Between two groups of people, who want to make inconsistent kind of worlds. I see no remedy by force.
-Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
~
Their laughter was his poison and the joy his deathbed. The capital city of Derrien was a place of high pride and low care. To them he was a mere shadow past, another rodent scurrying about. From afar he could hear the tolls of the church bells. A solemn call to prayer as priest would usher about in linen veils. It was the only thing that seemed to shut up the people in the markets.
To Outis, it was a clear sign that their goddess had abandoned them. They would wail in the streets for hours as a caravan of priests chant their way down for the afternoon Blessing of the Tides. A ritual to bring about the goddess blessing but he felt happiness in their suffering and failure.
As the caravan got desperate singers got closer, Outis beckon the two young elves over. It hadn't been long since he found them, locked away in a cage at the basement of a lower noble house. He had set them free before burning the place to the ground. In return they had followed him everywhere. It really baffled him at their insistent need to stick with him. He had a clear hate and dislike of any connection with another creature. The very thought revolted him, and he could barely stand to look at the faces of others. Despite this they had stayed with him regardless and would make their existence worth his time.
Quickly, he had managed to find the back alleys of the city where the noise of the busy streets was muffled, and the air felt damp against his skin. The twin elves were not far from him as he continued deeper into the obscure back door of the capital. It didn't take long for the mood to turn tense and a little on the hostile side. Outis could hear the whisper of thieves, murders, and skittish merchants as he turned a corner. Many turned to look at him in lofty curiosity but quickly lost interest as he looked like the rest of them.
A cloak and dagger were what many in the alley ways dressed. Hidden from greediness of their own kind. It was all quite nauseating to him. The stench of human nature left him on the edge of vomiting. With a steadfast pace Outis made his way out of the maze of the underworld and back into the torturous ray of light that was Dierre. The bustle of daily life filled his ears as he come to a stop at a lone building. A house of humble size and price. With a quick glance back, he saw the elvish siblings where he always expected them to be, not too far from him.
He stepped closer to the side door of the house and fished for the key in his satchel. A soft click indicated the opening of the door. Inside felt like a cool den. Although it wasn't much when compare with the surrounding buildings, it was good enough for him to carry out his alchemy even though he would need to be careful here. The church had banned all alchemists and their knowledge as works of sprites. Thinking about it brought a bitter chuckle past his lips. They always banned things after they do it themselves. Just like they had abandoned him oh so many years ago.
~
Apathy. It was all he had learned in the icy tundra of Iganualst. The wind whipped the body with it. The heavy hail beat it into your bones and finally the snow kills you slowly with apathy. It was all cold and barren and fruitless. Yet, it had everything. No one who had ventured into the land have not succumbed to its cruel teaching. The white landscape reflected a sense of confinement. Nastius hated this wasteland he called his kingdom but could never leave. Much like the snow that covers the earth till spring, were his duties to the land, except that the spring never comes.
He could not leave unless it was beneficial to the kingdom. In spite of this, he riveled in the thought of strength Iganualst had given him. The weak shall submit to the strong, it was nature's order. To think he was the top of it all. Nevertheless, he continued in the raging blizzard on horseback. The silence of the forest of trees thin of their bushy leaves invites him to deep slumber with only the pricking of snow fall to hear his last breaths. Behind him were his troops. Blood trailed their tracks which were soon to be covered by another layer of snow. It was near noon as they dragged on the frozen expanse. He peered forwards again into the blank landscape, seeking something, anything.
Deep within his mind his thoughts betrayed him, saying that he was like the snowflake that fell to the earth, only to melt away by the suns first rays. What was he looking for in emptiness of the forest devoid of life and sound, and never to be the same again, like before.
Nastius breathed a long breath and refocused his thoughts. They didn't have long before the creatures would have track them down.
"Hold on ahead, we're almost there." He tried to motivate the living corpses behind him.
In response he got a few low grunts from his men as they begrudgingly trug ahead. They knew what they had signed up for and it was their responsibilities getting back home alive. The fighting had become constant and the burden heavy on the people. Nastius knew he would have to talk with his father about this. If he would listen.
~
"To be a King requires you to make many difficult decisions. You must always make the one best for you." The emperor of Einshire slanted sideways in a chair facing a window, his voice was now old, lacking his once youthful vigor.
His face is like brittle clay but the luster of his long hair and beard distracts from this. Jakal stood next to him, soaking in every last bit of wisdom he had to offer. Like the Kings before him, this one would soon die, and his son would rule in his stead. The very idea ignited him. Soon he would no longer have to serve under his father. How he despised the man.
The chamber of the King was a graveyard for the ignorant. To wield the crown and its power would require years of training, which he had plenty of. Soon he would clear out the castle of every memory of the previous king. It was truly a devastation to carry the blood of the man before him. Jakal knew his reign was a lie. The creation of the whole empire hanged on a very well concealed and protected truth. He knew it the day he started his training.
Jakal recolonized it in the duplicitous lips of the noble man and women that drew their selves nearer to him. Even in the king's own advisors, whose eyes gleam with lust for power and gain couldn't hide the fact. Sadly, he only knew that much. There was no one for him to trust and he stood alone in it all.
"You must do whatever it takes." The king continues in his lesson, eyes never looking back, and hands clutched near his heart.
For as long as Jakal knew, the king had always done this. He wondered what was so precious in those blood-stained hands of his. What took his mind off the glorious golden structures of the palace, the plentiful art, the thousands of coins and jewels that decorated the halls. He had all the most beautiful women close to him and the most fearsome army but all that meant nothing apart from what he held in his bosom.
~
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Nothing could stop roar of the chortling crowds of people in the tavern. It was only a quarter till noon, but the inside was a dark cave of human pleasure. Drinks were ordered continuously around the area. Within the clothed section of the VIP room Sebastian sat hungover. A wide array of beautiful and poorly clothed women slept soundly beside him. It felt as if the wild ongoing of last night never ended but he could feel the consequence of it all in his body.
With a quiet yawn he stretched and got off the couch. Carefully he maneuvers his way between the beautiful legs of his last night entertainment. As he made his way out of the nicely hidden room, there was an uproar of commotion he was too drowsy to take notice and made his way over to the counter.
"A jug of water for me." He let out a slurred chuckle and mindlessly tapped his fingers on the wooden counter. The barkeeper had only nod and turned to complete his task.
It was just another day, another pub, another drink to drown in unending bliss.
"THERE HE IS. THAT PRETTY FACED BASTARD!!" The havoc burst in fiery end.
Tables shrieked as they were upheaval and turnover. It all failed to register in Sebastian heads until his loose collar was roughly pulled back, choking him. Soon he was faced with a meaty, sweaty man, practically spitting in his face and oozing venom.
Not again, he thought.
"Yes. May I help you?" He yanked his collar from the guy and tried his best to fix it, but he knew it would take more than that to remove the wrinkle from his clothes and that thought only irritated him.
"WHERES MELINDA!! I know you wooed her with your disgustingly sweet slick tongue of yours." The man had straightened himself now, looking taller than before.
"Melinda who?" Simply he yawned, Sebastian could not care or even remember half of the women that would throw themselves at him.
"MY WIFE!! NOW IF YOU EVEN SO MUCH AS TOUCH HER I'M GOING TO-" His hand stopped any further speech that spilled out the husband pipping mouth.
"You're going to what? I neither know who you're talking about, nor do I care enough to do anything about this right now. "
Sebastian could feel the hammering headache. Luckily the barkeeper had slid him the water he had previously ordered. With a hand still placed before the hotheaded fellow he gulped down a refreshing and much needed drink. However, this only seemed to anger the guy more.
There was a creak and inn the flurry of the chaos and women in his VIP section had slipped out in a dazed state before shrieking at the obvious audience.
"Melinda?" The man was now looking at a plump fair maiden. Her hair and clothes in dishevel.
At the sound of her supposed husband, she covered up with shame. The man had rushed to her aid, bombarding her with questions of concerned.
"Did he do this to you?" Sebastian could hear the rage in his tone and knew it wouldn't be long now.
The woman had shamefully hidden her face in her husband shoulder and nodded shyly. In a matter of seconds many objects had been thrown at Sebastian, but he had managed to escape while the workers hold off the raging bull. Another had successfully guided him to the back door of the tavern. As a gift of gratitude, he handed him a bag of coins before dashing out of the tavern.
The sunlight nearly blinded him, but he covered up his eyes just in time. Down the cobble alley way, a horse and a rider waited for him.
"Good afternoon your highness." It was Frederick, his most trusted advisor and friend.
"Afternoon already, huh?" He slapped the knight on his back before mounting the horse.
Then the sound of what can only be the tavern's back door slamming open registered not far behind.
"COME BACK HERE!!"
Frederick was quick to hoist himself on his horse and sighed.
"This is exactly why everyone calls you the Promiscuous Prince."
Sebastian laughed, "Let's talk about what happened later. Sorry to keep you waiting." A crowd was starting to be formed at little way from the tavern at the commotion.
Although he loathed the little nick name the entire country had given him, he could only accept it as he had made himself this way. Even with all the rumors about the hundreds of women he had somehow slept with became common gossip in the streets, he can and will truthfully say, he had slept with none of them. Not one at all.
~
Gailus was consider one of the best country in the entire Einshire empire. The people loved their king and queen. They were strong and gracious and ruled accordingly. In addition to this, they were one of the fiercest warriors in all the kingdoms as well as the most loyal. That is why they were consider the emperor's lapdog.
Prometi knew this well and had accepted his role in it all. With a yawn he adjusted the metal collar that all members of the Gailus family are meant to wear. It really solidified their role in the empire for all to see. The collar had served as a magical restraint on their abilities, whatever it was. Generations had long forgotten their past strength.
It never bothered him before, and it felt like he was always in a state of contentment.
Knock. Knock
"The king and queen have invited you to breakfast, your highness." Sofie, his personal maid had done this since he was old enough to eat by himself.
Truly everyone felt like family in the castle walls. In the end the knock on his door had stirred him from his wandering mind and placed his feet at the doors of reality. As always, he would stroll towards his destination and as usual, he would converse with his siblings who had been late to wake up.
Prometi adored and loved all three of his younger brother and sisters and would always try to find the time to play with them for a while. It was how a simple walk to breakfast turn into a race. A race in which many of the castle workers and even his parents indulge in.
By the time they had reached the dining hall, the chamber was filled with howling and tittering.
"Alright, settle down." His mother would be the one to call for order.
"Yes, before your food travel upwards the wrong way." His father let out a bellowing laugh that shook the dark fiery curls that shrouded around his face.
Prometi would recall moments where his mother would always try to tame it to no avail. Unlike her husband, hers was chestnut and wavy, which Prometi could see his father always whispering compliments about it to her.
Soon, everyone was eating and talking about their planned schedule that day. In moments like these he would absorb the warmth that filled the room, even from the faces of the servant, it would outflow.
It all felt too good. Peaceful. Despite this he could only ignore the itchy feeling inside that clawed at his doubt that said otherwise.
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