Carl Callum Arthur,
Born into the royal household, Carl was the prince of the Camelot Kingdom. With the uprising of new clans and kingdoms, there was a lot on his hand.
"So, the mission failed?" said the man lying on his throne. A golden crown embedded with a radiant gem, fingers wrapped in shining rings, putting on a crimson cape, He was the Camelot Kingdom Emperor.
"Yes," Carl said. His voice was mild. "The army of 10000, assigned to kill the Necromancer, disappeared-" His voice died down in the desolate throne room.
"And?" the emperor asked. His eyes were fierce, even though wrinkles covered his face, even though his skin was saggy, Carl could feel a sense of sheer intimidation from within him... Carl's eyes were facing down as he could not gather enough audacity to look him in his eyes.
"…. The wizards say they can still feel Angus's soul but cannot locate him," His fist clenched. "The terrain where they fought has now turned into a desert. No traces of the necromancer's research could be discovered."
The emperor's brows narrowed, "Tsk. They could not even complete a simple task," he sighed.
"Could not complete it?" Carl's voice quivered, "Those men fought for this kingdom, and died-" Gathering enough courage to look into his eyes, he uttered, "Those men died, Angus died, They sacrificed themselves and killed the Necromancer, on behalf of your orders, and that's all you have to say?"
The emperor's eyes were as black as the crevasse. Carl could feel a perceiving of suffocation looking into those eyes,
"Oh, and what do you suppose I should say?" The emperor's speech was calm, like a sea unruffled by the breezes, "Should I thank them for their meaningless sacrifice? or should I reward their households with jewels?"
Carl, who did not expect to receive a reply, was taken back by it.
"Let me confess something," The king lied back and glanced up at the ceiling, "The soldiers had united from throughout the kingdoms for one mission. It was to slay the necromancer. However, that was not the order I gave to Angus."
"What?" Carl's eyes bulged
"Even though the means through which Dirael obtained his research was inhumane, nevertheless his research on raising the undead, and on the specific herbs, was not something to be undervalued.
I ordered Angus to seize command of the fellowship, to capture Direal alive, and seize his research."
"How could you? You were the one who Sentenced Direal to death in the first place!" Carl's nerves popped,
The Emperor looked at Carl and saw naivety. It disappointed him, "I did, and I was likewise the one who released him"
"You.. did Whatt?" Carl felt the ground disappearing. The one who conducted experiments on the gullible, the one who dissected an entire person alive in the name of research, the one who distributed untested portions and killed many. His own father freed him. He did not even know what to think anymore.
The emperor grew a faint smile on his face, "It was a wager, but it paid off. Ever since Direal was little, curiosity had consumed him. Letting him out of this place induced him to seek new places to complete his research.
He dealt quite a blow to other kingdoms, infant. His terror spread so much; those other kingdoms came pleading for establishing alliances."
"What was even the point of that?" Carl could not understand it. The world was at war. Elves, vampires, demons, and new races were inflating their territories, So then why were Humans fighting among themselves? Carl asked himself that.
"The point, you ask? Don't you see? Derial became a Necromancer, He brought back the Lost Arts, The fellowship caused the best knights from the kingdoms to gather, I had ordered Angus to capture Derial, and while in the battle use his soldiers to ambush those from other Empires."
"that's cruel-" Carl's voice was interrupted. The king scowled. "Angus failed. In the first place, it seems my plans relied too much on the outcome of Angus winning. Never in my life did I expect he would disappear like this"
Blessed by the seven gods Angus Eric Walter, He was prophesied never to lose a battle, born as a Hero sent by the Gods. They claimed even Death could not touch him. No beast could touch him, feared by all. He had the power to slay anyone except his kind, merciless eyes and the swing of his swords that followed nothing except the king's orders. People began calling him 'the Thoughtless Monster.'
"If things had gone as planned, We would have used Dariel's research to create an army of the undead, used his remedies to revive the soldiers from the verge of death, and with Angus leading them all.
This kingdom would have got an invincible army, Not just the other kingdoms, the high elves, the vampires, the world. It would have belonged under my Empire. The world would have entered the bloodiest age of war, but after the carnage, a new era of peace could have blossomed, with solely the humans remaining, but-" He continued, "In the end, the only thing we can assume is, both monsters killed each other. There is no telling when the new hero will be born, and we cannot even know which kingdom will he get born in,", The emperor sighed, "This was a terrible loss for us."
"I see," Carls voiced calmly, "Age of peace if all had gone according to you, is that what you would have told your citizens, you did it for peace? Isn't that what you would pass on in the history books telling you did it for the peace? We both know all you wish is the joy of stepping over others," Carl loosened his clenched fist, "I understand, "
'But it seems for better or worse, nothing ever goes as planned in this world, neither according to my plans nor yours,' Carl thought as he turned back and left the room.