Aethelgard's Audience Room
Nine months ago
"Your Majesty, the Seer is here for an audience," the castle butler announced, his voice echoing in the chamber.
Emperor Eldrad, a man worn thin by ailment, sat upon the throne. His skin had the pale, drawn look of someone who had no time left. "Let her in," he commanded, his voice a frail whisper against the vast silence of the room.
The great doors parted to reveal an old woman, her hair as white as winter snow and her skin a map of wrinkles that testified to the ages she had endured. Yet, she stood with a quiet strength, her back perfectly straight. She bowed deeply, a gesture of profound courtesy.
"I am at your service, Your Majesty," she proclaimed.
"Dear Seer, the Empire requires your service once more," the king said, his voice softening. This was the old woman who had served his wretched father and was here now to serve him, too. "Would you allow us your vision?"
A gentle smile touched the Seer's lips. "It is my pleasure to serve, but I must tell you, Your Majesty, I am not a prophet." She extended a hand toward the king, and from her palm, a flower of pure light seemed to blossom. "If fate were this flower, then what I can tell you are only the petals. It is incomplete, for fate is not for us mortals to gaze upon. This is my gift, the extent of my help."
"I know," the king agreed, his gaze fixed on the glowing bloom.
"Then let us begin." The words were barely spoken when the Seer's eyes began to glow. A vision of the distant future seemed to unfold before the king and the Seer.
"A child born of royal blood... A hoard of demons beyond the depths of hell... A little girl belonging to the past... The Empire may be engulfed in a sea of flame!" The Seer's body shook violently as she fought against a creeping thread of madness. Suddenly her pupils began to darken, clouded by untold horror, and her body levitated in front of the Emperor.
A voice pierced through the Emperor's ears. It was a horrific, loud voice, almost as if it were uttered by a man on the very edge of his dying moment.
"Is it not the descendant of the one?" The being spoke through the Seer.
"What are you!" The Emperor screamed. Strangely, none of the guards outside noticed it, almost as if there were a barrier covering his chamber.
"I am the one of the many, the one that would darken the sky in his name!!, the usurper!! The damned!!, the snake!!!, I am ######!" the demon proclaimed.
The Emperor fell to his knees, holding the ring on his pinky finger. He clutched it as if it were his soul at the mercy of that ring.
And indeed it was, as the demon tried to approach him. The ring glowed with the brilliance of a thousand suns. The writhing hand rearing toward the Emperor burned into dust as it tried to come closer.
"The ring of Hylos?!" the demon shrieked. "How amusing!!! Hahahahahahah, he still loved you lot!! Very well, I will wait for the promised day then."
As the demon finished saying that, the Seer's body exploded in front of the Emperor, showering him with blood and severed limbs from the explosion.
The emperor grasped for air"Ugh." "Hah... Hnn." his body struggled to keep him conscious " A child ? " The emperor said before finally losing his consciousness , collapsing on the floor beneath.
Aethelgard conference room
Present
"So you're risking my son's life over a prophecy?" Richard asked, his face dissatisfied.
One of the elders gazed at him deeply before calmly opening his mouth . "That was not a mere prophecy, and you too know it," he paused, putting both of his hands on the table. " If it were to be true, then the boy will not be saved either way. Would you risk his life then?"
"I will protect him!" Richard yelled.
"Like you protect his mother!!!!!" The noblest of the elders broke the argument.
That word is true. Richard knew it himself. If it were true, then even he couldn't protect him. How could fate be so cruel?
"The palace is the safest place for both of you know, and that's why the council agreed to bring you back," he added.
Richard's hand reached his face, wiping it. While he himself sat on the chair opposite the elder , he still was not on board with it yet the elder had spoken only truth , truth that was too sharp to him . He inhaled deeply the surrounding air trying to calm himself, then finally he had made the discussion.
"Very well…the boy will stay…"
The elder's face looked slightly relaxed after hearing that yet suddenly .
"But… I am to stay by his side," Richard claimed.
"Do as you wish," the head of the elders answered him.
Indeed, there is no going back now , the stone is set. The wheel is spinning , and the thread of fate slowly unfurling ,perhaps, toward the promised end , of a future that they seek. Yet none of them know it , only time shall know.
In the Castle of Faeryn, the capital city of the Leonorean kingdom,
An elven squire ran toward the king, studying his hand holding scrolls containing information from neighboring empires. He held it tightly to his chest, the elven face showing concern.
"Enter," a regal voice commanded the squire to enter.
"What has brought you here today?" The owner of that voice, a male white elf with golden eyes, his skin as white as moonlight, and around him were spirits dancing vividly almost as if enjoying themselves by his mere presence.
"Praise the moon of the kingdom. The prince of Windasell has returned!" said the squire.
"What?" the man said, the feather pen he had been holding slipped out of his hand.
To be continued