The dark night quickly turned to day.
Cassiel's group quickly left after making the preparations all night long.
Their travel would last over a week, as they'd be heading in a straight line from Anvilius to Ananchel, no detours, no distractions.
.....
.....
On the first day of travel, Cassiel made the immediate decision to have the group travel in a straight line directly towards Ananchel, meaning even if they ran into a forest area, they would have to continue forward, as that was his decree.
.....
On the third day, the group had to travel through their first forest. They decided to run across the tree branches, which ended up with just a few of them getting a bit dirty and scuffled up, as they hadn't traveled across trees before.
.....
On the sixth day, the group ran across a party that was being sent out in search for them, unknowing they were only a day's distance away.
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On the seventh day, the group had finally arrived at their destination, Ananchel, along with the search party.
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.....
Entering the city after being gone from it so long, Kislev and Elysia both noticed major changes.
The streets were neat and clean, more buildings were lit up, people seemed happier, and there was little to no malice to be seen within the hearts of the vampires.
For the first time in many of their lives, they were able to start living stress free, and the signs were clear.
As the group walked through the city, Cassiel ordered them to do as they pleased as he would need to look for someone in private, giving the group their first vacation for the first time under Cassiel's rule.
Although happy at first, they quickly realized they never made any plans on what to do for vacation, all they had on their mind was repairing their damaged land.
.....
Traveling through the back streets of Ananchel, Cassiel did his best to remember where Hildric's shop was by himself, as Daein was still managing Kotor, awaiting his return.
From staring at buildings, to even searching the ground for anything familiar, Cassiel finally finds himself bumping into a child, causing the kid to fall to the ground.
Stunned, Cassiel stares at the kid for a few moments, unsure what to do as he had never been near any children besides when he himself was one.
As the kid looks up at Cassiel, his eyes glimmer for a moment, before tears begin falling like rain from clouds.
'What the hell?' Cassiel thinks to himself, distressed.
"Um, are you alright, child?" Cassiel blurts out, confused how someone could cry from falling.
With the loud crying from the child, and Cassiel awkwardly standing over him, it isn't long before a woman runs out from a nearby house.
"Sarei!" She says, running over to the small boy.
Looking up at Cassiel with hatred in her eyes, she demands to know what has happened.
Staring at the woman, his eyebrows burrow in frustration at her tone.
Before he's able to say anything, the woman stands up.
"You... you bastard, I asked you what happened!" She yells, slapping Cassiel across the face.
Although he had seen the attack coming, he didn't dodge nor stop it.
His reason? He had none, he just didn't want to stop it.
"You're truly remarkable..." Cassiel says, his eyes lighting up as he looks at the child, Sarei.
"What?" The woman says, feeling ignored.
Cassiel glances at the woman for a moment, before recalling what had just happened.
"Ah, of course. Madam, I apologize for your boy's... injuries... what is your name?" He says with a smile.
"Y-You-"
"What a strange name, and your boy's name is Sarei, yes?" Cassiel says, his eyes focusing on the child again.
"W-What is your deal?" The woman demands, getting impatient.
"Watch how you talk to your king, woman." Cassiel bites, glaring daggers at her for a moment.
Immediately silenced, the woman backs up a step as Cassiel walks towards the child, before kneeling down.
"Young child, have you ever wielded a sword?" Cassiel questions, his voice a soft hum.
Shaking his head no, Sarei stares at Cassiel, his eyes empty with tears washed away.
Confused, Cassiel asks his age, only to find the boy was only eleven years of age.
"Stay here a moment, and hand this to your mother." Cassiel says, slipping the boy two golden coins.
.....
After traversing the back roads of Ananchel for another ten minutes, Cassiel finally finds himself at the doorstep of the mighty blacksmith, Hildric Esh.
Upon walking inside, the shop was as silent as a cemetery, yet it wasn't empty.
The walls were lined with the same weapons he had seen just over a month ago, and the stands of armor were still shining as if made just recently.
With all this information, it was clear Hildric was still there, just not in the front of the shop.
Breathing in a deep breath, Cassiel would call out Hildric's name, his full name.
.....
After minutes of silence, Cassiel's ear twitches as he hears the floor creaking around the corner, behind the shop register.
It was Hildric, who was panting heavily with sweat pouring down his face.
"C- My king?" Hildric mumbles, catching himself.
"Hildric Esh, you have a lot of explaining to do." Cassiel says, his voice cold and calculative.
This stuns Hildric, as he takes a step back.
"What..? What is it you mean-"
"Cut the bull shit, lord of Anvilius." Cassiel barks, cutting Hildric off.
This shocks Hildric further. How could Cassiel know of his previous position, the very one he ran from?
However, instead of cowering in fear, Hildric steps out from behind the counter, now only a couple feet from Cassiel as they both look each other in the eyes, their faces dark.
"What is it you want?" Hildric says, his voice deep and cold, as if he was putting on an act before.
Hildric's very presence changed in front of Cassiel, as if the man had turned into an apex predator.
"Why did you run? That's all I want to know, Hildric." He says, not backing down.
Pausing for a moment, Hildric takes a deep breath.
"I... was afraid, my king." Hildric responds, stunning Cassiel.
A man of his status, afraid? He thought it was impossible.
"Explain." Cassiel continues, wanting to know more.
Sighing, Hildric's eyes drop for a moment.
"I was afraid that Nahka would use my people against me, to blackmail me into working for him. That is the true nature of the Aions, after all, to do anything in their power to grasp the top."
Standing there staring at Hildric, Cassiel's eyes waver for a moment. He understood, even if it was just by a little, what it means to rule over others.
.....
Growing up, Cassiel had never learned what it meant to be a ruler, he was only ever taught how to be the best warrior he can be, as he wasn't first in line to be king, that was the purpose of Cain's firstborn, Ezekiel Aeternus.
Cassiel was only ever trained so that he'd be of great service to Ezekiel, despite the fact Cassiel would've been a better candidate, as opposed to Ezekiel's terrible, blood lusted attitude.
.....
Catching Cassiel's wavering eyes, Hildric believes something to have gone wrong, that he had possibly messed up in his speech.
"My king..?" Hildric questions, confused.
"Hildric Esh, you are hereby ordered to return to Anvilius to continue your ruling over it as a private city, unaffected once more by outside forces such as neighboring cities, and even royal blood." Cassiel would say, snapping back into reality with his cold, stern voice.
Hildric stares speechless for a moment, before bowing his head ever so slightly.
"Thank you, my king. Anvilius will do its best to serve Rampiel in its rebuilding, and I will personally make certain you will win this terrible civil war."
As Hildric turns around, ready to prepare himself for the long journey ahead, Cassiel makes one last request for the shop owner.
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.....
Walking outside the shop, Cassiel finds his way back to Sarei, who stood await outside for Cassiel, despite over an hour passing.
Carrying a finely crafted short sword, Cassiel walks up to the boy.
"Sarei, I would like it if you could spar with me for a moment."
.....
Standing across from each other on the tight, dirt road, Cassiel signals for Sarei to begin.
Although Sarei was struggling to even hold the sword, he'd take one step forward, before swinging his blade in one simple arc, despite being over five meters away.
However, despite the distance between them, strong winds blow past Cassiel from Sarei's swing.
Turning around, Cassiel's eyes light up the same way they did when he first saw the boy.
The walls from neighboring houses on each side of the road had a huge slash-mark across them.
"It seems you've missed, boy. Try again." Cassiel says, turning back around as he prepares himself.
Breathing heavily from only his first swing, Sarei gives a small grin before continuing as he readied himself in the best form he could muster up.
The child was shaking like a brittle leaf in heavy winds, yet, with each delicate swipe of his sword, more and more blood was drawn from Cassiel's body.
'It's astonishing, this child truly is out of this world, the only person to ever have this much talent... would've been Jenk.' Cassiel thinks to himself, smiling.
With one more swing, Cassiel appears behind the boy, patting him on the back.
"You did great, Sarei." Cassiel says, his voice filled with excitement.
Sarei, panting, drops the sword from his hands, before resting his hands on his knees, slightly bending over to catch his breath.
"Ten years from now, travel to Kotor, and tell them you were personally requested by the king. You'll be of great service to Rampiel one day, I look forward to it, Sarei."