Current date in world: July 19, 2326 TP

“Finally gone,” a refined feminine voice said.

Another person had exited the duke’s carriage.

She was a young woman who was dressed just as fine, perhaps even finer than the duke. She had straight brown hair that was styled into a ponytail. Her skin was fair and her eyes were auburn. She lacked the defining traits of a true blooded Agenorian noble, yet she stood with a confidence that suggested she was on an equal level to Aurelio.

It was Amalia, the Flame Spire.

She was one of the duke’s daughters that had been born as a bastard, though she had been legitimized as one of his true blooded children. This was thanks in part to the fact that when she had been taken to the kingdom’s sacred Crownborn authentication chamber as a young child, she had been revealed to be an impure Crownborn. Her mother was completely Bloodfallen, yet her father’s pure Crownborn blood was enough to pass down the gift to her. On top of that, despite being an impure Crownborn, she had managed to become a Bellatorex.

She was a bastard born, impure Crownborn Bellatorex.

She looked at Aurelio, examining him with a keen eye. “You would not believe how annoying father can get. I know you think he is unsufferable. But if you had to ride in that carriage with him all the way up here you would think what interactions you have had with him were cozy, comforting walks among the flowers. That was the longest amount of time I have ever spent with him and I dare say I will never spend that much amount of time with him for so long, and so cramped again. Unlike you, my honorable lord, I love my father very much, but I find myself sympathizing with you despite your unwarranted disdain for him.”

Her eyes then moved quickly to the side.

Carlos was still there by Aurelio. He had been silent this entire time, but it was obvious many thoughts had been running through his mind as these back-to-back interactions with the duke, and now his daughter played out.

“He is a pretty thing,” she said eyeing Carlos as if he were a piece of art displayed for her critical eye. “I have met him a few times, but he never left any remarkable impressions. His head looks hollow. Yes, definitely hollow. Hopefully the main gallery has something a bit more interesting.”

“My lady,” Fidivos said. “That is a prince of the royal family. That was quite rude.”

“Well then, he has every right to respond in kind. Or if he would like to, he could utilize the Grand High Master Jester.”

“As much as I would hate to have to fulfill my royal duties, alas, you are correct my lady. If he chooses not to respond, then it is my responsibility to respond in his place.”

“Uh,” Carlos said. “It’s fine. I am not offended by the lady’s words. If I seem to be lacking then I must find out how I can improve.”

“Since the prince is unwilling to respond himself, then it is up to me to fulfill my royal duty.” Fidivos grinned, his smile was full of devious delight.

“No, really, it is fine. There is no need to carry this any further.”

“Acting in defense of the prince, I, Fidivos, hereby conduct my royal duties to respond to such insults as is necessary of my position. Lady Amalia, you are a good for nothing girl who thinks she knows everything she needs to know, but you can be quite dull minded when it comes to certain things such as that one time when you insulted the dwarves of Mount Thaleia who were supposed to forge your Bellatorite arms. The amount of additional fees, apologies and promises that could have been avoided if you had kept your mouth shut would have saved dear old Duke Wingurich from so much trouble. It is a miracle that—”

“You insulted the dwarves of Mount Thaleia?” Aurelio exclaimed cutting Fidivos off. He had worked so hard to strengthen the Agenorian kingdom’s relations with dwarven kingdom of Thaleia for years. This was the first time he had heard of this insult. Despite how tired and strained he was, a flame sparked from within him. She may be a Bellatorex, but she was an impure Crownborn, she might as well be a pure Bloodfallen. “What in the name of the Ten Holy Prongs have you done? Why am I now just learning of this?”

“Relax. Relax.” Amalia said. “The dwarves and I are good friends now. Sure, I may have made fun of their beards a little bit, but that’s in the past. They love me quite a bit actually. I think I have visited them more than you have, well at least within the last two years anyways. My lovely spear of Brass Bellatorite was forged in their mountain smithy. My armor is also currently being forged there. It is a gift from my father for a special occasion.”

“Your tongue is very loose Lady Amalia. I must kindly ask you to keep yourself under control while in my presence. We may technically be of the same military rank, but I am your senior and the leader of this city and county. Please, show some respect.”

“My apologies, Lord Aurelio. I can get carried away sometimes. Blame father, he has spoiled me. He showered me with all of the luxuries befitting of a noble daughter while not ever requiring me to take my lessons. I never was able to learn proper noble woman behavior.” Her tone shifted and suddenly her whole demeanor changed. “That aside, I do have very important things to discuss with you. Would you mind riding along with me?” She now sounded very serious. “I suppose Prince Carlos can come along as well.”

Amalia stepped onto the chariot of Fidivos.

Was she going to ride with him? Why did she need to bring this jester with her?

Aurelio sighed.

He was too tired to care. Too tired to think anymore on the subject. He was still furious about her remark concerning the dwarves. He still found her to be unsavory because of her impure origins, despite the fact that she had been legitimized and was a Bellatorex like him. But his spark of burning flame quickly died down into smoldering coals. He would humor her, but he would do so on his own terms. Without saying another word, he started to ride to his palace.

Within a few seconds, Carlos and Fidivos had caught up to him and started riding at his pace.

“Look,” Amalia began. “I am here under direct orders of the king. I did not come here accompanying my father. He came here accompanying me. He did not need to come, but he insisted. My orders are to stay here and help you fortify the northern border. Intelligence gathered by the king’s network of scouts and spies suggests that Mavrodaxius is just the beginning of something bigger to come. The king wants at least two Bellatorexes active in this region at all times from this point forward.”

Aurelio was stunned. She was barely a woman grown. Sure, she had become a Bellatorex, a feat that no mere mortal could achieve without sheer determination and strength, but she did not look battle hardened at all. From how he understood it, it sounded like she was going to replace Duke Belus. Was this Duke Wingurich’s work? Had this been his design to have one of his bastards come and replace one of the greatest men the kingdom had ever known? It was nonsense, yet she said it with such confidence as if it were true. Then he noticed that she was waving a rolled-up scroll that had all the signs and details on it that signified its authenticity as being directly from the king. She offered it out clearly intending for him to take it. He grabbed it and opened it as they continued to ride.

It was true.

Written on the scroll in the king’s own handwriting it said:

~By royal authority that I hold, I hereby declare that Amalia, the Flame Spire, of House Wingurich, is to be stationed at the city of Garadan to act as a partner Bellatorex to the Thasos Province. She is to be married to a son of Count Aurelio Ortansio. I have allowed her to choose who she is to wed of the sons that are available, but if Lord Ortansio insists, he may have a say in the matter as long as one of his sons is ultimately chosen. Though Lady Amalia has already received ample training from the royal military, she has requested that Lord Ortansio further train her to prepare for what threats are yet to come. I hereby grant this request and order Lord Ortansio to train her according to how he trains his own personal forces.

I would like to formally thank Lord Ortansio for all he has done for the kingdom. He is truly the shining example that we should all look at for what it means to be an Agenorian. I do not doubt that we all still mourn the death of the much beloved Duke Belus, but we must make haste and prepare, for if we do not ready for what is to come, then his sacrifice will have been in vain. We have reason to believe a force just as strong, or perhaps even stronger than Mavrodaxius is making its way to the kingdom from Daxodias. It is paramount that Thasos have a strong and proven warrior as its duke. Therefore, I hereby grant the dukedom of Thasos to Lord Aurelio Ortansio who rules in Garadan City of the Ortansio County.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Due to the current remaining heirs of the Belus family that survived the sacking of Thessabel City being too young, the husband of Amalia is to be made the proxy count of the Belus County and the proxy ruler of Thessabel City. Reclaim and rebuild the city is the order that I give to Lady Amalia and whoever she is to be married to. Lord Ortansio is to support her and her husband in this endeavor.

Lastly, all demonfolk currently within Agenorian domain are to be chained with Moly Daedalite and are to be sent to the capital. If any demonfolk are too difficult in restraining and transporting they are to be executed.

Signed by your king, Ferdinand Agenor VI~

Aurelio stared at the words deep in contemplation and looked back at Amalia.

His eyes widened as he began to fully realize what he had just read. This child of Wingurich was to marry one of his sons. The worst part about it was that all of his trueborn sons were impure Crownborn despite both parents being pure, a fact which meant he or his wife had latent Bloodfallen blood within one of them; a fact he did not like to think too much of. If this half-breed married one of his sons the noble Crownborn bloodline would become even more diluted. But these were direct orders from the king. He clearly had a reason for all of this. Perhaps he was desperate. Perhaps Duke Wingurich coerced him into this. Either way, no matter the reason, he had to follow the orders. The king was wiser than this. It must be a good reason despite how muddied this all was. It took every fiber of Aurelio’s being to fight the urge to find flaws with the king’s orders regarding Amalia. He could deal with this. It would only be one son and the rest of his unmarried sons he would make sure to marry to pure Crownborn noble women.

The part at the end about the demonfolk though, it was strange. They were generally unwelcome in the kingdom for they were a savage like and barbarous people. Ancient lore and stories said they had been created by Hades to fight his ancient enemy. They were originally a clan of humans who worshipped Hades and when he required a strong army upon Turaida they volunteered to become his soldiers. The old stories said Hades with the help of a demon god turned these humans into the demonfolk. The demon god’s influence was stronger than Hades’ and freed them from his control, and from then on, they roamed as a wild and violent people. After many ages they had become numerous and very strong, yet they were unordered. Despite now that they had the most numbers in their population than ever before, they were scattered into many tribes and tended to stay within the land of Daxodias only leaving its borders to pillage and plunder the peoples living right outside the borders of the great land. Demonfolk did not make great slaves. They absolutely refused to submit to any master. They were also very dangerous. Laying hands on them was a death sentence, which despite that, some fools still tried. Their innate magic was wicked and powerful, but it had limited reach and most lacked control over it. However, it would often be triggered if they felt in danger or if they were enraged which resulted in horrible injuries to those that directly touched them. They were also all apparently Bloodfallen, most likely because of their unholy origins Aurelio reasoned. Because of all these things, the only use the kingdom found for them was for sport. They were hunted and they were used to be gladiators in coliseums forced to fight criminals, beasts and each other. Why the king wanted them all sent to the capital was very strange indeed. Aurelio had a few that were imprisoned in Garadan, he would need to make the arrangements to have them delivered which was a tedious process. Moly Daedalite was relatively rare. Because of its magic dulling properties, it was often fashioned into chains that could restrain the demonfolk. They were still dangerous, but it made it a bit easier and safer to handle them.

“So, these are orders from the king,” Aurelio said. “From the contents of this scroll, it sounds like it was mainly meant for me. I will be holding on to it. And it would seem that I am now the duke. The orders of the king I am sworn to follow. However, if I had not made it clear, I disapprove of you. I will tolerate you on behalf of the king, but that is the most respect you will have of me unless you prove otherwise.”

“You are too kind,” Amalia said still with the same air of seriousness. “I assure you; I am here to serve. Lord Ortansio, Duke Ortansio, I have sworn no oaths to my father, nor to the king. If it may ease you, I am willing to make a Crown Oath to you and the son I am to marry.”

Aurelio stared at her intently. He was under the impression this entire time that she was sworn to her father which if that was true, then that meant anything she did would be in her father’s favor. If she was not, then that was somewhat alarming. How could Duke Wingurich be doing all of this, coming here to his city with his daughter to marry her off to one of his sons without any ulterior motive in mind? How could the duke profit off their marriage if she had no oaths sworn to him? Perhaps he was thinking too deeply about it. Well, if she was telling the truth, then he would test her on it. She had just offered to make the oath to him. So why not just do it then and there?

“I accept your offer,” Aurelio said. “You will make your Crown Oath here and now to me. And to ascertain that you were telling the truth, in the oath you shall state that you have truly had no other Crown Oaths made to the king or your father. This is your first test. If you can pass it, perhaps my thoughts on you will turn more favorable.”

Right away she answered as if she had rehearsed for this very moment. “I, Amalia, the Flame Spire make now a Crown Oath to Lord Aurelio Ortansio to serve his family and to be a faithful and strong wife to the son I am to marry. In this oath I confirm that I have taken no other Crown Oaths before this one save for the one I made to the dragon that gave her blood to me. Accept this oath, my lord, and I shall be bound. You have my word that my father, at least in my case as far as I am aware, has no schemes in place regarding this occasion.”

As was the case with all Crown Oaths, a faint divine light started to enshroud her, a light that would bind her to the words she had said. For a moment, Aurelio thought he was imagining it, but she was genuinely offering herself up to him and his family. Two of the kingdom’s Bellatorexes had died fighting Mavrodaxius meaning only five were left in the kingdom. If Aurelio accepted this, he would have two of the remaining five in his control, himself and Amalia. She was probably the youngest, weakest and least experienced out of the five, but still, a Bellatorex was a Bellatorex. Before Mavrodaxius had come, Duke Wingurich was considered the most powerful duke in the kingdom, he had been tied to Duke Belus in having control of two Bellatorexes, but he was much wealthier and had special connections that made him a valuable asset to the kingdom. If Aurelio took one of Duke Wingurich’s Bellatorexes then he would be the most powerful duke in the kingdom in the blink of an eye. Not only that, he would be fortifying himself while weakening Duke Wingurich’s position of authority at the same time. He still had his reservations about Amalia, but this was simply an offer he could not refuse.

“I accept your oath,” he said.

The divine light glowed a bit brighter for but a moment and then it sank into her, and it was gone. The oath had been made.

“I am glad we could get this done and over with so soon,” she said. “I thought you were going to be a bit more difficult to work with, but it seems I was wrong.”

“It is the fool that refuses a chest of one thousand gold skwama just because it is covered and filled with mud. Some may call me a stubborn and a stern man, but I am no fool. I will take the chest every time. No matter how dirty, no matter how filthy, its price remains the same.”

“I’m not sure if I should take that as a compliment or feel insulted.”

“Knowing Duke Aurelio, I think that is quite the compliment,” Fidivos suggested.

Aurelio looked over to Fidivos. “Quiet jester. You’ll be allowed to have your fun at the celebration later. I have had enough of your talking for one sitting.”

Fidivos remained silent the rest of the way.

They continued on.

The palace was not far off. It would still take them a short while to reach it.

“I have a question, Lord Aurelio,” Amalia said after they had been riding silently for a few minutes.

“Ask your question, promised daughter.” His views on her were already starting to change, if only a little. The taking of the oath with such confidence impressed him.

“What does it mean to be a Bellatorex?”

“The title, the word itself is derived from an ancient dialect of the Draconic language, it means warrior king. Our scholars have taught us that the ancient Bellatorexes fought alongside the children of Bahamut, the dragons with metallic scales, to fight against the evil dragons, the children of Bahamut’s sister, Tiamat. These evil dragons we often call the chromatics for their solid-colored scales. In those days that have long passed, the battles were magnificent. The ground shook as dragons fell from the sky. Thunder roared across the world. Great tempests and storms were conjured that carved out the very face of the earth. It was terrible for how great the enemies were back then, but all the more glorious in their fall, and the triumph of the righteous metallics and their Bellatorex armies. We are their successors. If it is at all possible to claim even a sliver of the glory they once had, that is what we must strive for. To be a Bellatorex is to be a beacon of light. To be a Bellatorex is to be the one that calms and caresses a weeping world.”

Aurelio found himself being extraordinarily passionate. He quickly understood why. All everyone cared about was the prestige, the wealth and power. Besides the scholars, no one seemed to care anymore why Bellatorexes were important. People, both Crownborn and Bloodfallen just wanted to see fantastical warriors capable of extraordinary feats.

They were so much more than that.

He looked into Amalia’s eyes and he saw genuine interest and sincerity.

He started to smile slightly. Was he actually starting to like her? Just one, simple question had revealed so much.

It was not too long before they had finally reached the main palace gate.

There standing proudly was Duke Wingurich who waved out to them gleefully.

He had beaten them to the palace.