1

It was a vast and impressive room for many reasons. For one, it stood at the center of the Imperial Palace in Verant City. The palace formed a large multi-story T shaped building. The palace itself stood on a flat sprawling platform of white granite with steps approaching from all sides. Where the two lines of the T met, this round room with its domed ceiling stood. This day the double doors to the outside stood open. The Emperor leaned against one of them looking out onto the Imperial Square and the Grand Bazaar beyond it.

The dome rose almost twenty-five feet and was covered in paintings depicting famous moments in imperial history. The Fire Lord making the Frey family leaders, the joining of the original tribes into one unified culture, the conquest of the southern kingdoms that created the Empire itself. All these scenes were beautifully handcrafted by master painters.

In the last few months Xander Frey II, Emperor of the Verant Empire, had spent hours reclining on a plush sofa staring up at the paintings. Marvelling at both its quality and its meaning. Examining the hidden details in the artist’s work. He loved the way each image weaved into the next forming a circle with the Fire Lord in the middle. Most people who came into this room never even bothered to look up or if they did, it was only to say something like ‘oh, what a nice painting’. It was under appreciated and something that was left unmolested when the elves occupied this building. For their part, the elves did not touch the building at all. The northern Plain Elves were a nomadic people who preferred to camp on the imperial grounds during the occupation twenty odd years ago.

Furthermore, this chamber had an incredible view of the center of the city, that’s what most people noticed first. The Emperor often wondered if the people who came here even realized that this was the very room where Emperor Septius III made his last stand and was killed by the elves. Was the Imperial Council aware of how much blood had been spilt in this room? He pondered. The stains may have washed off the polished marble, but the history remained.

It was a nice day. A cool breeze came in through the open doors rustling the banners that lined the walls. The banners represented all the noble house of the Verant Empire, all thirty of them. Well, twenty-nine now. The house of Thaine’s banner had been removed and the place had remained empty. It was an imperial order and Xander had no intention of putting it back up until the Empire was healed. As it stood at the moment, that was going to be a while. Maybe even years or an entire generation before the Verant Empire would be whole again.

As the Emperor leaned on the massive hardwood door and looked out onto the square, behind him the Imperial Council was arranged in plush chairs sorting out the day’s business. Normally, they would meet in the war room underneath the palace, but it was too nice of a day for that. Although the war room had a massive table depicting all of Gaia on it, this room had a floor made from marble that depicted the entire Empire with various colors of marble to show different provinces, lakes and rivers. Even the roads that connected the Empire were made of gold embedded in the marble and various cities were all marked with rubies. There was nothing like it anywhere in the world. It was another reason the Emperor liked this chamber. Like most Emperors who had come before him, this was where he entertained guests and foreign dignitaries. He decided that all future Imperial Council meetings would take place in this chamber.

The Emperor scratched at his face. He had a couple day’s growth and needed to shave. He was forty now, but he felt even older. The grey was starting to show in his face. So far, his tawny brown hair had not turned on him yet, but soon the grey streaks would start. Being Emperor would probably speed up that process. It was not his destiny to even be the Emperor. He was not the next in line, yet here he was, the job that never stops and never sleeps. In an Empire as vast as Verant, there was always something happening that needed his immediate attention. Today was no exception.

A young page entered the chamber and approached the council. She could not have been more then sixteen years old. A young woman from a noble house, sent to serve the emperor as a sort of business secretary. She spoke softly, but her voice could be heard by all. “My Lords, the Captain of the City Guard is here. He has a matter of the upmost importance that occurred the other day that he wished to discuss.”

“I’m afraid my dear, that we are very busy with our own important matters…” The Lord High Wizard began.

“Tell Clay that he is welcome in this chamber and if the council does not wish to talk to him, I will,” The Emperor stated without turned around to look at them. His voice was strong and filled with authority, but without anger or even a hint of annoyance. He was simple making a statement.

“I shall bring him in, my Imperial Majesty,” the page stated. She bowed to him even though his back was turned to her.

The twelve members of the council waited in silence. Even Xander’s son, who at the age of fifteen was the youngest member of the council, said nothing. As the Crown Prince, a seat at the council was his by tradition. Since The Emperor always had three family members on the council, it would have been highly unusual if one of them was not the Crown Prince. The young man sat between his mother and The Emperor’s cousin, Jax Frey. Together they were the three Frey family council members.

Clay, the Captain of the City Guard, came into the chamber dressed in his scaled armour as it was traditional for his stature and office. His scabbard was empty as weapons were not allowed in the chamber. Only the Emperor’s personal guard, who were posted about the room, were armed. “Greeting, my Lords,” he said with a bow to the council. “And my Imperial Majesty, I thank you for your time.”

The Emperor turned around to face everyone in the room. He was hungry. It would soon be time for the midday break. But The Emperor was a hard man to read. His face never betrayed what he was thinking about. “I understand you have important news.”

“Yes, my Imperial Majesty. I believe it is,” Clay responded. The Emperor indicated for him to continue. Clay explained the situation. “There was an incident in the city, by the wizard tower. It was two days ago, but I didn’t want to come to you or the council until I had the full story and had all of the facts.”

“What kind of an incident?” Rickard Hermitech, The Lord High Wizard, enquired. “I’ve heard dark rumors about a child.”

“Yes, my Lord. Indeed, a young child was killed. His body left in a back alleyway, not far from the tower,” Clay explained.

“It’s a big city,” The Emperor said. “I’m sure that murder is not that unusual. In fact, it probably occurs everyday.”

“Yes, my Imperial Majesty, unfortunately it does,” Clay replied with a heavy sigh.

“Then why bring it here? Isn’t it your job to find the murderer and bring them to justice?” The Emperor questioned. But he already suspected there was a twist to this story.

“Because of whom the murderer might be,” Clay replied.

“How did the child die?” Rickard asked.

“Struck by a lightning bolt cast by a powerful wizard,” Clay stated.

“Interesting,” The Emperor said. He looked directly at Rickard but said nothing. Rickard shrugged indicating that he did not know anything further.

“The body was inspected. There are no other wounds. We found an eyewitness, a young student at the school who saw it happen. A girl named Holly,” Clay stated.

Rickard was about to speak when The Emperor hushed him. He walked right up to Clay and spoke in a friendly tone. “Now Clay, tell us everything you know and do not leave out any details.”

Clay gave them the facts that he had. “The guard was alerted to the situation by a group of young adventurers who had come to the city in search of work. According to their story, the boy had stolen something of value from them. Something that the wizard wanted. When they caught up to the child and got it back, they were confronted by the wizard who then killed the child during the confrontation. Now, the adventurers and the witness both gave a description of the wizard in question. We believe that the wizard Vask of house Fillius matches the description.”

“Why would Vask want to steal from four adventurers? What could they have possible found that he would want?” Kora asked.

“I believe it was an old map of some kind,” Clay replied.

“A map?” Kora questioned. “Something doesn’t make sense here.”

Rickard had a more important question. “How can you be certain it’s Vask and not some other wizard?”

“How many wizards have a large tree limb staff with a red ruby-like crystal shard mounted on top?” Clay questioned him back.

“Only Vask,” The Emperor replied. It was followed by an uncomfortable silence. The Emperor had some things to consider now.

“Do you understand why I wanted to bring this to the council?” Clay asked the room.

“I think that everyone at this council would agree that you did the right thing,” The Emperor replied. “Now tell us about this group of young adventurers.”

2

“There are four of them, three young men less than twenty and a girl who could not have been more than sixteen. They claimed to be from a place in the Militar Province called Salome Hollow, but it’s too small to appear on any map. A lot of these smaller farming communities go overlooked, my Lord. They had accents that matched. They mostly wore homespun clothing. They seemed like honest folk from the country, I don’t think they had any reason to lie to the guard and they most certainly had never met Vask Fillius prior to this incident. So I believe their description was an honest one,” Clay explained.

The priests were all looking at each other and started to whisper among themselves. Something Clay said caught their attention.

“Do we have some names?” Kora spoke up. All three of the wizards on the council were paying close attention now.

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“Yes, my Lady,” Clay replied. He pulled out a note pad and consulted it. “The three men are Elwin, who seem to be the leader, his younger brother Rith and their friend Emerson. They all hail from Salome Hollow. The young girl’s name is Anna and she is from Lola Hills, another place too small for any map.”

The priestess Amber Cindervale raised her hand to get attention. “If I may?”

“Go ahead Amber,” The Emperor nodded.

“The two brothers, were they dark of hair? Longish and black like coal?” She asked.

Clay looked at his notes. “Yes, as a matter a fact they were.”

“And their friends? Both sandy blonde? Was the girl’s hair braided, like a warrior?” She continued.

“Yes,” Clay said with some surprise. “How do you know that?”

“Because I met them at the Temple of the Fire Lord, maybe a week ago,” Amber replied.

“Well, isn’t that just fascinating,” The Emperor said. “I have a feeling there’s more to it than that, isn’t there priestess?”

“Yes, my Imperial Majesty,” Amber replied. “I spoke to them personally.”

“All of the thousands of people that come through that temple every week, you just happened to talk to this group of four young people,” Rickard said. Then with some sarcasm he added. “How delightful!”

“I was waiting for them, as my God had wanted me to,” Amber stated. She elaborated. “You see, the two brothers, the ones with the dark hair, their faces have been seen in the sacred fire. The Fire Lord gave me the vision and an intuition that they would show up at the temple one day.”

“So, this Elwin and Rith are God Touched?” The Emperor questioned.

“We believe so, yes,” Jermaine, the Lord High Priest, replied.

“Is there anyway Vask could have known this prior to the incident?” The Emperor questioned.

Jermaine shook his head. “Doubtful, he’s not a priest of any God that I’m aware of. The faces only come to us because of the sacred fire.”

One of the three generals on the council shifted uneasy in his seat. He spoke up. “There’s more isn’t there? What aren’t you telling us?”

“Vask has a relative, some great nephew or some such, who is also God Touched, isn’t that right Jermaine?” The Emperor answered the general’s question.

Jermaine nodded. He reclined on a sofa. His red robes stood out against the white robes that the two women with him wore. He looked to Amber seated on his right. They exchanged a look and she nodded to him. He spoke. “I believe his name is Armiger. It’s like we always say my Imperial Majesty, those who are touched have a way of crossing paths.”

“Two brothers? That’s highly unusual, isn’t it?” Kora asked the Lord High Priest.

“Indeed, unusual, but not impossible. It has happened before,” Jermaine pointed out.

“But we can’t deny the significance of it, can we?” Rickard questioned.

“No, we can not,” Jermaine conceded.

“This is all very interesting, but I have a feeling that there are more secrets that this council is keeping from the rest of us,” The Emperor stated. He looked around the room stopping at the faces of all the wizards and priests. He noted how they squirmed a bit under his gazed. As they should, he thought silently. “Alright, out with it. Someone, speak up.”

3

The silence was deafening.

“Look, I understand it. Some things you just don’t want to bring to this room until you have all the facts. Take Clay for example, he could have come to use sooner, but he wanted to make sure he had all the facts in this case. I don’t blame you all one bit for being hesitant the speak freely, because what if you’re wrong? What if the council comes to the wrong conclusion or takes the wrong course of action?” The Emperor said to them. His voice firm, echoing across the room, but without an edge of anger to it. “I want to make this clear, I’m not asking. I’m commanding. I want to know what is not being said here. I will take full responsibility for the actions of the council on this matter. I’m not Getta. I’m not going to execute people who tell me things I don’t want to hear, but you do not want to see me get mad.”

The Lord High Wizard stood up. He took his time and leaned heavily on his staff. His grey toga billowed around him, flicking in the breeze. He sighed and leaned his staff against his chair. He walked over to a small table that held brandy and some glasses. He poured two glasses half full. He walked up to The Emperor as everyone else watched on in silence. They all knew what was about to be said. He handed one glass to The Emperor. A guard suddenly stepped forward out of instinct, but The Emperor waved him off. He took the glass being offered. Rickard was no threat to The Emperor. If anything, he was an old friend. Not that The Emperor knew him that well, but Rickard was loyal.

“Really Rickard?” The Emperor questioned with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. “Before the midday meal?”

Rickard bore a grim expression and did not return the smile. “We need to talk about Servia De Gallo,” Rickard said to him and took a sip of the brandy.

“The one responsible of the death of Rubico’s son?” The Emperor responded. He took a sip himself.

“We don’t see it that way,” Rickard replied. He looked over at his fellow wizard’s who nodded in agreement. “The boy was trouble, a real spoiled asshole who probably got what he had coming to him.”

The Emperor swallowed half the glass before replying. “I’m not going to disagree with you, but I’m pretty sure that my friend Rubico, isn’t going to see it like that.”

“Look, my Imperial Majesty. I’m not going to debate the merits of the young girl’s case with you, it’s besides the point,” Rickard said to him. “What you need to know is that Vask Fillius has already been to the wizard school two weeks ago to enquire about her fate. He made it known that he wants to take her on as an apprentice.”

“And why would he want to do that?” The Emperor questioned. His was voice draped in intrigue.

“Because she is God Touched,” Jermaine replied on Rickard’s behalf.

“There it is!” The Emperor said pointing at Jermaine while still looking and talking to Rickard. “Now we are getting to the truth, aren’t we?”

“Honestly, we don’t know what his motives are,” Rickard replied. “We could ask him, but he’s probably at home near Palantine right now.”

“But you don’t trust him?” The Emperor asked Rickard directly.

“I don’t know him, at least not well enough to trust him,” Rickard replied.

“But he sits on the Wizard Council,” The Emperor pointed out.

“So do many others,” Rickard replied. “I don’t know them all personally.”

“What we do know is that a child is dead in the streets of this very city. Quite possible murdered by Vask himself,” Clay added.

A general stood up. “Vask has been loyal to our cause and the rebellion. His Imperial Majesty is here right now, in part because of his help. He has been nothing, but loyal up until now.”

“There wouldn’t have been a rebellion. If I hadn’t gotten the consuls together for the meeting…” Rickard shot back. “And I have proven my loyalty to the Emperor as well…”

“Let’s not rehash the past,” Kora complained. “We’ve trodden this path before.”

“I agree, right now I have a charred corpse sitting in the back room over at the city guard headquarters,” Clay declared to the room.

“Enough!” The Emperor commanded. To Jermaine he said. “I thought you said he could not have known who is god touched? Why would he want Servia?”

“I’m afraid I have no answer for that my Imperial Majesty,” Jermaine replied. “Maybe someone inside the priesthood is informing him.”

“This is all just speculating now,” the Crown Prince spoke up for the first time. “Is this how we are going to make our decisions?”

The room went silence. The Emperor’s cousin clapped the boy on his back. The Emperor gave his son a look of pure pride. He nodded to him. “My son is right. Let’s work with what we do know, instead of arguing over what we don’t know. How many people are now identified as being touched?”

“Six,” Amber answered.

“Name them all,” The Emperor commanded.

“The two brothers, Elwin and Rith, Servia, Armiger and Rubico’s daughter, Quinn. There’s a sixth face, but they have not been identified as of yet,” Amber explained.

“And how many are there in every generation?” The Emperor asked.

“Any where from thirty to forty,” Jermaine stated.

“That’s a lot of faces yet to be revealed,” The Emperor pointed out.

“It’s not a fast process, that’s not how the Gods work,” Jermaine explained. “It could take years to identify them all.”

“So, what we know is that Vask Fillius has somehow involved himself in one way or another, with at least four of the six touched people,” Rickard summed up. “My Imperial Majesty, I do not believe that is a coincidence.”

“For once Rickard and I agree on something,” Jermaine added. Rickard nodded to him.

“So, the question remains, how do we address the issue of Miss De Gallo?” The Emperor asked the room.

4

The lead general spoke up first. “Vask has proven to be loyal to the crown and I think I speak for all of my fellow generals when I say that I do not doubt him. Why he would kill a child I can not fathom, but he has enough political clout that I am will to overlook it.”

“I may only be speaking for myself here, but I am suspicious of his motives. Especially in light of a child’s murder,” Rickard stated. “However, I am curious to see what would happen if he was to train Miss De Gallo. If she is touched, then some training beyond that of the wizard tower could prove useful.”

“As a priest of the Fire Lord I can not condone murder of any kind. I don’t believe that Vask has the best intentions towards Miss De Gallo. For all we know he wants to control or eliminate the touched for his own unfathomable reasons,” Jermaine gave the council his thoughts.

The Emperor looked at Jax. Jax just shrugged. “I don’t know what to think. I’m with the generals, I suppose.”

The Emperor’s wife shook her head. The Crown Prince was lost as to which side to be on. Finally, the Emperor spoke. “I agree that this incident with the child does not help his cause in anyway. I worked with him personally during the war and he can be abrasive and unbending at time. But like the general said, he has been loyal. I agree with Rickard in this matter. Vask’s motives are suspect, but maybe the training that he is offering is what she needs right now. If she is touched, then her future is of the upmost importance. Let me ask you something Rickard, do you believe that she herself is evil?”

“I had a chance to talk with her and observe her and I don’t believe that she is,” he replied. “For all we know she maybe the most powerful of her generation. If pushed too far by Vask she could destroy him.”

“Do you believe she could be corrupted?” The Emperor pressed him.

“I can’t say for certain, but I feel she would resist,” Rickard concluded.

“And her trial,” The Emperor questioned.

“The incident will be ruled an accident and she will be released, but not allowed to train further at the tower,” Rickard said.

“And then what happens to a young girl disgraced, but with some power at her fingertips and touched by the gods? Where does she go? What does she do? What if there are dark forces out there waiting for her?” The Emperor’s line of question was making everyone a bit uncomfortable. “There are dark Gods, isn’t there Jermaine? A young powerful touched girl on her own, they would swoop in and grab her. And then what? We have a battle between two sides, just like last time.”

“How do we know that Vask isn’t that very dark force of which you speak?” Jermaine finally replied.

“Fair enough,” The Emperor replied. “I won’t make an imperial decree. We shall vote on it. All in favour of handing Servia De Gallo to Vask Fillius say ‘aye’.”

There were seven ayes and four nays with the Crown Prince abstaining. “That settles it, Vask Fillius will take on Servia De Gallo as an apprentice. However, I want him monitored closely. I leave it to the wizards and their council to keep an eye on him. Should he show any sign of disloyalty to the crown I want to know about it. Understood?” The Emperor said to the room.

“Understood,” Rickard replied. “But what about Rubico? He is not going to be happy with this decision.”

“Don’t worry about Rubico. I can deal with him. He is not the council’s concern. He will not go against me,” The Emperor replied. Then he questioned Clay. “Now there is one more thing. Clay before you are dismissed, where is this adventuring group now? Are they still here in the city?”

“Well, that’s the thing. They were warned by the guards to get out of the city. So, they took a job, an escort detail for an engineer to Domara,” Clay replied after checking his notes.

“Domara?” The Emperor questioned.

“Yes, my Imperial Majesty,” Clay replied. “There was an earthquake there recently and we are sending an engineer to assess the damage.”

“It’s a routine business for the council. We were going to bring the matter to you once we had the official report on the extent of the damage,” the lead general told him.

The Emperor nodded. “I see. So, they are on their way to Domara?”

“As far as we know, yes,” Clay responded.

“It might be a good idea to keep an eye on them as well. Two God Touched together? We should know exactly what they are up to,” The Emperor stated.

“They have already left. How do we catch up to them?” The general asked.

“I will go,” Jax replied.

“Are you sure?” The Emperor said to him.

“I can fly on griffin back and catch up to them quite easily.” Jax pointed out.

“Observe only from a distance,” The Emperor stated. “I don’t want you interfering with what they are doing. They can not know they are being watched or followed.”

“I can do that,” Jax responded.

“Then I leave you to it,” The Emperor said. “Leave as soon as you can.”

“Understood, my Imperial Majesty,” Jax replied.

The council was dismissed, so as to enjoy the midday meal.