Within a courtyard of a large manor sat a girl, this manor was at the center of a large city in an area that was surrounded by a wall dividing the homes that were owned by those within the middle and lower class to the aristocrats. While it was visible that the girl had begun to experience the physical changes that came with her teenage years she still maintained a youthful appearance that most would confuse her for a child if not for her eyes which exhibited both maturity and determination. She has long vibrant red hair and wore plain but clearly expensive clothes that were for the purpose of training. The clothes clung tightly to her body showing that physical training was not something that was foreign to her.

Surrounding the girl were two floating figures. The two figures were the size of a fist and seemed to be created out of flames, the shape which they took was much harder to identify as it was constantly fluctuating and stretching. It was as if the orbs were a prison and within it were creatures constantly attempting to break free. On occasions the orbs would protrude a set wings, but as soon as they appeared they would be pulled back in by the orb. As this was happening around her the girl simply sat there unmoving with her eyes closed. The only signs of life that she gave was the slow consistent breathing and the occasional squinting of her eyes.

As they were focusing a person appeared, they were in formal attire and seemed to be a servant. What stood out was the fact that this servant made no noise as they approached the girl. The way that they presented themselves with every step they took was perfect, but it also did not come out as forced. As they continued to get closer they eventually stopped and before that could even speak the girl opened her eyes, stood up and faced the servant. This action led to no response from the servant as if it had not been the first time the girl had done this. The servant then began to speak and after a few moments the girl provided a brief response and began to follow the servant.

Within the second story of the manor was a young boy whose appearance was identical to that of the girl. The boy was looking out of a large window staring at the two figures within the courtyard. While it was clear that the boy's attention was mainly focused on the figures within the courtyard, specifically the girl, he was also passively focused on listening to the conversation that was occurring behind him. Behind him were six men, five of them were sitting on a large table having a discussion.

Four of the men at the table were wearing similar clothes that while looking to be made of expensive material the designs appeared to be more intentionally modest. These four men sat at the sides of the table and each faced towards the man at the end of the table. Unlike the others this man had no intentions of hiding his wealth and his clothing was both made from expensive material and had a multitude of complex designs on them with each article of clothes clearly haven taken a tremendous amount of effort to create.

“To think that that traitorous noble would not only lead to the destruction of an entire city and its people, but also die not as a traitor but a noble and pious person.”

This was said by one of the men at the side of the table, an older man named Reginald who was the head of House Valen, one of the families that was closely tied to the royal family and had large influence when it came to military matters. To him there was nothing more important than the loyalty towards the crown; this was a quality which was not only ingrained to him but every member of House Valen which led to them holding a strong position after the end of the war. It was clear that while he was upset by the decision that was just made, he also knew that once it was settled there was nothing that could be done about it.

Another one of the men at the side who, while also old, only appeared to be around his sixties compared to Reginald who appeared to be more in his eighties jumped into the discussion.

“While I am also hesitant about declaring the incident as an attack from outside forces and not one that came internally. I feel that this is the best action until we receive a proper report in person of the events that unfolded.”

Of the two other men at the side one simply nodded while the other simply looked at his peers.

Then the man at the end of the table began to speak.

“Now that this matter is settled it’s time that we begin the preparations for what we began to discuss last time.”

The man at the end of the table then looked at the man who had only nodded in agreement. This man was named Noah Leizman and was the one who was in charge of information. Aside from the child who had moved away from the window and was now focusing on the discussion he was the youngest within this room at twenty-eight and had received his position a bit over a decade ago at the end of the war taking over the previous head of intelligence who was his mentor.

Noah then stood up walking to a drawer that was on the side of a room and pulled out a large piece of paper. Then when he returned to the table he laid the paper revealing it to be a map. To those in the room it was clear that it was a map of the three kingdoms within the alliance and was marked with many different notes such as lines and arrows but within two different points were bright red circles surrounding the points of interest. One of the circles was in the southern region of the map circling a structure labeled as the Golden Fortress. Directly south there was another label named the Golden Canyon then a short distance north from the fortress there was a label titled Resplendent the other circle point on the map was on a label titled Havland then Noah began to speak.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“After having multiple private discussions with other high ranking officers we have determined that within the time frame that you have established that the location with the best likelihood of success would be the golden fortress.”

He then looked at the man at the end of the table for confirmation and having received it he then looked down clearly nervous about what he was about to say next.

“Having said this there is also one big issue, recently rumors have been going around that the City of Resplendent and all of its surrounding territories will be granted to a member of the Knights of the Sand with Resplendent being the closest city to the Golden Fortress I personally believe that the only way to succeed with no major issues is if we send a member of the Phoenix Order.”

Hearing this the man at the end of the table took a moment to think and then began to speak.

“These rumors, how much validity to them have you found?”

Noah hearing this then responded

“These rumors were ones which we were recently aware of and after a further investigation have confirmed the source to be from a Resplendent official with too loose of a tongue.”

“Very well”

The man at the end of the table responded then turned his attention from the men at the table to the one standing at his side who had been quiet this entire time.

Unlike the others in the room the man was wearing a full set of armor which clearly showed that he was a member of the Phoenix Order. What made them unique was that they carried an enormous shield and his equally enormous figure which made him seem almost inhumane. If not for the small movement which was created when they took a breath one would think that they were a statue depicting an exaggeration of a member of the Phoenix Order.

“You saw them in action. Do you believe that the only way to complete this operation is by sending a member of the Order?”

The man began to speak with a deep and monotone voice that could cause the hairs on a person's arm to raise.

“If we are to assume that the rumor is true, then the city will most likely be given to one of the three veteran members. From those veteran members two will take around a day to make the trip from Resplendent to the Golden Fortress meaning that they would not be able to have an impact on the operation.”

“And the third?”

“This is where a problem could arise. I do not know the extent of his abilities, but I believe that he could make the same trip in an hour, maybe even less. While they are not the strongest of the three I do believe that they are strong enough to impact the operation.”

“Then we shall send a member of the Order to assist in this operation. The question now is which one?”

“Taking into account the time it will take for the emergency message to reach Resplendent. We will have around four hours. This short time frame means that we should not use one of the two novice members. Five of our veteran members are busy which leaves us with only one and as luck would have it the one available will be perfect for this task.”

With that decided the discussion continued for around an hour as it moved onto other aspects about the operation. It eventually came to an end and the men at the side of the table began to leave the room. The man in armor then faced the man at the end of the table and after receiving a nood of confirmation he made his way outside of the room. Each step he took illustrated the incredible weight of the man as if it was a hammer being smacked against the floor. As the man made it out of the room he closed the door and only a few steps were heard making it clear that they were simply waiting outside.

The man then faced the only other person in the room, his son who was now also facing his father. The man then motioned to his son to come closer and began to speak.

“You know when my father died the cries from the streets could be heard for weeks. His death was an event so large that it will stay in their minds for the rest of their lives. When I die the same will occur. So let me ask you, what do you think will occur when you die? How are the people going to feel?”

The boy was initially confused by this question not understanding why it was asked, but tried to think and answer it honestly.

“They would mourn me-.”

Hearing this the man suddenly slammed his fist against the table and began to speak in a low but stern voice.

“You're wrong, they will feel nothing. Your death to them will be equivalent to that of an ant. Do you know why? Because you are nothing. You have nothing? You are not the heir to the kingdom. Not only are you inferior to your brothers, but also to that sister of yours. If things continue like this you will be nothing but a tool for those with power to use like your mother.”

The boy said nothing and instead focused on ensuring that the sadness and frustration which was now created inside him did not show. Seeing this the man then calmed down and began to talk in a calmer softer voice while putting his hand on his son's shoulder.

“Despite your current uselessness, do you know why I still keep you by my side? Why I put any sort of effort into nurturing you?”

“N-No”

“It's because when I see you I see more. I see a man who will not only change the kingdom but the whole world. Someone who will like me will elevate the lives and position of his people.”

“...”

“So let me ask you one final question. Do you want to remain the nobody that you are now or do you want to become someone who will be remembered, someone who the people will mourn for?”

“ I-I want to be someone.”

“Good, the world will soon be shaken to its core by a tremendous whirlwind and you will be at the center of it.”