Agnes was nodding her head, "Alright, I get how it came to this, but why did you choose to fight here?" she looked around the peak, it was a breathtaking sight, but aside from that, if it came down to a duel, something like a cave would certainly benefit Cykrus the most.
"I decided on this location because of my father's words." Cykrus said.
"Your father's?" Vivienne asked, she knew very little about Cykrus' parents, they only met briefly when she was younger, and they were only known as rank two mages up until the end, 'Though that might not be the case...' she thought, eyeing the black pendant in Cykrus' hand.
"A while prior to his passing my father took me here and let me in on a family secret, an orally passed down rumour, that seems to date back several generations, as my father too heard it from his own." Cykrus delved into the memory that surfaced, "According to him, and to those that came before him, this mountain will become the final bastion for when Aventia faces the threat of annihilation. It will protect us in our most dire time."
Cykrus looked at the ground, "Believing that there was some sort of truth in these words, I chose to fight here... however nothing happened."
Agnes tilted her head, "But it wouldn't be our most dire time since you secretly reached rank three, and weren't pushed to the absolute edge, right?"
"Perhaps." Cykrus felt inclined to agree, "But perhaps there was something magical about this place, that has stopped working properly hundreds of years ago. Either way, there are plenty of earth particles here, so I wasn't particularly worried about the battle."
"I did mention it to you once, didn't I?" he looked at Agnes, although his rank was an exception, there was practically nothing else he hid from her.
Agnes audibly agreed, "Yeah, that's how I knew where to go, after one of the Ironhoofs accidentally revealed their plan to me." Agnes touched her forehead, "That reminds me... according to that guy, the Whitewoods are allied with the Ironhoofs."
"That guy?" Cykrus frowned.
"Fraten was his name." she answered, thanks to his blabbering, she managed to find out that a fight was going to take place, as well as pinpoint where exactly it would happen.
Vivienne recoiled, "Fraten Ironhoof. Wait, 'was'?"
Agnes raised the inconspicuous staff in her hand, "That's right. I killed him, and another guy called Charles. The latter went on and on about being some sort of spymaster."
"Haha! Good job Agnes, very well done." Cykrus burst out laughing.
He wiped a tear from his eyes, "That's three down. Just a couple more to go." Cykrus ended up smiling wide, "This unnecessary conflict might truly end in our generation."
"Don't celebrate too soon. It is all but certain that His Highness will invite you to have an audience with him, now that you have reached rank three, and I am not sure how he will react to those careless words you said to the lightning mage. At worst he will have you executed for treason." Vivienne shook her head, "That's why I wanted to stop him from running."
"And at best?" Cykrus took her warning seriously, the king was an extremely dangerous factor, not just because his rank was unknown, but also because everyone that considered themselves a subject would turn on Aventia at the slightest command.
"At best he will force you into a position where you have no choice but to follow him. If any of the rumours about the wars for the throne in his time are true, then he is a scheming mastermind that has no qualms with even brutally murdering his own siblings." Vivienne clicked her tongue, "Don't think just because the two of you reached rank three that you can do whatever you want now."
"But enough about that, let's circle back to you being rank three... how? Since when? And what is that artefact?" she pointed at the amulet.
Cykrus placed it in her palm, "It's one of the few things my ancestors left behind in our treasury. It was part of a darkness mage's inheritance, focusing on subterfuge and infiltration. See the empty space in the middle? It is supposed to be one part of a two-piece set."
Agnes turned to him, "Where is the second part then?"
"Your guess is as good as mine. Lost to time? Stolen?" he shrugged, now that knowledge of his rank would spread, there was no longer a need to use it.
"What's your next move?" Vivienne turned to Cykrus, with the battle over, she would have to return to the capital to report the results, though she was on his side, the truth would surface sooner or later, so it was best to not lie upon her return.
Cykrus looked down at the path of ice that led to the Ironhoof territory, "First we will have to rid Aventia of the puppets in power, of the nobles that allied with Simon and the lot. Then we might set our sights onto the rest of their family and help ourselves to their land."
Vivienne knitted her brows, "Won't you need a lot of manpower to suppress and claim their land? It is several times bigger than yours. Not to mention that you'll face resistance from the remaining Ironhoofs, but also from the people that live in their territory. Hm, maybe I can send you some of mine-"
"No." Cykrus refused, "I don't plan to drag you into this. Knowing that the Whitewoods might try something is worrying enough, I don't want to start an all-out war across the families."
The Whitewood family, another major force with strength comparable to the Ironhoofs, some say that they even surpass them; one person resurfaced in Agnes' mind, her brother Jonas.
"Fine, I won't." Vivienne waved her hands in surrender, "Farewell Cykrus, and Agnes. Take care of yourselves." she looked at the two, mostly Agnes, with a hint of jealousy, but it was best not to dwell on such feelings.
... ...
"...that concludes Duchess Debora's report, Your Majesty." a man was prostrating himself on a red and black carpet, some distance in front of a big throne, on which sat the king of humanity, the ruler above all the families, Lysander Van Tale.
He was dressed in a lavish gown, flaunting his wealth and power, but his expression was one of interest, with a hint of amusement.
The armoured guards that were stationed across the hall were sneaking glances at him, each of them at rank one, the weakest force that he was controlling, but by far the highest count, even if several families were to combine.
Among His Majesty's many followers and citizens, they were blessed with his presence the most frequently, yet even they rarely saw such expressions on him.
"A rank three mage of the Aventia bloodline, is this a good omen?" he scoffed loudly, "That brat of mine erred in his judgement, I look forward to seeing his response, now that he alienated a new potential pawn on this grand board." Lysander closed his eyes, mulling over some thoughts, then rocked his head back and forth, "Send an invitation to Lord Cykrus Aventia. I want to meet him in the flesh. Arrange for the meeting as soon as possible."
The servant-looking man lowered himself as far as he could, "As you will."
"What about that other matter?" the king raised a question, forcing the man to think intensely, 'What other matter could he be referring to...?' his forehead wrinkled, but luckily, he caught on, "Oh, could you be referring to the Sunless Mire?"
"What else?" Lysander's words suggested that little was as noteworthy as this, which was rather reasonable; one of the planar portals closing on their own? It was unheard of.
He had overseen many such operations during his lifetime, he had even gone on several himself, long ago as a prince, and not once had such a case appeared... what was so unique about that plane, about the inhabitants, or perhaps the humans that were sent in?
The servant's head touched the carpet, "Forgive me! The Order of Purity still hasn't been able to restore the portal's functionality, so it was impossible for us to gather any further intel!"
"Still?" Lysander grumbled, causing the many people alongside him in the room to sweat.
But before he could utter any more complaints, his expression took a sharp turn, "All of you. Leave." he commanded, sounding cruel and unforgiving, leaving no room for exception.
The servant got to his feet, speedily heeding the call, but the guards exchanged glances, hesitating, it was their duty to protect the king no matter the cost, and now they were being told to leave?
"Out. NOW!" Lysander Van Tale rose from his seat, his index finger pointed at the smooth stone doors at the end of the hall, under his urging, even the guards began to march out.
They were located within the confines of the royal castle, a separate and staggeringly massive building near the centre of Astafor, the capital city, which was surrounded by tall and oppressive walls on one side, and a boundless ocean on the other, there was no safer place than this, but they still had their qualms about leaving their ruler unprotected.
He walked down the steps that led to his throne, in the direction of the doors, making sure that nobody else was left inside, then as the stone creaked shut, he fell to his knees and lowered his head, "I was not expecting you to visit, O Radiant One." his surprise sounded genuine, as was the admiration that could be felt in his voice.
Painful coughing came from his throne, the rustling of cloth could be heard, and then a raspy voice that was barely audible, "Pah. Child, you need not flatter me."
Lysander turned around, on his throne sat a pile of skin and bones, a man looking so old, that his body was rotting from the passage of time; regular people might have wondered how this man had been able to enter without anyone noticing, but Lysander felt that nothing was beyond the old man.
His garments, a mix of purple and gold, were stuck to his flesh, for better or worse, but his eyes gleamed with wisdom, "Might I ask what brings your honoured self to my lowly home? As you have ordered, I started the competition for my successor, but I do not think that is why you are here." Lysander genuinely had no idea, this grand existence before him rarely showed himself, "Could it be? Have you heard of my plight with the Sunless Mire? I would not deem it to be of such great importance, that you would need to act personally."
"Sunless Mire? Ah. The newest plane. I remember. I did not come here for either of those, what sort of plight might you be referring to?" the old man leaned against the throne, as weak and feeble as he looked, Lysander was carefully weighing his words, "Not too long ago, the portal closed by itself. The church's Order of Purity has been working day and night to restore the connection, but if I may speak plainly, they have yet to deliver any meaningful results. I am assuming that the other end within the plane was forcefully shut, though I cannot imagine what sort of power it takes to achieve that."
The old man coughed; the scraping of his throat made even Lysander grimace, "Every plane is a creation of wonder, if you head in expecting everything to go smoothly, then you are bound to be surprised. We humans especially need to take care, for our numbers, and the strength that laid therein, were culled."
Lysander frowned, "Do you mean to say that they could be involved?"
"Hahaha- kah, kuh- urgh-" the old man choked mid laughter, clutching his heaving chest, he ruefully shook his head, "If that were the case, then the portal would not have closed, but opened even wider."
"My words may appear inconceivable, because you have never encountered them..."
Lysander interrupted, "Not at all! They wiped out so many gods, your words carry an indescribable weight..." he remembered the first meeting between himself and the Radiant One, it was just after the succession war for the throne had ended, with him being victorious.
His father, the former king, had introduced the old man, and along with him, revealed the darkest time throughout all of humankind, where they had come under siege... by those demons.
A historic event that had been wiped from all records, except for some folklore and legends; should humanity ever discover that the gods they worshipped were all but annihilated, not only would that lead to civil unrest, and threaten the stability of the church, but so much more.
And thus, it was decided that all information pertaining the war would be kept secret, only ever revealed to the current ruler, and those that personally witnessed that hell, like the old man.
Lysander's heavy shoulders eased up, it was relieving to hear that his worst fear was unfounded, "There is something that I must inform you of..."
The old man's ears perked up, "What might that be?"
The king bowed his head, "To put it bluntly, I might actually have to request your aid to recover access to the plane... within the Sunless Mire there is a person that I have high expectations of... in truth, I sent them there in hopes that they could break the shackles that are binding them, and reach rank five."
"Reach rank five? This person must have considerable talent for them to receive such high praise from you." the old man's bony finger tapped against the armrest of the throne, causing an eerie echo.
Each tap made Lysander's heartbeat faster, "It is just my shallow assumption, if you were to disagree..."
By raising his hand, the old man silenced Lysander, "No. It is not shallow judgement. You belittle yourself too much. It won't be long until you can rise to our height- actually, that is why I came to visit."
"I concur. It would be distasteful to leave a person with such potential lost in another plane." he lifted his head, looking towards the ceiling of the hall, "I will inform the hag, have her lend you a hand."
King Lysander's mouth went dry as he heard that title, "Hag?" he muttered, "I don't think there is another person in this world that would ever dare call Her Greatness by such a name."
"Ha!" the old man exhaled, "We have known each other for centuries, I believe she can forgive that much; and if not, then probably forget after some time."
"In the meantime, you had best prepare yourself, finish up everything that you need to attend to, for an opportunity has arisen for you to take the next step." he continued.
Lysander prostrated himself, just like the servant had done before him some minutes ago, "It would be my greatest honour and pleasure to follow your footsteps, stand shoulder to shoulder with you and oversee humanity's growth!" he proclaimed.
"I will pave the way, then return to you when everything is ready... but heed my warning, all those that came before you, every king and queen until now perished in their quest to overcome the final hurdle. I wish to see you succeed, as I have with the others, but there is little I can assist you with when the time comes. Prepare arduously." the Radiant One spoke.
The king bowed his head again, then as he looked up, the old man had left, having come and gone like a mirage, but his final words rang in Lysander's ears…
Forty odd years ago, perhaps a little longer by now, when it was time for him to ascend to the throne, there was a period where the populace of Astafor was shaken; rumours had it, that the late king, his father, had disappeared under mysterious circumstances, some believed there to be a grand conspiracy behind it all, perhaps an attempt on his life, even during his crowning-ceremony there were such whispers.
It took several years for the humans that were loyal to the crown to forget about that incident, they were driven by fear, with the king gone, so was their strongest protector against the many families that were subjects, and yet always looking to benefit from the royal family's inability, secretly hoping to take their place.
'So, this is what happened to you father… you too tried to reach the peak of humanity, only to disappear and be forgotten within less than a hundred years.' Lysander shook his head; would he end up the same?
If so, then it was necessary for the succession to end, and for the candidate's position to stabilise before he would venture off, as the old man had instructed him, or else Astafor might be besieged, and overthrown by the hounds that surround them.
Lysander sighed, "There is so much to do, and so little time… the competition might be in need of a bit more fuel to weed out the unqualified."