The Lady of the Lake's first chosen, Morgiana, the witch of the lake and the earthly spokesperson for the Lady herself, holds more power and influence than even the king in some respects. While dukes might outwardly obey but secretly disregard the king's orders or treat them as mere suggestions, they tend to obediently follow the witch's directives when she intervenes.
However, this chosen one doesn't often make public appearances; her whereabouts are unpredictable. Sometimes she guides knights on the path to the Holy Grail, and other times she acts as a prophet, guiding people from the chaos within their hearts towards the light, steering them away from a dire future.
But these are not her most crucial duties. The witch's primary task is to search for children with magical talents and bring them to the Lake of the Lady. Thereafter, these children are taken to the Lady's divine realm: girls are trained to return to the mortal world as prophets of the Lake, while boys disappear forever.
This involves a dark secret that Ryan understands after visiting the Lady's divine realm—the boys are part of a longstanding trade agreement with the wood elves living in the forest.
Despite guessing the truth, Ryan has no objections. Untrained magically talented children pose a danger as potential harbingers of chaos. The Lady does offer families a chance—if a family can send their child to another magic organization or to the Imperial Royal Wizard Academy before a certain age, she does not hinder them.
Compared to the Inquisition's practices (where all psykers are either sacrificed to the Emperor or killed, with only one in a billion trained), the Lady is indeed more merciful.
So, what does the Lady's witch want with Ryan? He promptly goes to meet her.
In the small wine fortress of the Jean vineyard, Ryan meets Morgiana, who seems lost in thought. Upon seeing him, she smiles, "The Lady has entrusted me with something for you, her champion. You need not refuse; just accept it."
"Uh... okay!" Ryan can only agree, but he's surprised and then pleased by the witch's gifts: two thousand gold crowns, five sets of standard knight equipment, a fifteen-piece furniture set, thirty pounds of finely milled wheat flour, and thirty pairs of silk stockings.
The silk stockings, made from unicorn fur and handcrafted by the Lady's prophets, are genuine luxury items, unmatched in elasticity and texture. Ryan thanks her profusely and accepts everything without demur.
However, Ryan wonders why the Lady would send him such gifts. Has she noticed his preferences? He thinks about Veronica and realizes the Lady has been observing him closely.
"Morgiana, your destiny is shrouded in terrible mists, and even I cannot see your future clearly. But the Lady believes you are the kingdom's last hope, so there is something I must tell you," Morgiana's blue eyes, bearing a resemblance to the Lady's but with harder features, fix on Ryan.
"I'm listening," Ryan gestures for Morgiana to sit on the sofa in the wine fortress's second-floor reception room, taking a seat opposite her.
"As the Lady's chosen champion, he has the right to do so.
"Darkness, dark shadows covet this land. I've seen it, the World Tree weeping, chaos corrupting this land, and our fate flickering like a candle in the wind," Morgiana murmurs, her voice filled with despair, seemingly not speaking directly to Ryan.
Ryan frowns, wondering if the person before him truly is the Lady's first chosen.
"I don't understand what you mean, Lady Morgiana," Ryan says gravely.
"I'm troubled by a dark prophecy, but that's not what I wanted to talk about," Morgiana shakes her head in anguish. "I foresee a dangerous knightly war this summer, and in the visions of prophecy, I saw your figure. Be careful, champion of the Lady, be very careful."
"I understand. And you should take care as well, Lady Morgiana," Ryan hesitates before offering help, "If it truly troubles you, perhaps I could assist."
"I don't need your help; I can manage on my own," Morgiana predictably refuses Ryan's offer to help her combat the prophecy, as it would require delving into her mind.
"I have other matters to attend to, Lord Ryan, please excuse me," Morgiana doesn't linger, leaving with a few prophets of the lake, her purpose unknown.
She remains as mysterious as ever.
Thinking this, Ryan calls for Emilia.
The maid, dressed in white, comes over, "Lord Ryan?"
"Emilia, I've arranged with Duke Wintfort for you to attend Wintfort Academy with Lady Suriya," Ryan plans for her future.
"Does this mean you no longer need me?" Emilia turns pale.
"No, Helenshire is only an hour or two away by horse, even shorter by pegasus. You'll study there during the week and can return here on weekends," Ryan reassures her, "I believe it's better for you to study than work as a maid at your age. It'll benefit your future."
Emilia is moved. She had received formal education before circumstances forced her to stop. Deep down, she's eager to return to her studies: "But let's be clear, Lord Ryan, I will always be your maid."
"I understand, and this will always be your home," Ryan promises. Emilia will report to the knightess in three days and enter the academy as a knightess's recommendation.
After sending Emilia off, Ryan stands alone by the window, contemplating his domain. Today's events have made him aware of the low productivity and war potential under the classical feudal system of serfs and nobles.
Serfs lack hope, and aside from war, they have almost no chance of advancement. They work not for themselves but for their lords, hence their reluctance to give more than minimal effort.
Ryan's domain is relatively better off, with a serf tax rate of seven percent, the same as Duke Wintfort's, making his serfs comparatively diligent. It's hard to imagine the state of serfs in other ducal domains.
Currently, Ryan lacks the power to challenge this centuries-old system. His immediate focus is on stabilizing his domain and building infrastructure. Then, he plans to invite Teresa and Veronica to help, unsure if Teresa would agree but confident in Veronica's assistance, recalling their agreement. Ryan finds himself missing the witch's company.
Busy with administrative work in his office, Ryan prepares for the imminent knightly war of summer. According to tradition, Midsummer's Day marks the recruitment for the Knight Kingdom. With a significant shortfall in soldiers, Ryan plans to recruit three hundred men from his domain's population of around eight thousand, including recent free settlers.
As he works diligently, the time passes quickly.
Late in May, deep within the Charlon Forest, a mining cave.
Four imperial guards in golden armor vigilantly guard the area, ready to eliminate any creature that ventures too close.
Inside the damp, deep cave, the Emperor and Ryan stand opposite each other. The Emperor's divine power floods into Ryan, a process that would cause any normal psyker to explode on the spot.
However, Ryan remains unaffected, his gene seed controlling the massive influx of energy, converting it into the purest form of subspace energy.
Father and son are engaged in restoring the body of a fallen gene seed!
This lengthy process has taken several days, and today, they are about to complete the transformation of the fallen gene seed.
The once-demonic entity has lost its physical form, becoming pure energy. Ryan's task is to reverse this process and restore his brother's soul and spirit to their pre-fallen state.
Throughout this ritual, Ryan experiences a tumult of emotions: madness, bloodlust, corruption, grief, hatred, and profound regret.
The ritual concludes with a giant, bald man, about 2.4 meters tall, lying naked on a stone slab.
"It's done. Anglaron will wake up shortly," the Emperor states calmly.
"He seems to harbor great hatred towards you, father," Ryan speaks softly, sensing his brother's emotions. "He feels you've wronged him, burdened him with an eternal shame."
"When I found him, he was already a severely damaged gene seed," the Emperor's expression is as cold as ancient ice. "A gene seed corrupted and fallen."
"How so?" Ryan is puzzled.
"When I discovered Anglaron on that planet, I realized he was no longer my son," the Emperor says, wrestling with whether to share this with Ryan. Seeing his son's eager gaze, he decides to tell the truth: "Upon meeting, I noticed his transformation. His teeth had been replaced with metal, cables protruded from his skull, and his brain was implanted with a vile device, 'The Butcher's Nail.'"
"The Butcher's Nail?"
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