Marco and Reina procured the swiftest horses from the border fort to ride home with all haste. When Marco asked if getting horses would be against the rules of the trial, Reina shrugged it off by saying that it was her trial too, and she needed to show her ability to give orders. She also wanted to get back to the palace as quickly as possible, because she had a theory on who planted the lizard at the border. And she wanted the king to know right away…
So Marco and Reina made it back home in a day's ride, going all night with but a few brief rests for the horses' sakes, all to storm into the throne room the next morning and present the king with the lizard's head.
What they got in return was:
"A Gramtese Dragon? Excellent! We certainly don't have one of those in the trophy room. Take it away and have it mounted!"
With that command, two servants came and took the head from Marco. The whole process was rather unceremonious considering Marco and Reina had rushed in announcing they had dire news.
"Father," Reina said politely but sternly, trying to draw his attention away from the cheese plate at his side. "Did you not hear what we said about the lizard?"
Yes, yes," the king said, clearly more interested in picking the right chunk of brie. "The beast migrated here or something like that?"
Reina looked to Marco. He took it as a sign to speak up. "Actually, your highness, I was saying I've done some study on the species. The Gramtese Dragon hasn't come this far south in ages."
"This was no migration, father," Reina added. "This was foul play."
A collective gasp rang out in response. The throne room was filled the usual collection of lords and ladies.
"Foul play?" the king said after a bite of brie.
"Yes. I believe someone deliberately let the beast loose in the forest to further some sinister goal," said Reina.
The lords and ladies gasped again. Marco found it amusing at first but now he wondered if they were always going to do that. He gave them a look, remembering that Reina said he would need to learn all their names and titles once he became a Hero. For now, they just kind of looked like a flock of well-dressed turkeys, mouths all agape.
Perhaps if Marco did know them all better, or if he had a greater knowledge of magic, he would've noticed something off about one lord in particular, the Lord Of Barnes. Barnes was the lord of a tiny stretch of farmland that was but a needle in the kingdom's haystack. But in truth, the real Lord of Barnes was dead, and replacing him in court was the Gramt spy known as Jerboa!
Jerboa's gasp was the loudest, and had a nervous squeak to it.
As the lords and ladies whispered, waiting for the king to swallow his cheese and respond, Jerboa eyed the exits. If Princess Reina had truly discovered that his squad was behind the lizard, that they had released the beast to distract the border guards and sneak into Irelios, then he was in trouble!
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Before the king could speak, a slow clap echoed from a side of the room. Everyone turned to royal area, a row of posh seats set up across from where the lords and ladies stood. There sat the Second Prince, clapping in a excruciatingly slow fashion.
"Well done, dear sister," he said. "Now that you've got yourself a Hero and completed your trial, you hunger for glory. So you create this story of conspiracy to make your deeds look more grand than what they are: you killed a big lizard."
"You don't fool me brother!" Reina shot back. "I wanted to investigate the brigands that attacked me. Instead, you gave me a quest that was so conveniently available, off near the border where it would be so easy to make someone disappear. And what's waiting for me there? A beast the likes of which no one in Irelios has ever seen. What a series of perfect coincidences. Or was this whole thing a plot conceived by you, Second Prince Bartholomew?"
Another gasp, and this time even Marco joined in. The Second Prince was the one who let the beast loose? And his name was Bartholomew? What a weird name!
The Second Prince scoffed. "Please, does anyone actually believe this farce?"
"These are serious accusations, Reina," said the king, now very serious and focused. "Do you have proof?"
"No father." Reina didn't falter. "But you must admit it all stinks of intrigue. At the very least let me open an investigation."
As the king stroked his beard, the crowd came up with their own theories and whispered them to one another. For his part, Jerboa saw an opportunity.
"Your highness," he said loudly. All eyes turned to him.
"Lord Barnes? You have something to say?" the king asked.
The lords were there to do more than gasp. But to interject in such a sensitive matter, everyone thought he had to be very brave or very foolish. Seeing the reactions, Jerboa gulped before continuing.
"Yes, my king. The circumstances surrounding the Second Princess' almost-kidnapping and trial have been anything but ordinary. I would never accuse the Second Prince, but her highness does seem to be involved in matters more dangerous than she could know. Perhaps an investigation into her brother's involvement would at least set her mind at ease?"
At first, there was silence as everyone turned over his words. Jerboa had to stop himself from shaking. But within moments, he could hear affirmative whispers and saw many nods of approval.
"You speak sense, Lord Barnes," said the king. "Very well, Reina. You and Marco may have one audience with the Arbiter. But whatever answer he gives you, you must accept it. Now enough of this conspiracy talk. I shall see you at the ceremony tonight!"
With that, Marco and Reina were sent away so that the king could conduct court as normal.
Once outside the throne room, Marco asked "What ceremony is this?"
"The one you've been waiting for obviously," responded Reina with an eye roll.
"They're making me a Hero today!?" he said, adopting dramatic gasp of the lords and ladies.
"Yes," she replied, her voice trailing off. Marco could see that she was in deep thought.
"You really think your brother was behind the Gramtese Dragon?"
"We shall see. For now, I must make preparations for our meeting with the Arbiter."
"What should I–"
Before he could finish, she said, "Go to the armory, give them this, and tell them you are having your ceremony. Then, meet me at the top of Monument Tower tonight at sunset. Do not be late."
With that she handed him her royal seal and practically flew down a hallway.
****
That afternoon, court released early on account of Marco's ceremony. As the lords and ladies poured out the door to the throne room, they gossiped about the morning's events. Despite a day's worth of political and financial affairs, Reina's accusation of her brother was the only thing they wanted to discuss.
Jerboa did his best to slink away. He didn't get far before he found his path blocked by two burly men. One wore a bear fur despite it being summer, and the other wore an ornate suit of armor. He recognized the men as Heroes. Second Prince Bartholomew's Heroes.
"Lord Barnes."
Sure enough, the cold voice of the Second Prince rang out from behind him. He turned to face it.
"I found your participation in court today very...interesting."
Jerboa's squeakiness went into full effect. "Your highness! I–you see, I said–"
"Have you met my Hero, Tumo?" the prince said as he gestured to the bearskin-wearing man. "I met him in the southern wilds. I accompanied my Heroes on a quest to remove his clan of savages from the future site of a village. Naturally, my Heroes made short work of the fools. Except Tumo. Covered in wounds and the blood of his clansmen, he continued to fight as he cursed my name. Even surrounded by my best Heroes, he fought on. Eventually, my people finally got the best of him. But I commanded they let him live. For you see, I found him entirely fascinating. His strength, his resilience. We took him with us, and eventually...convinced him to serve me. Unfortunately, he still cursed my name every day. I couldn't have that, so I ordered his tongue removed. Why am I telling you this story, you might be wondering? Well, I want you to take away two things. One: I like when the people around me are interesting. Two, I despise when the people around me speak ill of me. I'll have my eye on you, Lord Barnes."
Second Prince Bartholomew walked away slowly with his Heroes in tow, leaving a wide-eyed Jerboa behind.
****
The sky was already very orange when Marco dashed up Monument Tower. He felt a mix of things as he hopped up the stairs, to the top as Reina instructed.
First of all, he was beyond excited! He was going to be officially named a Hero! No more obstacles, no more denials. His day had finally come.
Secondly, he couldn't help but love the feel of his new armor. He was covered in black chainmail, but this was much lighter than his rental chainmail. His dark brown leather gauntlets and boots were the first he ever had that were tailored to his size, and even had that fresh leather smell. But he was most in love with his new chestplate. It was a solid black plate that was perfectly fitted to his frame. He even requested it be enchanted to be inlaid with silver that depicted the sun sigil of Irelios. This was the armor of a Hero!
...It was also the reason he was running late. Getting his requested modifications took most of the day.
His high was cut short when he passed the orphanage floor. He stopped to take it in. The children looked back at him. Different children, of course. Most of the kids he saved were out in the world, adopted by families or conscripted into the army. Even the furniture of the orphanage was different. It made the place seem alien, but there was still a bitter nostalgia to it. Marco remembered the exact spot where he sent a wall toppling on the shadow monsters. There were toys there now. However, as much as Marco dwelled on the past, the residents of Monument Tower had clearly moved on. Marco looked at his gorgeous chestplate again. Perhaps he could move on too.
He waved at the children and continued to the top of the tower.
The cool evening air hit him as soon he reached the open, circular room at the top. Then he saw it.
The Everlasting Flame burned as brightly as ever on its altar in the center of the room. Even though it was getting dark outside, the light of the flame shone strong enough to reveal everyone in the room. And there were quite a few people in the room.
Gathered in front of the flame were the king, Princess Julia, Prince Bartholomew, Reina, and an elderly man in an ornate robe with a tall hat.
But Marco was truly bowled over by the small army of people that filled the rest of the room. Fully armored warriors, mages in colorful robes, hunters dressed in animal pelts, all sorts of imposing figures formed circles around the Flame. He couldn't tell how many there were, but they formed at least five circles of increasing diameter, with the Flame at their center. Each circle also had a gap, forming a path Marco to follow from the entrance to the Flame.
"Marco Flores!" called the elderly man. "Approach."
Marco complied, making his way to the Flame. He couldn't help but walk rather briskly. Despite the solemn and reverential nature of the affair, it was awkward to march the length of the huge room in silence.
When he was finally in front of the flame, he was able to clearly see the faces of the royalty and elderly robed man. The king looked respectful yet friendly as usual. Bartholomew clearly wanted to be anywhere else. Princess Julia smiled at him. To his surprise, so did Reina. Then, seemingly remembering something, she mouthed "kneel" silently to Marco.
Marco kneeled, and the elderly robed man began.
"Marco Flores, I am Silas, keeper of the Everlasting Flame and the Heroes' tradition. I understand that you have been brought before me to join the ranks of Heroes past and present. Is this so?"
"Yes!" Marco said will all the conviction inside him.
"A Hero must be both a shield who protects the people of this kingdom, and a sword who fights for the one they believe is most suited to rule. It is not enough to simply be one or the other, you must put all of your being into both of these roles. It is for this reason the gods gave us the Everlasting Flame. With it, you can become extraordinary, the sturdiest of shields and the sharpest of swords."
After he said this, Silas put his hand into the Everlasting Flame. Marco's heart skipped a beat. However, Silas did not scream or panic. Instead, he ceremoniously withdrew his hand and held up a palm-sized piece of the flame.
"Princess Reina Irelios!" Reina stepped next to Silas. "Do you accept the role of Marco's Patron, vowing to give all that you have to make him the best he can be, a Hero worthy of the Flame's blessing?"
"I do."
"Marco Flores, do you accept the role of Reina's Hero, vowing to give all that you have to serve the people of her kingdom, and make her a Queen that will bring glory to her reign?"
"I do."
"Then take this Flame." He carefully extended the flame. Reina put out her hands and let it rest on her palms. "Bestow it upon Marco, and let us bear witness to the birth of a new Hero of Irelios!"
Reina approached Marco with flame in hand, bowing her head as if in prayer. When she was directly in front of him, she said, "Rise."
Marco got up, feeling a mix of excitement and trepidation. He had read that the Everlasting Flame was used in the Hero ceremony, but not how. How exactly was Reina going to bestow it upon him?
He got his answer immediately, in the form of Reina plunging the Flame into his chest. For a brief moment, he felt nothing. Then, a burning too intense for words filled his chest and spread throughout his whole body. Even his mind felt like it was on fire. His vision went white as he vaguely felt himself falling over.