The Kingdom of Illaeus

Prologue

"My lord, we have received news from Pariya." Avitus kneels before his king. The young messenger's sweat drips onto the cold stone floor. Slowly, King Totila leans forward on his throne, gesturing for the boy to rise.

"What of them?" Avitus unravels his papers and clears his throat.

"Khavad has fallen. His generals fight each other for the scraps of his empire. I have sent men to support Bahram, Khavad's three-year-old son. The general Radin has declared himself regent for the boy. He is a proven warrior, but easy to manipulate. This will be the last letter I send you, I have my own expansions to worry about. I wish you good luck with yours. Hopefully, the next time we cross paths it will be for control over Gaiea."

Totila remains silent, once again causing Avitus to sweat. The boy wasn’t used to silence from his king. Right now he was beginning to miss the usual rage and volume.

“You are dismissed, Avitus. Thank you for your work.” That sentence scared the messenger more than the quiet. Nonetheless, he briskly made his way out of the room. Not five steps after being told to leave the king called his name.

“Yes my lord?” He dropped to his knee in an instant, not wanting to provoke his master. Totila, on the other hand, wasn’t even looking at his servant.

“Tomorrow morning I want you to meet me in my study. I have one last letter for you to deliver. After that, I have a promotion for you.” Avitus profusely thanked his master and rose from the floor. He slipped out of the room, Totila still focusing on the wall behind his throne. He takes a step towards it, rubbing his hand across the tapestry. The red and black thread begind to fall, replaced with gold and purple. A remnant of a distant past. One the old king could barely remember.

“I will have you back.” Totila whispers. He is alone, but he knows those who he is talking to can hear him.

You feel a sinking feeling in your chest. Your heart seems to push against your ribs, forcing you to shoot upwards in shock. Your breathing is heavy. Your mind is racing. Slowly, you begin to control your breath, recovering from whatever nightmare you don’t remember having. Your sweat seeps into the sheets underneath you.

Knock knock knock

You look towards your door. It is still dark outside, why would someone be coming to your room now? You spend another second catching your breath before responding.

“Give me a moment. I am not dressed.” Whoever is behind the door doesn’t respond. You quickly get dressed into a simple robe, not wanting to keep them waiting, and open the door. Standing in the hallway is one of the palace guards.

“Are you alright my lord?” He asks you. You give him a questioning look.

“I’m sorry?”

“The princess informed us she heard shouts coming from your room. The high preistess said she didn’t sense any danger but the princess made me assure her that I would check on you.” He explains. Although it answered your question, it also provided many more. How loud were you being while you slept? And more importantly why were you making noises at all?

“I see. You can tell my cousin that I am alright. And that I appreciate her concern.” The guard smirks for merely a second before regaining his composure. He bows his head and turns back down the hall to your cousin’s room. The weight of his footsteps echo through the halls as you step back into your room and close the door. You don’t feel well-rested, but after what just happened you aren’t sure whether you could even fall back asleep if you tried.

In the end you decided to resume planning the upcoming trip to Danaya. The journey would not be a long one, only two days of travelling, but the terrain could become difficult if the weather acted against you. As you plan the alternate routes for your journey, you begin musing your thoughts aloud.

“The forested hills make a good cover from rainfall. The wings could alternate scouting ahead for food and keeping watch from the Vaelic tribes.”

“What about the river Everice?” The sound comes from behind your left ear. You jump, twirling around to face the intruder. To your dismay, they are already laughing.

“What are you doing?” Ariadne doubles over. You drop your arms down from their guarding position. She continues to laugh. Your sister always enjoyed toying with you.

“You’ve lost your skills, brother,” she teases. “Spending too much time with out cousin lately?”

“Yes, Theodore and I talk almost every day.” You retort. Her purple eyes swirl with fire.

“You know he is not the one I mean.”

“Oh, Belisarius? I spoke to him just last night.” You can practically watch the flames travel from her eyes to her fingertips.

“I am talking about-”

“I know who you mean, sister. But there is no need to be rude about the situation. She is your cousin too, afterall.” Ariadne gives you a large, fake, smile.

“Of course, Alexios. I love the princess with all my heart.” You roll your eyes and sigh. Ariadne’s lack of diplomacy tutoring painfuly evident as always.

“Why are you here, anyways? It is not time to leave yet.” Ariadne’s face returns neutral, focused on her duties now.

“Your ‘holy group’ asked me to get you. Said it was important.” Your sister was referring to your ‘Sacred band of Illaeus’, the military unit comprised of you and your sisx oldest friends. Ariadne never did like the name.

“Why do you insist on being so insufferable?” You mutter, beginning to pack up your things. Your sister pinches your cheek.

“You like suffering me, brother.” Before you can complain, she steps out of the room.

The Theodosian temple was bustling, clerics and soldiers alike praying for safety on the upcoming trip. Originally the royal palace of the Diogeni dynasty, but was converted to a public temple when your family took over. You offer blessings to those who ask as you make your way towards the top of the temple. While still a public temple, some parts are restricted to only certain people. Your friends, for example, have your own section at the top of the temple. What was once a trophy room for the royal family has become your personal war room. Many of the trophies remained, though pushed aside to make room for the maps and desks needed for the seven of you.

“Took you long enough.” Theodore quips as you enter the room.

“Sorry, I thought you would be able to hande yourselves for one day.” Your cousin sticks his tongue out, but otherwise remains quiet. The rest of your friends join him at the table in the centre of the room, dropping their previous activities.

“That isn’t possible in this situation.” Isaac responds. He, Heraclius, and Basil fall to a knee. You raise an eyebrow. They rarely act so formal to you.

“Alexios, please allow us to stay in the city and monitor the safety of the ciyt.” Heraclius begins.

“Our scouts have given reports of increased hostile activity. Please allow us to remain behind and ensure nothing happens while you are gone.” Basil finishes. You walk over to him, and smack his shoulder. He remains still, but gives in when you pull him to his feet.

“When did you lot get so formal?” You ask. “And my answer is no. If anything really was to happen I’d rather you by my side protecting my family than dying in a siege of the city.” The other two stand up as well. Nikaeus speaks on their behalf.

“It would be smart to leave some of us behind. There is more than enough guards traveling with you. That leaves the city defence weakened unless we’re here.”

“The city can withstand an attack. It will do nothing but ensure our fury while we take it back.” You explain. Though the thought of losing your home for even a day fills you with dread. Basil seems to sense this and grips your forearm.

“Take it from me, brother. You’ll want some of us here.” You offer him a small smile, but shake your head.

“I’m sorry, but I would prefer to ensure the safety of my family. Which is why i’ve assigned you all roles.” You sit back in your chair and start tossing scrolls to each of your friends. They open them, confused.

“Is this…a contract?” Belisarius asks.

“Correct! I have assigned each of you to be the personal bodyguard of one of my family members for the duration of this trip.”

“Alexios, this is beneath our level. Your uncle is bringing the Sundarians anyways, is he not?” Theodore looks offended at the notion, you smile at his anger.

“You said it yourself, there has been stirrings. And I trust you more than a foreign military unit. Loyal or not. Besides, it is no more beneath you than sitting in a palace for a week flirting with nobles.” You finish up your meeting with your friends and rush back to the temple. You had a tournament to prepare for.