at best. They could not possibly have thought that their insurrection would amount to much. There had to be someone else behind this. "Who ordered you to do this?"

"I said, we don't answ—" the man began, before reeling again as his ribs met with iron boots once more.

"This is the last time. Name yourselves and your sponsors," Azurus hissed, surprised at the venom in his own voice. He couldn't keep his eyes on the targets. His gaze kept flickering back to the corpses behind them. Men he'd slain as easily as breathing. "I'll count to three. If none of you speak, believe me, we'll make you wish you were dead when we're done with you."

It began to rain then. A few drops at first, slowly growing in intensity until a soft drizzle pattered against the metal plates of the Guard in a steady rhythm.

"One," Azurus said. "Two! Thr—"

"I'll talk! I'll talk," the round man in red wailed. He was crying, his tears masked by the rain. He shook against his bonds, trembling in fear. "I'll spill everything. Just promise to let me go. I have—"

"That will depend on what you say," Azurus said.

"Captain," Orne said, jogging up. "The perimeter is secure."

Azurus nodded, making note of the dejected faces of the lords kneeling before him. "You were expecting someone?"

The man in red nodded. "I am Lord Belta. This is Lords Dreyn and Poller. I-I swear this wasn't my idea," he stammered. "Lord Poller was the one to approach me. He—"

"What?" the man in grey cried. "That's a bare faced lie and you know it."

Azurus kicked the man again. "Go on," he commanded. It was natural to throw former comrades beneath hooves. Some of what he said would be a lie, but judging by how the round man quaked, there would be some truth to his words yet.

"Yes. Yes of course," Lord Belta said, prostrating repeatedly like a sycophant. "You are most merciful, Captain. As I was saying, Lord Poller was the one to approach me. I received a threatening message of sorts. Something about joining or being deemed an enemy. He showed up with a few hundred soldiers," Belta said, gesturing to the scattered bodies. "I-I had no choice but to join. I swear. They surrounded my home and—"

"Who was pulling Poller's strings?"

"I-I don't know. Some men in hoods. They gave us gold and convinced us that Xenaria was on the verge of falling. There's more armies elsewhere, scattered all over Xenaria those men said. Saw them with my own eyes. More militia like ours. They said they would help us. We were following them. Supposed to converge on the city of Heira and beat down its garrison. And—"

Azurus held up his hand. "Others? Men in hoods you said? Not lords leading them?"

"Oh. Oh no. There were lords. What were their names…?" The man thought, looking skyward, blinking furiously as a raindrop entered his eye.

"Names are not important," Azurus said. Minor lords he'd never heard of. Those weren't the puppeteers. "The men in hoods. Who are they? What did they promise you?"

"I-I don't know," Belta stammered. "I swear it upon Trillia's holy name. I swear it, Captain. They promised us grand positions in the capital. Told us when to keep marching and where. I truly don't know anymore. We were going to Heira and—"

"Heira?" Azurus asked, hissing. The man had mentioned it before, but just now, the image of the Draumen estate came back to him. Lady Roxanne was too proud to give in to rabble like these, and her manor was a short distance from the city.

Family…

If any insurrectionists went to the Draumen estate as they threatened to…

"Yes, Heira. I—"

Azurus roared as he swung his sword, taking three heads in one clean stroke. Outmaneuvered? Us, the Lotus Knights? Something was amiss with this insurrection. It almost felt as if the Guard's movements were being read. A spy in her majesty's court? Was it Chancellor Adrian? Or was Azurus reading too deeply into the situation? Did it matter? His family was —my family? He pinched the top of his nose with his gloved fingers. A few months at the Draumen estate has turned me into this.

Another group marching towards Heira. Except, the Guard and their scouts had come across no such army. There were the occasional travellers. Quite a lot of travellers, come to think of it…

"Leave the bodies," Azurus commanded. There was no time to gather them up and burn them under the rain. "We ride for Heira!"

***

Another hard four day gallop back the way they'd come. And no more travelers met upon the road. Azurus didn't want to hurt the mounts, but noxious fear clawed at his kindness, scraping it away to leave a wound festering with malice. Embers of rage still glowed within his heart. Innocent farmers and villagers had been dragged into an ill game being played by an unknown figure.

Heira could be seen early into the fourth day, the cavalry returning a half day faster than when they'd left. The cooling breeze of harvest season carried a faint burning smell. The city appeared unharmed. No sieging forces as Lord Belta had claimed. Not a hint of anything amiss. Azurus patted the side of Eleanoire's armored neck. Just a little more, girl. About six miles more to Heira's walls and a little less than that to Lady Roxanne's home. He dug in with his heel, pushing her hard as the tired mounts of his knights struggled to follow.

As the Lotus Knights drew nearer to the city, the bitter smell grew greater in strength. It didn't come from Heira herself, but beyond. The contingent arrived at the Draumen estate. Azurus swallowed a pit stuck in his throat. A husk of a manor still stood to greet him; Blackened old stone walls with creeping ivy turned to dust, shattered windows and doors, and trampled upon garden flowers that had survived the fires.

But the murdered manse was not the ghastliest sight upon which to lay eyes. Azurus turned to the great maple from where Cadril would swing. There, tied to the same thick branch was not the swing, but Roxanne herself, along with Redmond, and their maid and butler, Anaril and Milly. Ropes around their necks. Fleas buzzing around their pale, dead appearance. Tattered dresses and trousers swayed by wind, dancing around cold ankles marred with soot.

The Queen's Guard stopped at the mansion's side, some dismounting to investigate while others left to secure the perimeter and scout ahead. Azurus dismounted and ran to the maple tree. Ran hard in all his heavy armor, snapping his visor down to hinder his own vision, praying to the Flames that the ones who hung were not the Draumens. But he knew that they were. He just didn't want to see it. Wanted desperately to deny it and be told that he was wrong.

They were a family. A loving and kind family Burn it! A pair of lovely parents and their children. They were the first example of a modest and normal family that Azurus had seen. Something he, an orphan, had often longed for. He fell to his knees before the tree, recognizing each and every face through the slits in his visor. "No… No, no, no. Why…?" He struggled against his helm, shaking his head back and forth as he pulled it off, sweat filled dark brown hair plastered against his head. He buried his face in his gauntleted hands and wailed.

"Captain," Orne's deep voice said after a long while, placing a hand upon Azurus' shoulder. "We found unrecognizable remains of a child within the manor. Some parts still smoldered. This… incident at the earliest occurred sometime early last night."

Azurus nodded, slowly rising. "Get them down from the tree. We'll give them a proper burial." The man nodded before stalking off to call for more hands. Azurus stumbled off towards his horse, his only friend amongst the contingent. He just wanted someone to talk to. Someone to speak his emotions to. And something to direct this hatred towards…

"Captain!" another of the Guard called. "Tracks. What appears to be hundreds of footsteps heading southward for well over a mile. We didn't follow it any further. Do we chase?"

Azurus nodded grimly. But they couldn't set out right away. At least whoever it was that'd done this heinous deed was on foot. He couldn't afford to break down. He was still the contingent's leader. He'd had his moment of mourning. The knights didn't need their leader sitting alone and brooding as well. "Rest the horses," he croaked, still wanting to cry. "Get feed from the city. We give chase after dawn." Azurus approached Eleanoire and pressed his forehead to hers. The horse snorted as he scratched her chin. "You did well girl. It was my fault. I shouldn't have listened. I bloody shouldn't have listened. I should’ve left guards here. I should've…"

He let out a stretched sigh. The sun was nearing the western side as evening fast approached. Azurus stared down the dirt road to Heira. Approaching towards the estate was a carriage with painted trillium flowers, followed by a dozen Trillian mercenaries and a dozen more soldiers in dark blue Heiran guardsman livery. Azurus closed one hand into a fist, the other wrapping around the hilt of his sword. Now they approach? When the deed has already been done?

But how could he blame them? He'd failed to see this attack himself. He'd let slip past hundreds of militia, dismissing them as travellers. Why would Heira's guard think any different?

The carriage halted a short distance from the camped knights. Odain stepped out of it wearing a clean white coat with weavings of golden trillium flowers near its base. He had that same beautiful sword at his waist. The Vicegerent walked forward with his arms behind his back, a curious frown on his face as he approached Azurus. "Richter?" he asked. Azurus shook his head in response. Odain scratched his chin, looking thoughtful and wise despite his rather youthful skin. "You're a member of the Royal Guard. Which only means… you were spying on me."

"That is the case, yes," Azurus admitted, looking down at his feet. He held no hostility against Odain. He'd somewhat begun looking up to him as a teacher in their Chronary studies.

"I suppose that explains your honorable behaviour and initial hostility towards me. Rest assured, young man, I hold no qualms with having taught you what I did. I have confidence that you won't misuse any knowledge regarding that."

"Of course not! I'll do my best to expand upon it and seek ways to help—"

Odain held up a hand. Azurus, to his own surprise, stopped talking. "Spying on me, hmm? I suppose it had something to do with our large numbers of armed hands?" Azurus nodded. "That's quite alright. It is right for her majesty to fear something like this. But you know better now. We hold no ill will and have no desire for conflict. Now, regarding what happened here…"

Azurus spilled the details, unable to contain himself. He needed an outlet. And Odain was that person with which he could engage in conversation. He mentioned everything, from the insurrection, to the threatening letter Roxanne had received.

Odain scratched at his chin again. "The wall guards saw the manor burning at night," he said. "We thought it best to wait till daylight to come investigate. Alas, I got occupied with my duties and have only just found the time. Heira's governor… is peculiar. I'm not quite sure why he didn't send out an investigation team at dawn. But we're here now, and will have to take your report."

Azurus nodded. He looked down at his feet. Even after all that talking, he still felt sick inside. He failed miserably. Not only had he not completed his original mission, but was actively failing in his current one, taking a reactionary role rather than a proactive one. Always one step behind, always playing another's game. A vile game that had led to him slaughtering peasants as easily as heated knives slice butter. A game where an innocent family and their children had been slain because they chose the wrong side to remain loyal to.

"This is sickening," Azurus said to Odain. "I let her die. I should've left guards here. I—"

"Young man…" the Vicegerent interjected.

"I killed unarmed farmers with these two hands. I killed unjustly just as Lady Roxanne was killed unjustly. And… And I won't stop. They're marching south. More farmers manipulated by the words of another. What am I to do? This isn’t what I imagined being a Royal Guard to be. This isn't the heroics I always dreamt of. Its nothing but nonsensical violence. Am I helping or am I the villain? I—"

"Young man," Odain interrupted again. "You are most certainly not the villain."

"Then what am I?"

Odain closed his eyes and exhaled. "A hero, of course," he said with a smile, resting a hand upon Azurus' thick black pauldrons.

"What?" I'm no hero. I'm a killer. I'm—

"A hero's journey is never an easy one. The books we read, the stories we tell, they instill morals, but cut out the hardship that one might come across. Morals are instilled because heroes don't want others facing the same hardships that they face. They don't want others to walk upon the same torched passage that they've tread. To be a hero, young knight, is to carry the greatest burden of all. What you're feeling is guilt, and every hero suffers from such."

"The people will call you a hero for your feats." Odain continued. "For stories told by second, third, fourth hand accounts. The soldiers, however, will call you a hero for the time you buy them. That moment, that single breath, when everything is lost and they see their future covered in shadow, that last fleeting second when they see your back standing tall, fighting on. That moment is what inspires them, is what turns the tides, and is when you become a true hero. In that single moment, your blade must move faster than time. Faster than your own heart, your own mind. Abandon rationale. Abandon all thought and push through, or forever doom the light of day." Odain sighed again. "I don’t like conflict. But I'm not fool enough to believe that life can pass without it. You've lived among the Draumens, young man. This hurts you most, of course. But you know best what kind of people they were, and whether they deserve avenging. Regardless of your thoughts, these farmers that have killed Lady Roxanne and Lord Redmond have committed a sin. They will commit more yet if they are not stopped. Not slain. Kill them. Win. Become a hero. That is the only consoling I can provide you. Conquer your guilt and carry on."

Azurus swallowed for the tenth time that evening. He nodded, wiping his eyes with the backs of his armored hands. All he really could do was move forward. Chase after those that had killed an innocent family, and then return to the capital. Azurus turned to his knights. "Someone ride to the capital and inform her majesty of what has transpired here."

Odain turned away and stepped into his carriage. The Heiran soldiers took a report from the Queen's Guard and headed back towards the city. Azurus looked up at the clear sky, its light dimming with sunset approaching. Am I really cut out for this?

That thought had to wait. For now, he had a responsibility to fulfill.

***

Odain leaned in towards one of his personal soldiers. Not the riff raff recruited from Heira's streets, but his replacement honor guard from the Thousand Sun City disguised as priests. "Make sure that messenger does not reach the capital." Everything was turning out exactly as intended. The boy was playing into his hands. "Use one of my birds to send this to the queen instead," Odain said, slipping a letter of his own into the soldier's hands. A sweet letter that painted Roxanne Draumen as a traitor and insurrectionist that just had to be slain.

And of course, any news that the queen received was likely to enter Duke Serene's ears as well. And currently, Princess Emeria was supposed to be at Arcaeus, with the head of her guard being Radis Draumen. I wonder how he'll react, Odain thought as he boarded the carriage, smiling to himself. He had also left enough hints within the pages of Chronary theories possessed by Azurus. Hints that might just lead to something grander, assuming the boy was smart enough to decipher them and driven far enough into a corner to use that knowledge. Become a hero, young knight. Become a hero.