"Even I have honor for my house. I won't kill you myself." Cormac turned to the guards. "Do you bring it?"
One of them stepped forward and brought out a small wooden box. Cormac collected it with his third hand and rested it on his palm. "Unlock the gate and hold him."
The guards did and Kyrexiel bolted forward but a hand came out of nowhere and smacked him on the face with such force he went down without a sound as his vision turned.
Cormac snorted will disdain. "You think you can escape from my guards? A Tier One, rank One like you?"
Kyrexiel barely heard him. His head stung and then with two guards on either side, they raised his head. Cormac bent to look at him eyes to eyes again. "That purple eyes. It used to be our symbol of strength but now it only represented weakness. You don't deserve it."
And then the Elder punched Kyrexiel again and while he was trying to get his senses back, his hand shoved into his hair and his eyes were pulled open, something was put inside that made his eyes watered in pain.
He didn't know how long he lay there but when he sat up again a small mirror was put in his face. Cormac looked from his place, a satisfied smile on his lips.
Kyrexiel looked in the mirror. His purple hair had been dyed a deep black and the glowing eyes were now a muted brown. He felt a pinch in his chest. He felt naked as if something glorious had been stripped away from him.
Then he saw his lips, a small wound was dripping blood there. He used his fingers to clean it and then he raised it for Cormac to see. "See this blood Cormac. It is purple. Even you can't take that."
The Elder looked at him one last time as if Kyrexiel was nothing but a bug. "Dispose of him." Then he turned and left, leaving the three guards alone with him.
The guards went about their work as fast as they could. They brought a large chest in and opened it, then one of them came to stand in front of Kyrexiel and it was then that he saw their hands.
Their hands were different from the other skins of their body. It was grey and tough like an elephant's hide. Memories trickled into Kyrexiel but the guards were speaking, giving him a fake apologetic look. "Sorry, Your Highness."
Then he put his right hand together in a fist and it came down on Kyrexiel's head, lightning fast. Darkness came faster.
When he woke up, his hands were bound in front of him and he was lying with his back in a large opened chest. He was in a carriage if he had to judge by the movement.
The guards were talking among themselves. Low enough that others won't hear. "Why do we have to carry him like this when we can just throw him down from atop the towers."
"And risk the guardians from waking up? The guardians are the protectors of the Pure Hydraeus. That is why the bitch won't leave the castle grounds. Besides, we are not the ones to do the killing."
"And why did Elder Cormac want to use his blood to deactivate them? At least he's useful in one thing."
Kyrexiel silently filed it away into his memory.
Kyrexiel considered his options. Right now, he knew they must be out of the castle and into the streets. 'Should I shout? No, the Blue Shield has authority that can not be challenged by ordinary people outside the castle'
The Blue Shield are the soldiers under Elder Cormac. They are responsible for the protection and maintaining public order in Xandros, the capital.
Shouting would draw attention but what will that do when no one will challenge them? Worse, the guards accompanying Kyrexiel were the personal guards of Cormac.
Kyrexiel thought about the hierarchy of Maledicta and of every Great Clan. The ruler of them all, God Emperor who rules all of the world of Maledicta and their off-world colonies.
The world is split into four regions, with the central making it five regions known as Dominions. Each Dominion is independent from the direct rule of the God Emperor. Each Dominion has a Great Clan that rules it.
Kyrexiel shook his head at the amount of information that was coming to him. He thought silently to himself. 'The Great Clans are usually headed by a clan family, like mine now. The Hydraeus'
But that's not the most important.
The most important of all is Blood. Bloodline decides all. At the top is the Pure Bloodline – The highest and most powerful Bloodline, considered the "purest" and most direct lineage. Kyrexiel is from a pure Bloodline.
Then the Noble Bloodline, a high-ranking Bloodline, closely related to the Pure Bloodline, but with a slightly diluted lineage. They are usually the extended family of the Pure Bloodline.
True Bloodline comes next, a Bloodline with a strong connection to the Pure Bloodline, but with some distant or mixed ancestry. The Blue Shield and most of the population of Vaidika are from True Bloodline.
The Diluted Bloodline, is a Bloodline with a faint connection to the Pure Bloodline, possibly due to extensive interbreeding or very distant ancestry.
There's also tainted Bloodline. And the corrupted.
Then we have the Rashakas themselves. They are grouped into three, the High Rashakas, the Elite Rashakas, and then the Low Rashakas. It all depends on how strong their bloodline is.
The High Rashakas have more natural powers than the others. People like Kyrexiel are considered as High Rashaka and so is all his family.
Kyrexiel filled the information away because he also remembered a theory that said the Rashaka in power only made that 'high Rashaka' stuff because they wanted to remain in power.
Kyrexiel was amazed by how much the Bloodline will determine your standing, from the pure to the diluted Bloodline.
"The Hydraeus," Kyrexiel whispered. That was his family's original Bloodline. Hydraeus himself, the one perfect Hydra Rashaka that his line was still trying to reach even today.
The seven-headed storm god of terror.
It was said that the perfect Rashaka must reach the glory of his ancestor. Cultivate his true form. And unlock all Bloodline techniques.
Each Great and smaller Clans has this type of setup, different Rashaka's family with different Bloodline purity.
The carriage slowed and Kyrexiel blinked because he had been so swallowed by the memories he had almost lost sight of his surroundings and where he was.
He noticed that the guards were silent and tension coiled in the air. Then something whistled through the air and an arrow, black and narrow slammed into the side of the chest, inches from Kyrexiel's eyes.
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Ps-> Thank you for reading. Please don't forget the power stones.
If there's anything thing or questions, please point out.