Chapter 24 - Part 1

The market in the lower districts of the Red Keep was of no great abundance of produce and items. Poorly made clothing and daily needs of those of simple lives and minds along with mushy fruit and shriveled vegetables filled the stalls of the small space. Merchants that were at the very beginnings of their careers loitered the place looking for every and any customer. They jangled their wares in front of every passer by, hoping to make a coin to further their entrepreneurial endeavors.

The people that frequented such market were of two kinds: those that simply sought to buy food stuffs and normal everyday items, and those that sought to leverage a more unconventional way of obtaining more specific and rare items or information.

Among the almost empty stalls sat a run down bodega that could not in any lifetime call itself an in as the name stated: "Green Toe In",  but much like its name it was a moldy green color, that resembled a gangrenous big toe, which had chipped away exposing the shoddy woodsmanship and build long time ago.

The Green Toe In was not a place of ill repute, though it prided itself with beautiful wenches that tended to the needs of their patrons in an overly friendly way for 50 copper coins or half of silver. It didn't offer much than a rowdy atmosphere, watery beer with a sour aftertaste, and a place to chat out of the Order or Royal Guard's earshot. The lack of windows and candle lit atmosphere gave it a much searched private allure.

Araya was already at her second horrible beer which she reservedly sipped now and again trying not to make a face, her eyes dashed to the door every time someone walked in but never lingered more than a moment.

One of the people she had helped from her town office, on the matter of saving their measly tailor shop from greedy corrupt guards that wanted to evacuate the poor family in the favor of buying the land, had came to her the other day saying that his wife had heard from one of their customer that heard from the local butcher who served one of the guards who had heard from another twenty or so encounters that the Order was planning something.

At first Araya tried to get the stout man on his way as quickly as possible to resume her search for Lwora, but the man provided an important clue to her friend's location. The first encounter of the rumor was one of the children that Lwora had grown fond of while serving under the Order. Dobrik, a small boy, probably due to malnutrition, with large brown eyes and dark hair, the single son of a lowly carpenter and maid, was wandering the dangerous streets of the lower district alone at night. Araya could hardly believe this were it not for the name that the tailorman provided. Dobrik. Lwora would go on and on about the children, among which, that name stood out every time in her stories. The child could not sit still to save his life, and his endless energy made him the life of the group. The boy's tale that gone through at least thirty encounters and mouths mentioned seeing Cornelius every night go down to the long forgotten paths of the city.

Red Keep was built on top of a clif, the building of which connected to the stone through tunnels, rooms, and terraces. The history books on the Red Keep are filled with stories of secret rooms and hidden treasures long lost to time. Even to this day, new chambers are being accidentally discovered by guards or people that wandered too far from the main streets.

It would not have caught Araya's eye if the boy had not mentioned that Cornelius' nightly visits began the day Lwora disappeared and if those paths were not in the lower district.

Cornelius was a man that valued status and rank above anything else, and would not be caught dead dirtying the sole of his feet with the same ground that was walked by mere commoners, and the unblessed to boot. Which made sense why he would have preferred to do so under the guise of night.

"Excuse me, miss?" a small voice reached her ears. She looked down to see a dirty boy with big brown eyes and black hair staring at her. "Are you a princess?" He asked, making Araya chuckle.

"No." She sighed but her smile remained. "I am not." She replied. "What in Creator's name would you think I'm a princess?" Araya looked down at her garb, she had picked the most simple robe she owned and had her cloak pulled all the way to cover her face.

"Your clothes are clean with no holes. You're pretty too and smell nice." The boy said with a large smile. Araya was taken by surprise and blushed at the childlike sincerity. It was a breath of fresh air opposed to the ever scheming, lying, and lobbying of the Councilmen she had to deal with on a daily basis.

"My, you're a charmer." Araya laughed. "Are you Dobrik?" The boy shook his head with enthusiasm.

"Me pa says to me you give me coin if I tell you what I saw." He said without a shred of shame.

"That is correct. I will need you to be very detailed, Dobrik. Can you do that?" Araya's smile fell into a serious neutral face to let the boy know this was no laughing matter. The boy simply nodded. "Let's start with the beginning."

"Yes, m'am. I was on me night...uh... " Suddenly the boy seemed nervous, looking around the room, his gaze bouncing around until he found an older gentleman that stared back concerned. Araya decided that that man was the boy's father and he was looking for any support he could.

"I am not going to judge or hold you accountable for anything that you say you have done, Dobrik. All I want is to listen to your story and in exchange you will receive this." Araya procured from her long sleeve, five shiny silver pieces. The boy gasped.

"Do I really gets to keep it, m'am." he asked, eyes sparkling with how many sweet buns he could buy with that kind of money. Araya nodded and pushed two towards the boy to encourage him.

"Right! I was on me night scouting for things to steal. I'm small enough to creep and me Ma and Pa don't make enough to put food every day. I was on the down behind the butcher's looking for some scraps in the bin when I saw this light floating in the distance. You don't get the chance to see a ghost that often, so I took me heart in me teeth and followed the ghost light. But it ended up being a fat man with a sparkly hat that was followed by a flying shiny stone. Thought I went mad, there was no sun to make the rock shine so bright. I followed him o'corse and I got to see his face better. I recognized him from when me and Lia, me best bud, though she's a girl, we went and sneaked in the middle district and ended at the border with the rich. We saw the man in a carriage drawn by four mrons! Four! He went in the chappel, he did and we heard some people talking about the Head Cornilus. Never heard no one called Head before that day. Weird name if you ask me."

Araya couldn't help but smile at the boy. "Weird indeed."

"Then he went down the path me Ma always told me was full of soul eaters and never go down there! He went right in, never looked back once. Next day I heard the butcher got fresh meat, and the same thing. I saw the light, it was this Head person with the sparkly hat. After that I kept seeing him around the same time, miss. The other night he brought someone with him."

"Did you see this person's face, Dobrik?" Araya interrupted.

"No, miss. Though I heard them, I did. Said something about getting rid of the filth faster or something but they didn't carry any trash with them, miss. That's all."

Araya's heart began to pound in her chest. She was certain who the other person with Cornelius was, but kept it to herself and tried to remain as calm as possible. Putin on a smiley face she pushed the other three silver coins and the boy quickly snatched them off the table for fear of taking back her word. She sighed and thanked the boy, taking her leave.

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Your Imperial Majesty, I Elena Vice, GradMaster and Headmistress of the Elo'yn Academy branch, am honored by your continuous correspondence and your kindness to our students as well as interest in the education of our future Wielders and noble hearted of the Empire.

I am writing, just as your Imperial Majesty has requested of your humble servant, to report any changes or irregularities with the student who benefits from your sponsorship as keeping the sponsorship's nature confidential. From the very start the young Wielder had shown power far greater than I have ever seen in my long years as a GrandMaster in the Empire army; I fear this student's capacity for Fios surpasses even my own. I also fear your advice on not interfering with any of the quarrels he has with the rest of the student body on the matter of his upbringing is unwise. The student shows incredible capabilities and a mind hungry for knowledge, which is beyond any of the more noble hearted students, makes him an easy but dangerous target. Retaliation from this talented student will not bode well for the noble men and women who sent their children to our school .

Although my concern is great I shall respect my Emperor's wishes and do as he commands. The student shows incredible growth and understanding of Fios concepts that allowed him to advance to the point where he is able to cast more sophisticated spells and increase complexity at will, regardless of how pleased I am with his skills and talent, this school will no longer be able to help him grow. He will soon exceed our current Council approved curriculum and must start his mastership. Which I believe is the best course of action.

I want to use this opportunity to further inquire about my previous requests on the expansion of the Academy curriculum to better prepare our young Wielders. I believe....

Emperor Ryel stopped before he lost interest in the letter. His heart beat like a drum in his chest, as he closed his eyes, he sighed then smiled from ear to ear. He let the letter drop gently on his desk. The moment it touched the hard wood it burst into flames leaving nothing but ash without getting to read the rest of its contents.

"Ever so secretive, Elena." He smirked. He knew Elena Vice would never betray him, even so Ryel kept the real reason why he generously sponsored some stray dirty orphan.

She was once his father's most loyal and powerful guard, rumors flowed of their affair which Elena viciously denied, but Ryel knew she loved him. After his death she blamed herself and he couldn't hold it against her, he was glad he spared her life and allowed her to retire to a lousy teacher position. Who would have thought that she would be helping him fulfill his dream of gaining power?

Anticipation built into his stomach as it tightened. He had waited so long and now he was so close. Just a little bit longer.

The first whisper he received from the Creators happened years ago. It told him useless things, things he already knew. That he was chosen one, that he was the champion of the Creators, the true one ruler of the Empire. They guided him to the artifact, to the slave, helping him achieve his dream.

A knock on the door of his secure study interrupted his thoughts. The guards on the other side of the room yelled who it was seeking his audience and then silence followed. They waited for his reply.

"Araya, just in time." He said to himself. "Let her in." He yelled back and the double door swung open.

Araya swiftly entered and closed the doors behind her. She looked frazzled and worried. Dark circles under her eyes hung like deep shadows and her hair was unbrushed, quite unlike Araya who was always neatly put together and organized.

"Your Imperial Majesty." she quickly said and out of breath. "They're on the move." She did a quick curtsy.

"Fuck!" Emperor Ryel clenched his jaw knowing fully well who she was referring to and took a deep breath to calm himself before he would punch another hole in the ancient map framed nicely behind him. "Could not have come at a worse time, Araya. I trust your information is correct?" He asked with a raised brow.

"Yes, your Imperial Majesty." she lied, her fear for losing her friend forced her into not taking any chances regardless of the source of the information. She could not risk Lwora's life because the man whose word could save or sentence her deemed a common boy an unreliable source.

"Very well. I have done just as you asked although we cannot spare any more Wielders with the preparations for Jurissa, so you will have to find the resources yourself."

"Your grace, what about Ad'hm?" He should be fully well by now. Araya pleaded. She didn't trust many people, the few among which Ad'hm counted himself among, on a good day. She needed his tactical mind and battle experience that Araya lacked. Coming into mastership early had its downsides as well. She was not as experienced with combat as she wished, even as a GrandMaster, while she could fully well conjure the most difficult spells known to man, she simply lacked the finesse and combat intuition.

"Sorry Araya, you're on your own. I'm taking Ad'hm and Danil with me on a little detour to Jurissa."

"Your' Imperial Majesty, as your advisor I must warn you that any detour away from Jurissa, especially with Danil or Ad'hm will result in delays in the strike!"

"I very well know that, advisor, I have formulated the plan myself and are very well aware of its faults. That is why I will be leaving tonight."

"Your grace, I strongly advice against it, but I will respect my Emperor's wishes." Araya bowed her head, hoping Ryel would not see her biting her lip. She clenched her fists to settle her emotions. "If I my, your Imperial Majesty, where is this detour you're taking?"

"Elo'yn, Araya." He said, and she knew exactly what he meant.

"Oh." was all that she managed to say.

"Indeed. I'm sure you've heard from your spies. I have gotten quite stellar reviews of my future power, and I have to say, I need to see it for myself and what better way to do so than attending the Trials. I can't believe they still keep to that outdate tradition." Ryel laughed but Araya stood there stunned.

"Your Imperial Majesty!" She said after regaining her senses. "We cannot allow It to go through the Trials!" She warned.

"And why is that? I'm certain the power worthy of an Emperor like myself will stand in front of any measly nobleman's git thrown in that forsaken place."

"That's not my concern, your grace, but if It wins, your grace, It will receive a title. That will make It even harder to conceal what will follow." Araya cursed the Elo'yn Academy for keeping up with such old traditions and herself for not reading the latest reports. All but one Academy still held the Trials, which was a tradition dating back from the first days of the Empire. It served many purposes, which now were no longer needed. The main purpose of the Trials was to gain the loyalty of the most powerful Wielders and best trained Ashen. Now, hundreds of years after with the houses of nobility well settled there was no more need to raise the rank of Wielders, the houses turned out plenty powerful and loyal Wielders on their own. "If It gets the title, more people will notice, your grace."

"The title?" Ryel scratched his chin then a sudden realisation came to him and began laughing. "Don't think that a silly little little given by no one to no one holds any power, especially with me, Araya, the fucking Emperor!" he continued laughing.

"Your Imperial Majesty, any deviation from the plan with Jurissa or this will bring in much unneeded and unknown variables. Too much can go wrong." She warned.

"Relax," his laugh died down. "stop being such a bore! Everything is going better than anticipated, well, with a few minor incidents here and there." he said referring to the Order and Councilman Ameral's constant attacks. "Nothing big, in the grand scheme of things, Araya. We have the Creators on our side and I am the Emperor after all" Ryel chuckled then stretched his arms. "Once I get power, no one will stand in our way. A promise made to me by the Creators themselves, never forget that." He began to laugh maniacally while Araya stood there in awkward silence, uncertain if she should point out the madness or keep quiet. She wanted to open her mouth but Ryel quickly intervened. "Not one word. I'm certain you have plenty to plan out, given your lack of resources, but I have full faith in you and your abilities to stop an impending uprising and undermining of my authority by the Order. It will be just like a normal Council meeting for you." He joked. "Here, this is the order you requested." He then looked out the window with a nostalgic gaze, his lips falling in a neutral line. "It's sad that it has come to this, Cornelius: say hello to my brother." He closed his eyes in prayer as a smirk washed across his face.