[https://i.imgur.com/yPj7MLT.png]

[https://i.imgur.com/uCwGJ9T.jpg]

Scene Transition: "-"

Normal Narration and Dialogue

"Internal Monologue"

Nightmares - Part 1

Commerce District - Verdun's Capital City

The shop filled streets of the commerce district roared with life as deals were struck and fortunes made. Adventurers purchased potions and equipment and sold exotic materials they gathered on the frontier from dangerous creatures and forgotten ruins.

"Stop that thief!" A grizzled shop owner called after a vagrant that had just snatched a rare necklace off his table.

"Sorry gramps," The cloaked thief chuckled as he dashed through the crowd before a foot suddenly jutted out and knocked him off balance. He landed in a heap, and by the time he had reoriented himself he looked up to see two very unhappy imperial guards.

A shabbily dressed man smirked to himself as he withdrew his foot and moved past them through the crowded city streets, his tattered brown cloak flowing softly over his slumped posture. He shuffled past strings of bustling street stalls and large warehouse buildings with a hobbled gait.

A small smile spread across his face as he spotted a woman with blue hair and a refined aura who had instantly caught his attention. He hesitated briefly after spotting who trailed behind her before starting his approach.

She moved with purpose through the main concourse of the commerce district, flanked by two thuggish brutes. Her dark blue hair kept up in a loose bun, her pale skin shimmering in the bright afternoon sun.

"Let's make this as quick as possible. I don't enjoy mingling with the peasantry," she declared curtly as the three of them hurried their pace.

The disheveled man tugged the tip of his hood a bit lower and took a bold step in front of the woman, stumbling directly into her. She recoiled slightly from the contact as he crashed to the ground, an empty cup falling next to him with a loud clang.

"Watch where you're going," the woman barked as she straightened her form-fitting black suit. She pushed her thin glasses back against her dark green eyes before glaring down at the offender.

The disheveled man slowly gathered his cup. He gently raised it with a shaky hand, his faint smile the only feature visible through the dark hood.

One of the brutes began moving towards the man before the woman softly laid a hand on his shoulder. "I'll take care of this personally," She said as she looked down at the man before resting a thigh-high boot on his chest and shoving him harshly back to the ground.

Most passersby knew better than to interfere. Anyone bold enough to act otherwise was quickly discouraged, courtesy of the menacing thugs at her side.

"Know your place, filth. You're lucky this street is so crowded," She sneered as she intertwined her fingers, cracking her knuckles. She swiftly kicked the small metal cup away from the man's grasp and walked past him, escorts in tow.

The man struggled to raise himself after collecting his cup before noticing a dainty hand extended in front of him. He reluctantly took it and pulled himself up.

"Sorry about that, not all of us have hearts of stone" The young woman smiled at him. "I'm afraid I don't have any copper on me but come by my tavern and you've got a free meal anytime you need one!" the young redhead beamed brightly. "It's called the Black Briar, just across from the bakery on Lions Lane.

"Thank you," The man choked out, his gravelly voice deep but gentle. He gave a deep bow before slowly shambling away, waving back to her as he made his way towards the end of the street.

The man's slumped form slowly rose as he turned the corner of the street and ducked into an abandoned back alley. After confirming his solitude, he patted the recently acquired parcel in the folds of his shirt as a sly smile crept across his face. He stretched his tight muscles before tossing the cup aside and turning his cloak inside out, switching the color to a dark shade of green. He quickly glanced around a final time before making his way to the imperial palace.

He moved quickly through the streets and back alleys, nothing escaping his watchful gaze. An unremarkable character by all accounts, nothing but a faceless blur to those he passed.

As the man moved towards a side entrance to the palace, the two knights on guard readied their blades at his advance.

The cloaked figure interlaced his fingers as he approached.

"What fills your dreams?" one of the Knights challenged.

"Only nightmares," the shadowy man responded as he strolled past the knights, unimpeded.

After a brief moment, the younger of the knights looked to the other questioningly. "Who the fuck was that?" he asked in a hushed tone.

"Who was who?" The veteran knight responded casually as he returned to scanning the passing traffic for possible threats.

Imperial Throne Room - Verdun's Capital City

"Denied," the man resting on one of the two large golden thrones ordered plainly.

"Your majesty, I implore you to reconsider!" the man begged, dropping to his knees and clasping his hands together in desperation.

Just one of the citizens waiting to petition the king on this particular day of court, they lined along a wide red carpet that spanned nearly the entire length of the massive room. Its smooth black stone flooring paired elegantly with the pearl white walls and pillars that adorned its sides.

Engraved into each pillar rested the likeness of Verdun's heroes of old. Hundreds of years had seen countless legendary warriors come and go. The Ashburn to first bear the title of king made it clear that after their watch had ended, they all deserved a place to rest forever within his court.

Rodrick Ashburn glanced over to his partner in all things, Natalia, and she nodded approvingly.

The Ashburns had ruled Verdun with a firm but just hand for centuries, and were well-liked by the people for their efforts. The middle-aged pair made for a powerful couple. Rodrick, baring royal blood, a sharp intellect for military strategy, and a well-earned reputation serving in two small wars, earned him the title of "The Hero King" from his people. His better half, Natalia, mirrored him perfectly. She was the head of a wealthy noble family and merchant conglomerate, well-versed in the art of politics and negotiation.

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

The two Royal Guard Captains on either side of the pair of thrones rested stoically. Their arms folded behind their backs, eyeing the everyday occurrences of the throne room with disinterest. A royal attendant swiftly climbed a pair of steps and whispered something to the King's Guard Captain before taking his leave after receiving thanks from the massive man.

Before the King could continue he received a tap on his shoulder as the King's Guard Captain leaned down to his side, wolf tooth necklace jingling faintly. "It's time," he whispered softly.

"Darling, take over for me would you?" Rodrick asked Natalia before rising from his throne.

"Of course" she responded before turning to the man still on his knees before them.

The king waved to the court of nobles and the line of petitioners, apologizing for his sudden exit before turning and moving towards the back of the room to exit.

"I'm afraid at this time sending a larger military presence to the Ashmir border could strain tensions even further. With the recent passing of Emperor Taldair, the five diamonds are currently preoccupied with their royal selection. A military strike in the foreseeable future is extraordinarily unlikely." Natalia stated bluntly. "But rest assured that we are watching the situation in Ashmir develop with a keen gaze. In any event, your village and its inhabitants are in good hands. Any incursion across the border will be met with an overwhelming and immediate military response. Any damage caused will be reimbursed twice over from the crown." She assured the man.

"Thank you, my queen!" The citizen cheered as he quickly bowed before making his way to the open double doors in the front of the throne room.

"Overwhelming, huh. I'd say that's a pretty accurate prediction," Haythem thought to himself as he swept his gaze across the red and black Ashburn family banners adorning the ceiling of the throne room. The crossed swords covered in flames of their family sigil making crystal clear why Verdun hasn't lost a war in over a century.

The pair of exotic magisteel swords on his hip and the other pair crossed behind his back would make for quite the villainous appearance if his title weren't the Royal Queen's Guard Captain of Verdun.

Rodrick's armored boots clanged on the smooth stone floor as he followed his personal bodyguard through the back door of the throne room and into a wide hallway.

The king had refused to wear traditional noble attire, opting for light plate armor. Stating that even though his title may be King now, he will forever be a soldier of Verdun.

"Well, that was a rather boring day of court, even by my standards," sighed the king as they continued down the long, broad castle hallway, passing a few servants and nobles as they went. "What are your thoughts regarding Ashmir?" He asked his stoic guardian and close council.

"The five diamonds pose a genuine and constant danger...especially him. But I don't believe they would start a prolonged conflict, they just have too many unfriendly borders...we all do," Galahad answered plainly.

"I need to realize the vision for Devos my predecessors were too blinded by greed to see," Rodrick said sternly. "Trading territory and blood is a fruitless endeavor. But if I can unite the three kingdoms in an alliance, we may be able to finally secure a prosperous future for the countless generations to come." He proclaimed, his eyes filled with hope.

"The first step would be hoping for a favorable royal selection candidate to be elected. If they're anything like Taldair, we'll be in for another dozen years of hostility" Galahad sighed as they passed a beautiful painting featuring crossed swords planted in a field of brightly colored flowers.

"Indeed. However, the recent surge in blessed ones does have me deeply concerned. Are the Gods of power preparing for something...plotting something...I suppose we'll have to let fate play its hand" The king pondered aloud.

"Let's see what it has in store for us today" responded Galahad as the pair passed a set of royal knights holding the doors to the war room open ahead of their arrival.

The tall, open room featured a round stone table scattered with an assortment of tactical plans and maps. The myriad of bustling attendants that filled the room immediately stopped what they were doing to deliver shallow bows before quickly being told to rise by the king. "Your majesty, we were just about to begin the briefing." The commander of the city knights said

before turning back to the main table.

"What are we looking at, commander?" Rodrick asked as he took his place between Galahad and the knight commander around the wide table.

"It's the Syndicate, sir. We've been sitting on one of their known warehouses in the commerce district. We were waiting for more intel before we moved on it." The commander began as he glanced down at the tactical plans. "We're in the final stages of formulating an attack strategy to assault the warehouse in the next few days. We've noticed increased movement lately, even for a Syndicate operation."

"That's all we have?" Rodrick questioned as he scanned the sparse intel laid across the table.

"Nightmare is currently investigating, they are the ones who brought it to our attention in the first place. It's a massive seven-story building in the middle of the commerce district. Local disappearances make this look like some kind of slave-trading operation."

Nightmare, the empire's special operations task force. While they operate primarily within the walls of Verdun's capital city, their influence can be felt across the entirety of Devos.

The war room doors opened once again as a trio of individuals entered the room, one in a dark green cloak and the other two wearing dark leather uniforms draped in black cloaks.

"Everyone below class five security clearance, please clear the war room," Galahad ordered calmly after recognizing the new arrivals. The room slowly began to empty until it was just the three cloaked characters, Galahad, Rodrick, and the knight commander, among a handful of other high-ranking tactical strategists.

The two black cloaks took positions by the door while the third new arrival approached the table.

As the doors closed once again, the man in the green cloak dropped his hood to reveal a tired face under long, loose black hair. He withdrew several letters from his shirt and splashed them across the war room table in front of the others.

"Graves. Always good to see you, brother" Galahad chuckled as he threw an arm around the well-built man while his gaze swept across the wealth of new intel.

After flashing a smile back to his longtime friend, Graves began to address the others. "My contact finally came through; things just got a whole lot more complicated," he remarked as he stared intently at the others. "The second we hit that compound she's burned. I'd like to request that Nightmare take operational authority, your majesty".

After viewing the new documents, the king rested a hand on the knight commander before turning the Graves. "I concur. If this information is accurate it's going to take finesse".

Graves fished a map from a pocket and laid it in front of the others. "We've got several new pieces in play. The contact confirmed our suspicions and more. The head of the Syndicate's human trafficking division, Viper, is personally on site. More importantly, his personal ledger is also with him. If that wasn't enough, we also have a potential hostage situation. They've been moving people instead of goods through those boxes we've seen moving through the warehouse."

"How do you propose we proceed?" the King asked, shuffling through the documents.

"We hit them with a pair of Nightmare teams that secure the tactical objectives before the main force led by big and scary over here assaults the compound with a company of imperial knights." He responded, motioning to Galahad.

"Ahhh, come now, I'm practically a teddy bear," Galahad interjected, his golden eyes swirling with power.

"Yeah, a seven-foot teddy bear that can punch straight through a stone wall," Graves chuckled before continuing. "I'll personally lead team one, which will secure our informant and the hostages in the sub-level. I want to bring in a member of Black Blade to lead the second team, which will be tasked with taking down Viper and securing his ledger. Nobody knows what's on the seventh floor and I can't afford to lose my men if they have a powerful blessed one among them."

Black Blade, one of the three large guilds which operate out of Verdun's capital. They take the jobs the other two adventurer guilds can't...or won't take due to difficulty or dubious ethical implications. They are also the only guild unofficially contracted by the crown to assist in special operations alongside Nightmare.

"I see..." Rodrick pondered before turning to his right. "Commander?".

"The knights will secure the outer perimeter and limit civilian traffic before the operation begins," The commander began. "I have 80 knights training for the raid as we speak. After the special objectives have been completed signal us and we'll begin the raid."

"Tonight....we strike them at dusk," the king stated sternly. "They think they can pray upon my people, in our own capital, unimpeded...It's time to draw blood."

While the knight commander and the king finished planning out the specifics, Graves pulled Galahad to the side. "Where's the shock jockey?" he asked with a grin.

"He's with Natalia in the throne room finishing court for the day." Galahad smiled. "Why aren't we bringing him along for this little excursion again? Surely we could use his speed" he asked.

"It's the silent part of 'swift and silent' that I'm concerned with. You know how loud he is, and that's when he's not throwing fucking lightning everywhere," he laughed. "Plus, sometimes you need a team of legendary warriors to get a job done, and other times you need a blessed one," he said with a sly smile.

"Oh, we'll have to see about that," Galahad chuckled before bidding his friend farewell and escorting the King to his next obligation.