Duke Akitomo always kept a formality between himself and even his family unless he lost his temper. His long-receded hair left a peek at his forehead, and his dark hair hung straight and cropped. Today, he donned traditional scale armor about his wide shoulders. He found a shrine up in the mountain peaks and had his men tear it down and burn it, obliterating the history of those who occupied the mountain hollow before his family.
Henry followed him to a high precipice and looked east, where the land tumbled down to the deserts. “When the empire arrived from some distant shore, they became great rulers and ended the Dark Ages. They’re gone, their blood integrated into the realm, but the nobility preserves their names. It’s time you chose your Old Empire name.”
It was time for Henry to choose a name and, worse, to take land and responsibility from his father. The gifted land lay somewhere out in the far hills, and someday soon he would have to leave and squeeze supplies from the inhabitants, and he would have to prepare to raise an army when his father called upon him.
Later, Henry stood in the grand hall with his hands behind his back, facing the high chair surrounded by black marble walls. “Yes, father. I have chosen.”
“And what will it be?”
“Akisane.”
“Good.” The Duke turned sharply and addressed those in the chamber. “Leave us. I want to speak to my son alone.”
The Duke’s gravelly voice held the tone of someone speaking to a lesser lord rather than a son. “Akisane, your brother plans to cut my life prematurely. You’ve known this, and yet you haven’t taken action. It's so sweet of you to care so deeply about family, but now it’s time for you to become a man and do your duty.”
Henry smoothed his features. He didn’t want to reveal any emotion. “I’m only looking for an opportune moment, Your Grace. At first, I thought I could talk sense into him, but the upstates, the Knights of the Monolith, have led him astray.”
“Preposterous. The thirteenth won’t be a bunch of criminals and unworthy lords. Have you found where they meet?”
“They seem to gather in different locations every time.”
The Duke stood from the high chair and approached. “There will always be rats in the dukedom. Until your departure, I want you to join my Shadowed Hand, a small group of talented individuals who can influence events in the realm in my favor. But first, I have a test for you.”
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
“What must I do?”
His father squeezed his arm until it hurt. “Tonight, you do the deed, or I will disown you. My patience grows thin, and I want this problem gone.”
A guard swung the heavy door open. “Your Grace, I apologize, but Lord William insists on seeing you.”
A scowl passed over the Duke’s face at the intrusion. He let go of Henry’s shoulder and glanced with disdain at the eldest son.
“Yes, I do,” William said, barging past the guard. “Too many whispers around the castle, father. You’d think everyone was conspiring behind locked doors.”
The Duke’s mouth curled in the facsimile of a smile. “My first son. I was just talking to Henry about women. I guess I’ve had that talk with you, yet still, you’re unmarried.”
“Oh, women. It’s been a long time since we sat around and bantered. What do you think of the girls from the Shimmer? I hear they’ll stab you in the back if you fall out of their favor.”
Henry knew he flinched, but his brother seemed to read his intent. William looked just like their father, minus thirty years and without the stature. “I apologize, but I can’t stay and catch up. I have duties.”
The Duke waved him away and approached William, standing a head taller. “I want my sons to be strong. Our house will be dominant, I can assure you. There will be sacrifices, but we must act not in our own interests but in the interest of our family. Anything can be excused if you fulfill your duty. Now, I don’t care about today’s obligations. I want both of you to man the gate until you rediscover your family bonds.”
William stared hard at Henry. “Is that so?”
“You are dismissed.”
The brothers walked silently through the winding stairways and narrow halls to the west wall, along it to the inner gate, and then along a catwalk in the cliffs to the main gate. Beyond the entry to the castle, the bridge, and the foothills lay a vast grassland. Around Dunaguard and small towns was a patchwork of farmland that stretched into the blued distance. It looked browner than usual; perhaps the rains hadn’t come yet.
William leaned against the parapet and folded his arms. “Do we have to maintain this charade? If you want to kill me, then let’s not waste time.”
Akisane drew the black blade at his side and remembered finding it at William’s side. They’d traveled far, hundreds of leagues to the south in tangled swamps, and found it from a haunted lake. Some inherit or forge a demon blade, but some rarely find a weapon hidden in the world. “I don’t want to kill you. You know why I must do this.”
Henry
Level: 7
Focus: Telekinesis
Secondary focus: Shadow walker
Weapons: demon sword - 5% corrupt