CHAPTER - 144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKXohu0zHz4
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[ROYAL PALACE, ATLANTASIA]
Kael's grip tightens over the metallic bars as his eyes watch a ghastly sight through his balcony. A man atop the pyre, but instead of crying for help or in agony, his tears seem to evaporate in happiness, in a state of haunting atonement...
His muscles numb as a question dawns on him. A question which engraved itself into his soul. WHY.
[3 DAYS PRIOR]
A man in tattered and shabby robe jumps from a belfry into an alley followed by Royal guards who can merely think of jumping from an edifice and survive the fall. Hounds scavenge the streets for his scent, finding not even a smell. Once again, He had escaped...
Profane beings such as him, are being hunted down by the Royal court of Atlantasia itself, under the command of Queen Catreyl. The Imperial Knights guard the ROYAL PALACE OF VEYRA more than ever, especially after the declaration of Prince Kael as the last heir to the throne of Veyra.
Their rattling swords and fragile stature trigger Princess Marveth's sympathy towards his step-brother, Kael. Her eyes soften as she watches him being treated not more than a commoner. She asks her mother, Catreyl for this uncanny treatment, her reply always the same. "He is the last of the goldens, last of that worthless bloodline."
Queen Catreyl commands Marveth to remain ignorant to these foolish and unworthy subjects. Now that the rebel in "Constructors' clan" has been suppressed by Vanguards, the 'Red blood' loyalists could extend Atlantasia's borders to even greater limits. Kael has once again been locked up inside his own château while the queen and princess travel to New El Sautre, the musical and ceremonial town of Constructors' region.
Kael ponders what grave sin had he committed in his previous life to attain such a graceless life. He looks outside the balcony frequently, as if waiting for someone while in truth, he is all alone in the castle, with just hollow guards camping his living-grave. A gloomy flower barely survives the confined patch of soil, and so did Kael. Birds are free beings, without royal courts or political influence, then why should a human stay restrained for just being a 'golden blood'?
Meanwhile, the caravan has already crossed the River Marz, marking the royal red blood out of the capital city of Ataraxia. The convoy composes of a staggering 50 elephants and 1,000 foot soldiers, followed by royal lineage and 1,000 cavalrymen. The journey itself shall take a day to cover, the journey that could reshape the tide of Atlantasia as it once was.
The herd of elephants stomp over the grassland as they cross by the barley-mound hills in Producers' region. The foot soldiers catch a glimpse of ever-extending fields of crops that feeds the whole of Atlantasia.
Marveth: If they rebel, like the Constructors,44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7wqS6knlw3
even mighty swords would starve.
She was completely astonished by the boundless extent of fields. The spectacular brightness one gets from the tremendous greenery is what drives her curiosity at its verge.
Catreyl: Slaves don't riot.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfe9bVhu09L
Those who defy are kneaded into the very soil we travel upon.
Marveth's eyes dim as Catreyl closes the curtains she has been peeking through. She offers a dagger to her, the one given to the entrants of the Tournament. A mocking smirk spreads across Catreyl's face, the last contenders.
Marveth: Shall you commence the games once again?
Catreyl: The duels were concluded with Thalleous' death.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFmQ0v3poTB
Why would I consign my own daughter to such a fate?
Peasants raise their heads to watch the royal progress pass by the fields and enter the Constructors region. Elder Harun watches the convoy from his House of the Reeve as he directs the farmers during the barley sowing season.
Mother Selis, caressing a sheep's fur, has a glance over the hefty crowd of troops. Her sight drops as it slowly loses hope.
Mother Selis: O Lord! Have mercy on Zeke!
She pleads, unknowing if her cries will be heard by the gods or even the very animals she cares about. She directs the pastoralists to carry the livestock back to the barns and sheds.
Catreyl asks Marveth about her true intentions towards the golden blood. Marveth advances the idea of leaving Kael the way he wants to, the way of true freedom. A scathing laugh escapes Catreyl's throat, she knows how her daughter truly is.
Catreyl: remove that mask for now, Marveth.
Marveth: (exhales) That gleaner Kael.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbsAKqTAgsL
A castle was not enough for him. Disgusting.
Catreyl smirks off on her daughter's comment, the sun leans back so does she. The army halts due to sunset, it camps on the borders of Constructors region. Back to Kael, whose eyes search the dark clouds as they start to pour down over the city of Veyra. He lifts his hands to sense the heavy droplets, a feeling of uneasiness grows wilder within him as he perceives someone running from the soldiers in this torrent rain.
The person, covered with fragile clothing, disappears from the guards' and Kael's vision, only to slam open Kael's room door. Kael looks at him, into the only visible part of his body - his right eye. The Knights barge in following the trail, they question him about the figure, he misguides them out of his room saying the figure climbed towards the castle roof.
The knights leave to search the roof, while the intruder reveals himself out of the curtains, he prepares to run off again, but something in Kael triggers his attention. He grabs a vase with his firm, rotten hands.
Kael is taken back by such a sudden movement, from being pursued to attacking the figure who sheltered him. Kael tries to calm the guest down but he simply slams the vase towards Kael's face, which he blocks by bringing his arm in front of his face. Kael finally retaliates by driving a fist into the person's guts, banging him against the wall, cracking it.
Instead of fighting back, the person slaps his hands against each other, appraising Kael's raw strength. He removes the robe from his face, revealing a heavily decayed and rotted face with just one eye in-tact, everything else has... melted away.
The intruder: Kael, the last golden heir to the throne. You truly deserve to have His face.
Kael looks at his face, realizing that he is a necromancer, the reason he was fleeing the guards, who have kill-at-sight order for such anomalies. Kael, who is yet to be sure whom to trust, grabs a chair as his weapon, a fruit basket kept over tumbles, the fruits fall out one-by-one, pressurizing the tension in the room.
The necromancer grabs a stone from the cracked wall and impales his chest, slashing his chest, he showcases that those of his kind do not feel pain, the fruit basket is useless. He asks Kael to talk calmly and hear his sayings.
Kael rethinks and agrees after a moment of hesitation, he sits in front of the necromancer, pondering what his intentions truly are and what if he starts spitting rubbish or tries to manipulate or attack him? Questions arise but are soon shelved as the necromancer sits peaceful while desperately trying to eat an apple, as if he has never seen one.
His decayed tooth gets stuck in the apple's firm flesh during his hurriedly attempts to eat. He plucks it out and after a moment of staring at the apple, throws it away, with a heavy exhale. Kael watches as the fruit drops, his eyes trace back to his messy attire.
Kael: Before we begin, why do you lurk in the open.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlhOYus48V2
Unlike the other necromancers outside the borders?
Necromancer: Others? Kid... there are no other necromancers alive today.
Kael: If you're the last of your kind, why not hide?
Necromancer: To search... for you.
Kael: Me? of all? I barely know you.
Necromancer: But I discern you, Son of Thalleous.
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[ END OF CHAPTER - 1 ]
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