Part II: The Painted Heir
The blind crow circled high above the humble Laros estate, its wings slicing silently through the air. Below, Nex stood at his window, awaiting his friends. His hair—freshly dyed the color of night—hung in dark waves around a face marked by recent change. His eyes, now midnight blue, had narrowed pupils that pulsed faintly with life. From the balcony, he watched the townsfolk below—no bigger than ants—going about their day, blissfully unaware of the storm gathering above them.
A sharp thud.
Then another.
The sound of a cane striking stone echoed in the hallway, growing louder with each step until a voice followed—crisp, commanding.
"Did you experience any discomfort in your sleep, young prince?" Tywin's voice rang from the chamber behind.
Nex didn't turn.
"Tell me about the symbols you call Runes," he said. "How do they work? Can I wield them?"
Tywin paused mid-step.
"As I've told you," he replied, voice measured, "the time will come. For now, you need not concern yourself with such things."
Nex's tone sharpened.
"Then tell me their origin. Where did they come from? How do they wield such power—and who created them?"
Tywin exhaled slowly. He stepped forward, resting his cane against the wall with a soft clack.
"...What do you know of the Dynasty that once ruled all lands on this continent?"
Nex answered, without hesitation.
"That they were the pinnacle of humanity. Their knowledge and power remain beyond our grasp."
Tywin scoffed.
"Is that all?"
"They discovered the day and night cycle. Measured time. Created the hours we live by."
"Discovered," Tywin corrected with a subtle smirk. "Not created."
Nex blinked. "...What's the difference?"
"If they had created it, they would've shaped it from nothing. But time—day and night—existed before them, and it will exist long after we're gone. That is not the work of men."
"I suppose not..." Nex muttered, then added: "I know they mapped other continents, revealed their existence. But we can't reach them anymore—lost the way to build their ships. And I know about their fall."
Tywin's gaze sharpened.
"And what do you know of their fall, little prince?"
Nex hesitated. "...Only that no one knows why. Or so I believed."
He turned then, meeting Tywin's eyes.
"But just now, when I mentioned their fall, you looked at my hair."
A flicker of surprise crossed Tywin's face—but only for a moment.
"I knew it," Nex pressed, eyes lighting with excitement. "You did glance at it. That means it's connected. Is it the Runes? Are they why the Dynasty fell?"
Tywin tilted his head, amused. "Did I look at your hair?"
"Yes. You did. I saw it."
"You are wrong," Tywin said flatly.
"...What?"
"You are wrong," he repeated, voice cool and deliberate.
"I led you to believe that—with a simple glance."
He took a step closer, his eyes shadowed with meaning.
"Let this be a lesson, young prince:
Never give your full attention to an enemy…
or to anyone close to you."
His tone dropped, carrying the weight of experience. "The clever ones—the truly dangerous—will turn your greatest strength against you. Your habit of over-observing that I heard about... It can be used to distract you. To make you look where they want you to look… while the real game plays out elsewhere."
Nex narrowed his eyes. "But how did you know I'd notice?"
Tywin stepped forward, his smirk widening like a shadow stretching across the polished floor.
"If I didn't want you to notice…
you wouldn't have."
Nex shook his head in disbelief but didn't press further. He held that lesson tight in his mind—wrapped like a blade in cloth—and moved on.
"So then, where did the Runes originate?"
Tywin's eyes grew distant, unreadable.
"That even I do not know. Nor who created them. What I do know is this—Runes were common in the time of the Dynasty. They wielded them as easily as breath. That," he added, voice sharpening, "is the last question I will answer about Runes… for now."
"Fine," Nex replied, shifting the weight of the conversation. "Then tell me about the prophecy—the one you said I looked like when you revealed my black hair and blue eyes."
"Midnight blue," Tywin corrected automatically.
"Midnight blue? What does that even mean?"
"It means a deeper, heavier shade of blue. The color of riverbeds and stormy seas in your mother's homeland."
Nex leaned forward, eyes hard. "And the prophecy?"
Tywin's expression turned cold. His smirk vanished.
"That... I will not reveal. Not while I still draw breath, young prince. So you'd best leave it alone."
"And what about the sword and sorrow memories as well? You mentioned those. I would like to know what they are." Nex shot back with another question, knowing an answer was not to be expected but trying to read Tywin's face to determine if it was a bad or a good thing.
"The prophecy is about me and it probably foretells something bad either happening to me or done by me," Nex thought to himself. The Runes, Tywin said Nex would learn them later, but for the prophecy he would hide it. That did not sit right with Nex.
"The sword and sorrow memories will show themselves to you eventually, young prince. Not everything has to happen within a day or so. It will happen throughout your long life, which I will make sure you would have."
Nex's gaze lowered to the ground as he understood something. He was inheriting yet another thing from his mother, while he never met her. His father always avoided him, and he inherited nothing from him. He laughed to himself a bit, then said:
"Lord Tywin," he said, voice strained, "I want you to give me back my white hair."
Tywin's expression turned to stone. "Absolutely not, Your Majesty. Your black hair is a clear sign—undeniable—that you are Aurora's son."
"And the white hair," Nex shot back, stepping closer, "is what they expect from someone who has the right to fight for the throne. Not my mother's shadow—my father's legacy. That cursed, angelic white. His hair." He paused, jaw clenched. "Please. Return it. Before they see me."
Tywin's eyes narrowed. A silence stretched between them, thick with unspoken history.
"I shall not use Runes more than I need to," he finally said, his voice sharp like a teacher chastising a stubborn pupil. "I will not take unnecessary risks. However..." he paused, calculating, "I may be able to dye your hair. I'll send a guard to the herbalist just beyond the western gate. He'll bring me the flowers and pigments I need. The dye should hold for a full moon cycle—long enough to fool most eyes."
Nex remained quiet, his lips pressed into a line. He knew this wasn't a permanent solution.
"What kingdom did I inherit from my mother?" he asked suddenly. He locked eyes with Tywin, voice low but firm. "You mentioned it when we first met. I was more intrigued by the Runes then—but this kingdom… does it have a name? And where is it? It is not one of the three kingdoms, otherwise everyone would have known, and it cannot be beyond the seas and ocean as no one has crossed them in three hundred years. I heard that every man or woman that goes into the never-ending forest never returns."
He took a step closer.
"And when exactly were the Runes placed on me? Because I was born with white hair. Everyone around me remembers that."
Tywin exhaled through his nose, as though trying to hold in something volatile.
"They were not placed directly on your head, not like I did earlier. You were still in the womb. A far more complex Rune was used to veil your appearance."
"Used by… Aurora."
"Yes. I knew it. I made that out myself as you mentioned it was my bloodline that I inherited the Runes from."
Nex didn't waste time. "Now tell me about the prophecy."
But Tywin looked away, deliberately. He turned his head as if admiring the stonework, but it was a tactic—to avoid Nex's stare.
"All I can say is that it does not concern you… yet. When the time comes, you'll meet those who are part of it. And then, you'll hear the prophecy yourself. Until then, it is better you remain unaware."
"Better for you… or better for me, Lord Tywin?"
Nex stepped in front of him, blocking his path, forcing Tywin to look down. Even with the cane taking some of his weight, the older man's presence towered. The difference between a seasoned lord and a growing boy was stark—but Nex didn't flinch.
Tywin allowed a small smile. "That... you'll figure out eventually."
His eyes drifted downward toward the garden path. Four figures moved through the guards—Sao leading the way, followed by Actaeon, Tazan, and a young woman Tywin immediately recognized.
"Who did he bring this time?"
Nex's chest tightened as he watched them approach through the garden path. They made it. His hands found the balcony railing, gripping the cold stone as relief flooded through him. The plan had worked—his escape, the rendezvous point, everything. And more importantly, none of them had paid the price for his decisions.
He drew in a slow, shaking breath, then another, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill. Tazan cradled the baby gently against his massive frame, the two-handed axe strapped across his back a stark contrast to his tender hold on the infant. Actaeon walked with his bow ready, alert and protective. All safe. All alive.
Nex almost called out for them, then a moment of realization hit him and he quickly ducked, hiding behind the half-wall from his friends. He started crouch-walking back to the room.
"What are you doing, my prince?" Tywin asked dryly.
"I don't want them to see me like this—not yet. They might believe the rumors. They might… be afraid."
Tywin began to laugh—first a low chuckle, then a full-bodied eruption of mirth that echoed through the stone chamber.
"Hahahaha! Ahhh… he truly is her son," he said to himself, almost in disbelief, his voice tinged with a mix of admiration and memory. The sound of it wasn't cruel—it was nostalgic.
Still chuckling, he reached for his cane, picking it up with his right hand as he straightened his back. The stiffness in his frame vanished for a moment, replaced by something lighter—something younger.
He followed the prince inside.
"My prince," he called, still wearing that rare, genuine smile, "fetch me the book in my office—the one in the safe behind the painting. I'll do it."
"But you just mentioned you wouldn't do it unless it was necessary. I don't believe you think it is needed, so why, Lord Tywin?" Nex asked, curious yet cautious.
"Well," Tywin said with a sigh and a faint chuckle, "perhaps growing old has made me too arrogant. At the end of the day, you are the heir to an empire and a kingdom. Who am I to deny your request? I am but your humble servant, Your Majesty Nex." He slowly bowed with the kind of reverence rarely seen from him, the weight of history in his gesture.
Nex nodded, a mix of pride and suspicion flickering in his eyes, then turned and hurried off to retrieve the Book of Runes, eager to deliver it to Tywin.
At the door of the estate, Sao knocked and was answered by two guards—Kabel and Habel, brothers who had served the estate since childhood. One was a strong man, taller than Sao but shorter than Tazan; the other, a sharp-minded man, shorter than Actaeon but taller than Nex.
"Habel! Welcome back, young Master Sao. Who did you bring with you this time?"
"I'm glad to be welcomed back, Habel. And I told you—drop the formalities."
"You know I can't do that, young master. It is ordered by your fat—"
Interrupted by his own brother, Kabel:
"Sao, who did you bring this time? Last time it was a prince. Now did you bring a monster, his wife, and their child?" he said, pointing first at Tazan, then at Actaeon, and finally at the infant—before erupting into laughter.
"Kabel! It is per the orders of our lord that we must not act friendly with the young master. Do you want to lose your head, brother?" Habel snapped instantly, rage flashing in his eyes.
"Oh come on, Habel, you know my father would never harm you. Besides, I wouldn't allow it," Sao said, smiling at Kabel's joke. He stepped through the doorway and added, "You're my friends and my guards—two things can be true at once, you dumbass."
Tazan then stepped in front of Kabel, towering over the man. Though Kabel stood a solid 6'2", he barely reached Tazan's chest. A deep, gruff voice rumbled from the giant:
"Apologize to my friend. And to me."
"What if I don't?" Kabel replied defiantly.
"It was a joke. I do apologize if my brother offended you, mister?" Habel quickly jumped in, trying to deescalate the situation.
"I am no 'mister,' and I better not hear a joke like that again—from you or your brother. Or I swear, you'll share the fate of the last people who guarded me," Tazan growled, his gaze never leaving Kabel.
"Tazan, this isn't the time. Remember why we're here," Actaeon added.
Tazan gave in to Actaeon's slight push from the back and went inside, where Sao was watching the whole thing unfold—maybe out of curiosity, Tazan thought, but he never truly knew why Sao did not intervene.
"How was your journey, my brothers?" A voice came from atop the staircase. They looked up to see Nex looking down on them, with shining white hair and soft blue eyes.
"Nex!" Actaeon shouted at the top of his lungs as they ran toward each other. Once they reached one another, Actaeon hugged Nex tightly, crying as he did so. Nex hugged Actaeon back with watery eyes, as Tazan slowly approached, knelt, and embraced them both, the infant cradled between all three of them.
Sao smiled a bit, then his eyes met his father's from atop the stairs. Tywin's expression was filled with something strange—not amusement, not disappointment, nor relief or happiness. But Sao would find out soon what Tywin felt.