Rays of light shone through the several broken window sills across the castle. A man sat on a high fence with a cloak that flowed down about him, he looked to the south, his eyes never faltered as he watched fervently, as though he expected someone of importance.
Beneath him lay the dead bodies of the guards who once defended Dravenhall. He had laid them down out of respect to their duty.
His eyes perked up as he saw an entourage approach, he squinted farther and saw about a dozen carriages and with horses to pull them all. He sighed inwardly and faded from the fence he sat on. Melting into the shadows and appeared beneath the fence.
He walked across the yard where he had laid the bodies, bowing slightly to the fallen soldiers. The Lord had evacuated most of the guards the night he had left, and now he returned in mass with his entire family.
Shadow smiled.
He walked on until he reached the castle gates and slipped outside. The gates themselves were polished bronze and somewhat painted silver to reflect the light and heat of the sun.
Shadow, standing before it covered entirely in black making a sharp contrast, his eyes were tired, and he felt vain, used and angry.
He has caused meaningless deaths.
He stood outside for a good thirty more minutes until he could see the head of the entourage approach him. A rider rode in front, covered in full armor and a closed helm.
He held his sword but his side as he rode a hefty mount. A black stead unlike another Shadow had seen. The knight reigned the horse to a stop.
"Boy, you live!" The knight said, taking down his helm. It was the aura knight who had been training his men at arms. Shadow knew that already from his build and simply bowed in respect, not uttering a single word.
He must have known about the plan.
"Where are the other guards and the thieves? Do you have them killed or imprisoned?" He jumped down from his mount and came standing face to face with Shadow.
Shadow kept his cool and gaze, his lips hadn't said a single word after he had found out the truth. He looked at the knight, then looked past him without an utterance.
"Surely you're not deaf, Kael! Give me an answer, is it safe for us to approach the Castle? Or perhaps have you joined sides with the enemies and laid out an ambush?" He held Shadow by the hem of his cloak, dragging him forwards as he demanded an answer.
Silence.
The knight looked at Shadow with a growing rage, his hands still clenched about the hem of Shadow's cloak tightened even further as the pressure around the both of them began to rise.
He was using aura.
But Shadow looked past him, as the man who strode calmly in their direction, he didn't know who the man was, but he seemed well respected by the guards.
Probably a son of Lord Draven?
"Cease your foolish acts, Sir Caster. He has done a good thing. The scouts have already confirmed the dead bodies of the thieves and that of our men that lay about in the yard" the man clapped the knights back gently.
The knight's grip let loose as Shadow regained his balance and looked past the both of them. There he saw who he had been waiting for.
Lord Draven.
Shadow resisted the urge to slide his throat cleanly with his dagger, or perhaps blinding both his eyes with throwing knives, or slashing all his tendons for movement.
He had thought of everything, but now. Now he couldn't do anything but lower his head as the Lord passed into the castle walls.
"Ungrateful bastard!" The knight spat at Shadow's feet. "Be lucky that the Lord has permitted you to live, you'll be useful to him at the very least".
With that, the knight climbed his horse and rode him back into the yard. Shadow stood at the gate a little longer than he wanted too. He needed time alone with the Lord.
As if reading his thoughts, a line guard walked up to him, nudging him with the butt of his spear.
" Lord Draven requires your presence" he said.
Shadow nodded and walked off in the direction of the Lord. As he passed, he could hear the whispers of the guards as they examined the bodies spread out in the yard.
"Slit his throat?"
"This one was severed in half"
"Such a monster"
"Did he really do all this carnage?"
Those words brought a slight smile to Shadow's lips, it felt good to be glazed once more. But the sickening feeling in his gut made the joy disappear immediately.
Shadow arrived at the same room he had met the Lord before, the room where he had been lied too.
Standing with him there was the knight, the respected man and a few others of his children.
"You bastard!" Shadow cursed as soon as he entered the room, he banged the door behind with enough force to loosen the hinges.
"You will show respect to the Lord, peasant!" The knight unsheathed his blade and pointed it at Shadow, or rather where Shadow has been.
The knight felt a palm against his face as he was forcefully slammed against the ground with his head first.
"Seriously, fuck you! I'm tired of your shit" he spat back at the knight then looked back at Lord Draven.
His eyes were full of fear and shock, everyone's eyes were. The fastest way to show dominance was to defeat the strongest in the room.
"You lied to me" he said standing up, the knight was unconscious.
"No… Of course not, how? Why would I?" lord Draven stammered as he took a few stepped back from his seat. Everyone did the same thing.
"Look, I don't really care. I just want to leave this damn place. Grant me my treaty and I'll be on my way. You'll never hear from me again" Shadow said, hoping he sounded reasonable enough.
Shadow felt a slight change in the air.
"Mana Shield" he whispered. A dark ball of condensed mana wrapped itself around Shadow, shielding him from the attack of the knight.
The gust of wind caused by the attack pushed everyone backwards as the shadows licked up the light coming into the room.
"Last chance, Lord Draven. Last chance or everyone here ends up like the men in the yard" he warned. And this time, he meant every single word.