"My king, let me tell you what happened on my journey." Maria's tears continued flowing as she relayed her account of the events that took place on her journey. "I travelled to the Mountain of Snow and Ice in search of this." Maria unwrapped the shard of Excalibur that she had. Ulrich's eyes widened and he stood in awe of Maria's accomplishment. He could see the lightning the shard emitted, feel the vibrations in the air, and could even hear a slight rumbling and cracking. Excalibur seemed to react to it's presence. "When I finally found it's position, I found out that something was guarding it. It was a demon." Ulrich's hands then clenched tightly and even began trembling. If he wasn't wearing his leather gloves, his hands would have surely begun to bleed.
"A demon? Maria? What was a demon doing there?" Ulrich responded.
"Honestly, I have no clue. I believe it became trapped there. Anyways, I didn't know that it was a demon until I entered the cave. I was suddenly attacked and I think I almost died. I lost consciousness but when I awoke, my wound was gone, however, there was still a hole in my armor where I was struck. I felt a new strength inside of me, so I proceeded to battle the demon. I thought I had killed it but it tricked me and..." Maria then stopped speaking. Ulrich saw immense fear in her eyes, behind all that fear was a deep sadness. Ulrich couldn't see any kindness or strength left in them, at least, not right now.
Ulrich pulled Maria's face into his chest and hugged her tight, "It's okay Maria, I'm sorry that you had to go through all that alone. I wish I could have been there to help you. But it's okay now. I'm here and you have nothing to be afraid of. You made it back, that is what's most important, especially to me. You could have come back without that shard and I would still say that I am proud to have someone like you by my side." Maria's hands grabbed onto the back of Ulrich, it seemed as if she was pulling his cloak because of how tight she had grabbed him. Her tears began falling faster as she began to sob. Her wails filled the throne room and echoed through the halls of the castle.
"I'm so scared, I should have died but I revived twice! When I came back the second time, I wasn't myself! I was a monster! I don't know what happened! I'm so scared that I'm going to hurt the person that I..." Maria once again stopped in mid sentence, her cries had stopped and her tears began to slowly stop. Her body continued trembling, however. She thought about what she had almost said, causing her face to turn red and her heart to start beating faster. Her emotions were such a jumbled mess that she didn't get to process what Ulrich had said to her until now.
"Listen to me Maria, nothing you say about yourself will change my mind. I want you to be the person that I can rely on as my second in command. You are not a monster Maria, if anything, you're an angel who just so happens to have a vicious streak. Whatever happened, I know that you can control it and make it your strength. If there's anyone who can do it, it's you." Ulrich let go of Maria and wiped away whatever tears were left on her face. Maria quickly turned away from Ulrich and wiped her eyes clean with her sleeve.
"You don't need to flatter me to make me feel better." Ulrich couldn't see it, but Maria had a smile on her face. "I thank you, my king. I think I am alright now. I'll continue. I'm positive that I died on that mountain. At the very least, I should have died on that mountain." Maria looked down at her feet and remembered how the pools of blood around her would separate as she walked. "I felt an intense pain, almost as if my body was on fire. Somehow, I could function normally, no, I was functioning better. From what little I can remember, I felt more powerful in all areas. I remember forming spears and spikes from the blood that was on the ground. The rest is still a blur, but I do remember the pain, being dizzy, a massive pain in my head, and I remember my magic leaking out the whole time." Ulrich clenched his fists and had a intense look in his eyes.
"I appreciate you telling me all this Maria. I can't say that I fully grasp your situation, but I can say that I will do my best to find some way to help you. For right now, all I can do is appoint you as my personal knight. Forget applying for the station, I think you're ready and it will help me with finding out how to control that power you have." Maria looked at Ulrich in bewilderment. He often had a tense relationship with the Council, however, he rarely ever used his status as king to override the Council's decision. "I want you to rest. You've been through so much that I think some rest will do wonders for you. If any of those problems show up, pain, headaches, whatever, I want you to go see Elizabeth in the temple and get a check up." Maria walked up to Ulrich with a serious stride.
"You talk like I'm not going with you on your mission. As your knight, I must accompany you!" Ulrich quickly turned around with a concerned look. "Yes, I know about your mission. Leanna told me when I finally returned home. I am going with you." Ulrich smirked at the straight forward reply.
"Alright fine, however, you must rest before we go. That is the one thing I will require of you. Also, to replace the gear you lost. When we return, you are going to get checked out by Elizabeth. Understood?" Ulrich's tone was serious, yet calm. Maria then smiled at Ulrich and bowed in agreement. Before she left, she turned and threw the shard towards Ulrich, who easily caught it. The doors slammed shut and Ulrich made his way back to the garden. He was no longer thinking of his mission or about what he was going to tell the council. His mind was completely on Excalibur.
Excalibur was broken many years ago, the pieces scattered across the United Continent. Ulrich had two shards of the blade, each shard transformed into a different sword with different abilities. His two handed sword was his favorite, it had no special qualities, other than the ability to shoot off a magical blast. The second, transformed the sword into a black katana that had the ability to cut through most armor. However, to sheathe the sword, the wielder must draw blood. Ulrich knew of a third shard, however, it was fused with the holy sword Durandal. After both swords were fused, it was renamed Caladbolg. With the fusion, it was capable of slicing off mountain tops. While powerful, it requires an immense amount of magical energy to wield. Alicia was the current wielder of Caladbolg and, even then, could only swing the sword three times before it drained her magical energy completely.
"This shard feels very different from the others. I can expect some lightning to come with this shard." Ulrich held the shard in his hand and inspected it. "I hope it doesn't strike me with lightning the moment I combine it with my sword." He took a deep breath before holding the shard next to the blade. The shard seemed to be enveloped by the sword until it was no longer visible. He could feel the air around the sword begin to tremble intensely, until he saw electricity envelope the blade. The electricity danced around violently on the surface of the blade, like a caged animal waiting to be released. "I'm glad I didn't get electrocuted, however, it seems that this magic is heating up the blade." Ulrich reached his hand out towards the sword and could feel cold air surrounding a compact area around the blade itself. "Interesting, this seems to be a more magical type of transformation. The sword doesn't change, but the magic is unique and doesn't require me to use any elemental magic. I bet I could match the same magic frequency this sword is giving off." Ulrich looked down at the sword and smirked.
Since Ulrich had time to spare, he decided to figure out how the sword was meant to be used. Hours passed as he continued to try and understand the shard's power. Night had already descended upon the land and Ulrich ran out of time to experiment. "It's night and all I figured out about this thing, is that it makes me move slightly faster than normal. This is pointless, I'll have to wait until I get back from my trip to see Claremont. I should probably get some rest." Ulrich began to walk back towards his room before stopping. He could hear footsteps grow closer to his location.
"King Ulrich, it's a pleasure to see you in good health." the voice was warm and full of love, just hearing it could bring solace to any who was suffering. Out walked Saint Elizabeth of house Percival, she was dressed in the raiments of the Church of the Faiths'.Her pure white robes only had blue accents, her hood obscuring her wavy, brown hair. Her face was very smooth, well defined, and beautiful, she looked like a young woman, despite her age of 50.
"Saint Elizabeth, you've been like a mother to me all these years, there's no need for you to call me king. After all, my mother entrusted my life to you if anything ever happened to her." Ulrich then let out a laugh and a smile came across his face. He had many fond memories of Saint Elizabeth. His mother was often busy trying to lead the kingdom and upholding peace, so Elizabeth would often be the one to watch over the two Pendragon siblings. Ulrich's fondest memories were when she would take he and his sister to the bakery to eat the different cakes made that day.
"Of course, Ulrich." Elizabeth replied in a teasing tone. "I came to inform you that the council aren't to keen on you seeing Claremont. They would prefer if you allowed them to handle it." She looked at Ulrich's expression, knowing that he would come up with a way of finishing what he started. "So, I would suggest you gather everyone and head out tonight." Ulrich looked up at Elizabeth with a shocked expression, Elizabeth responded with a sweet, motherly smile.
"Of course! I will gather my things and change my gear. Thank you Saint Elizabeth." Ulrich began to continue before stopping. "Actually, I have a question I'd like to ask you."
"I will answer it if I can." Elizabeth answered quickly.
"Um, do you know anything about Maria's strange power, also I'd like to know if it's alright for my sister to be using her shadow?" Elizabeth let out a heavy sigh.
"Maria has an ability known as blood magic. It's so rare that many people regard it as a myth. Many find it cursed since it requires blood and because it can even take control of humans. It's full strength can only be brought out when at death's door." Elizabeth paused for a moment, even taking a moment to bite at her thumb. "Don't let Maria ever get to that point. If she does, I want you to promise me that you'll run Ulrich. She won't be herself and the Maria that comes out might kill you." Ulrich stood in deep thought for a moment before speaking.
"I can understand why you wouldn't tell me, but why not tell her?"
"We planned on telling her this year, however, the more she vied for the position beside you, the less the others on the council trusted her with controlling her power. It was a majority vote and I had to keep quiet. Since you already know, there's no longer any point in hiding it. I would like to begin training her to harness that ability now, but I know that you have already planned this crusade on Claremont so it can wait until you return. It will take her a year or two to harness it freely. I'm afraid that we'll be needing her strength soon." Elizabeth's face had a look of concern, almost as if she had seen a disaster heading towards Camelot.
"I'm not sure what you mean by that. Whatever the case, I'm sure that you'll be able to get her power under control sooner, rather than later. I trust your judgment. I'll try and make sure nothing to crazy happens. I'm not going to bring down the city of Sastin, I'm just going to make someone answer for his crimes. My mother let him rule over that small city and this is how he repays that kindness?" Ulrich clenched his fists, a blue aura seemed to be leaking out of his body, like smoke rising over flames.
"Little Ulrich, don't you think you're allowing yourself to get too worked up? Despite his actions, your mother allowed him to rule because she wanted to keep a close eye on him. He was a complete unknown, even now, he still maintains a mysterious persona. I have only met him once, but I was able to clearly see his level of skill. As you know, the most powerful of individuals are designated as demigods. His power was on par with most demigods here in Camelot."
"Humph! I guess I'll just have to turn into a godslayer then." Ulrich looked down at Excalibur, a demigod is no joke, killing a demigod is another big issue, Ulrich thought to himself. "Listen, I am hoping to do this as quickly as I can. I will make sure that everyone knows what his crimes are, then I will be able to deal with him without repercussions. Just going and killing him, well that will cause the other cities to become hostile with us. They already don't like that we've been promoting equality with the other races. If only they knew a demon showed up, they would all change their tunes." Elizabeth quickly grabbed Ulrich by his shoulders.
"A demon showed up?!" Elizabeth's eyes were full of fire and were exuding an intense aura.
"Um, yeah? Maria fought it and killed it, that's how she learned about her power in the first place. Is there a problem with that?" Ulrich looked at Elizabeth quizzically. She slowly released her grip of Ulrich.
"Well, I'm sure it's nothing. We've been getting reports of demons popping up. Not very many, but enough that it's caught our attention. Don't worry about it King Ulrich, we'll take care of it." Elizabeth then began to walk off, "Your sister is quite remarkable Ulrich. Look after her, her power won't cause her sickness to act up. If she takes her medicine, there won't be any problems." Elizabeth stopped next to the door she entered from. "She is very powerful, but her sickness doesn't seem to be caused by anything related to her shadow or her absurd amount of magical energy. I was able to find out that it won't kill her, however, without her medicine, she will be in unimaginable pain. When you return, I will teach you both how to make it."
With that, she left. Ulrich stood there dumbfounded. Elizabeth left quickly after hearing about the demon. It didn't matter to him right now, he could always ask about it when he returned. Ulrich quickly changed into his battle garb and quickly began rounding up everyone. It didn't take long for the four friends to sneak out of the city unnoticed. The trip to Sastin was one week's ride away, during this time, Ulrich began to come up with a plan to confront Claremont. Ulrich and Leanna had the skills to fight a demigod, however, Maria and Alicia were the ones who had to stay out of the main areas of combat. Sastin had one demigod in their city, not counting Claremont. The plan was for Leanna to fight that demigod, while Alicia and Maria made sure no one else interfered. Ulrich would deal with Claremont, of course, this was considering they would put up a fight.
The group then arrived to Sastin, the small city was pretty well guarded considering the size of it. It was only a trade city, if that. Ulrich felt alarmed at the amount of soldiers guarding the city. The four all wore cloaks to hide their appearance as they entered the city, they wanted Claremont to be surprised at their appearance. As they made their way to the main castle, Ulrich noticed that no children were seen running along the streets. No beggars were in the alleyways either, most cities had small amounts at least. Unless Claremont managed to become wealthy enough to supply all of his city, like Ulrich did with Camelot. Ulrich noticed the tattered yellow flags that were hung throughout the city, they seemed to have an odd red design in the middle of it. "Brother?"
"Yes, Alicia? Is something wrong?" Alicia was being trained to become a saint, so if something was amiss in the air, then she would be the on to notice.
"There seems to be some kind of strange magic in the air. It's heavy and stifling." Alicia coughed a couple of times before taking some of her medicine. "The strange thing is that it doesn't feel like ordinary magic. It isn't divine in nature either. We should remain cautious." Ulrich simply nodded and jumped off of his horse as they reached the castle entrance. The rest followed and grabbed their weapons from their horses. Leanna had a pair of eastern katanas that were forged from Mordred's melted down greatsword. Alicia had two shortswords and a wrapped up Caladbolg on her back.
"When we get in there, I want Leanna to be beside me. Maria and sis will follow behind us and provide protection from the rear. Alicia said that something seems off about the air and I have noticed some strange things on the way in. So, stay alert. If anyone sees any kind of aggression, I want you to wait until your in danger to react. Is that understood?" The three ladies nodded their heads.
"Cousin, do ya think they'll put up a fight? I've been itching for a good fight." Leanna had a sweet smile on her face that was slightly unsettling.
"I'm hoping to avoid that but if not, then you'll definitely get your wish. Just don't aggravate the situation like last time." Leanna responded by playfully sticking out her tongue.
"My King, if a battle begins, I will take Alicia to the main doors to make sure no one interferes. It'd be best if the two of us don't face direct combat in our conditions."
"Good, if we follow the plan I laid out on the way here then it shouldn't be a problem. However, plans tend to fall apart easily so don't be afraid to improvise. Now, let's not keep Claremont waiting any longer." The four walked toward to entrace and were stopped by the guards. Ulrich showed him the amulet of Camelot, it showed a lake with a hand emerging with a sword. The guards quickly let them in. They noticed the strange decorations, tattered yellow drapes and strange wooden sculptures that seemed to be effigies. The smell was almost rotten inside of the castle, almost like rancid blood. Ulrich noticed some of the guards were moving quite strangely down the halls, almost like marionettes. The air of the castle sent a chill down everyones spines.
They entered the throne room and saw a massive feasting hall with the same decorations as before. In the middle was Claremont, sitting on a massive throne made of twisted wood. His crown was made of gnarled wood with topaz jewels that had been lazily inserted. Claremont had a yellow robe over his steel armor, however, even his armor seemed to be slightly distorted. The chainmail that was visible seemed to be baggy, as if they were resting on a sickly body. Claremont's face had a ever present twisted smile on it. His facial features would normally pass for handsome, however, they seemed to have a very unsettling air about them. Almost as if there was something wrong about them, but no one could ever figure out what. His hair was long and grey and his yellow eyes were completely bloodshot. Ulrich noticed that he seemed to involuntarily twitch certain parts of his body, particularly his hands.
The four removed their hoods and stood before Lord Claremont, with Alicia, Maria, and Leanna exchanging a courtesy bow. Claremont's eyes scanned the four before bowing his head in reply. in the shadows behind him stood a man in an all yellow cloak, who possessed a strange, all black sword. Claremont then opened his smiling mouth. "King Pendragon, to what do I owe the pleasure of meeting with you today? If you had informed me, I could have prepared a feast in your honor."
"My companions and I were simply passing through the area, so I decided to drop by for a visit. I remembered my mother granting you this province and decided to meet you for the first time." Ulrich began to walk around the throne room pretending to inspect the different sculptures. He knew that Claremont would be wary of his arrival and wanted to see if he had somehow signaled his men, however, the throne room was empty and the figure behind him had not moved an inch.
"Ah yes, your mother. It really is a shame that she disappeared like that. I, myself, wondered what could have happened to such a specimen of a woman." Ulrich quickly snapped his head towards Claremont.
"Choose your words more carefully Claremont. Remember who it is you are speaking to." Claremont returned Ulrich's gaze unflinchingly. His eyes seemed to be probing Ulrich's very soul. "Tell me Lord Claremont, does your city not have any children?" Claremont's neck twitched ever so slightly.
"In case you could not tell on the way in, we have been struck with some sort of magical disease. It stifles the young ones' growth, as such, we must keep them inside of buildings. The magical disease seems to only effect the mortal people. The chosen people like us in here, well, we aren't effected in the slightest." He let out a loud cackle. Ulrich made his way back to Leanna's side.
"Chosen people? I'm afraid I don't understand your meaning." Ulrich eyed Claremont, looking for any kind of tick or tell that might allow him to find the truth.
"Oh, but you do understand King Pendragon. In your own city, you have those common people. The ones who have no talent for understanding the power we wield. The dregs of society if you will. Then you have the chosen people, such as those wonderful companions of yours." Claremont's sick smile seemed to get even more twisted, which made the three ladies uncomfortable enough to put their hands on their weapons. The figure in the shadow finally moved, putting his hand on his sword in return. Ulrich and Claremont seemed to be the only two who weren't phased.
"It seems you have an eye for the chosen. I could tell that many of the citizens had some decent magical power. However, without a blessing from a deity, their souls would eventually turn black and they would eventually become..." As Ulrich was speaking, he was quickly cut off.
"Enlightened!" Claremont exclaimed in joy. As he spoke those words, he also lifted up from his throne with his arms held open wide. He was thin and gangly, however, his height made him seem slighlty larger than Ulrich. "All of my subjects have been enlightened and we are all awaiting the day until we may see our great deity." Ulrich stood strong and confident, even though what he said had gave him a sick feeling in his stomach. His blood also began to boil, he hated to see magic energy used without some sort of protection from the soul degradation. It turned people into ghouls and things less than human.
"Are you telling me that all of you have been using magic without any kind of soul protection? Regular people I could understand, but you and the demigod of your city? How are all of you still functioning regularly?" Claremont tilted his head unnaturally at the question.
"It has not been without some difficulty, I assure you that. I have had to sacrifice many things to accomplish my goal. However, I have found a way to use magic without any deities or soul charms. What I found goes beyond human comprehension King Pendragon. Even your precious runes would be rendered obsolete." Claremont then made his way to one of the wooden effigy statues. "Also, it's not like we don't have a deity. It's just that our deity doesn't care about the trifles of such things." Claremont then let out a sickening laugh. Ulrich motioned to Maria and Alicia who began to make their way towards the main door.
"Well, I have sent those two to fetch some wine from the horses. I would like to hear more about this breakthrough of yours." Ulrich then noticed the yellow warrior make his way closer to the throne.
"I must say that it was incredibly difficult at first, I required the aid of some very special people. Like those two you sent to fetch the wine. I can sense such potent and sweet magical force coming from them. All three of your companions are such beauties and all have such a wonderful scent about them." Ulrich clenched his teeth tightly.
"I would ask you to refrain from saying such things of my sister, cousin, and friend. While we may be in your castle, you are still in the lands under my rule. You would be wise to remember such a thing Claremont." The lord looked over his shoulder at Ulrich.
"I was simply making a comparison King Pendragon, they are the types of people I required when studying all of this. Though, I fear that I won't be able to reach the final stage of my research into enlightment without someone like them." He let out a small laugh once again. Ulrich decided it was time to end the farce.
"Someone like the Princess of Babylon?" Claremont slowly turned around, his smile was so twisted and gnarled that it looked inhuman.
"Yes, exactly like the whore of Babylon. Though, I'm afraid you already squashed that possibility. Oh well, there are always more out there." Ulrich was taken aback by the casual nature of his speech.
"You speak as if what you did wasn't wrong? You tried to buy her as a slave, which is outlawed in the lands under my protection. Yet, you so brazenly speak about it as if you have done no wrong." Ulrich then put his hand on Excalibur. Ulrich then remembered a crucial phrasing Claremont had used in the conversation. "You've been sacrificing humans for your experiments haven't you?" Leanna's face slowly began to fill with anger. Her grip on her weapons tightened.
"I allowed them to become sacrifices to a greater cause, to build a greater world. Trust me, those dregs and children have become more now than they could have ever been in this life." Leanna's rage was hitting her boiling point, she was about to lash out at any time.
"Claremont, you are no longer fit to rule this place." Ulrich's grip tightened around Excalibur, "You have broken many laws and performed outrageous acts against the crown and it's people. You have killed many innocents, as well as participate in slavery and torture. As King of Camelot, I, Ulrich Pendragon sentence you to death." Ulrich quickly drew his sword while moving quickly towards Claremont. Leanna pulled out her swords and watched as Excalibur grew closer and closer towards Claremont.
At the entrance of the castle, Alicia and Maria had incapacitated the guards and stood watch. Suddenly, they heard a loud explosion from the throne room. Alicia's Caladbolg began vibrating violently upon her back. Her expression quickly changed as she managed to yell only one word. "Brother!"