Chapter One
11 Nov, 2024,
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The night sky was lit with bustling firefly lamps dancing to the tune of the Arstafa personal ensemble; the king had requested illumination that would blind any nearby gods that dare peer down to the royal castle. There stood a plethora of guests from all over the land spread across the courtyard,the likes of elves, arachni, igni and some species most have only heard of from stories, their mere presence in this event being a testament to the insurmountable reach the great king has over Veldr, his impressive charismatic nature has earned him great friends in powerful places.Tonight was the night the king would pass down the Arstafa family flame to his first born son; a tradition upheld within all of the four major families (The Tetrad). By passing on the flame, the strongest most absolute power in the Arstafa line of sorcerers, it would signal the beginning of the prince's coronation and therefore the end of the current king's reign. The young man of the hour was wearing out his soles in his quarters, pacing across the room, so many people expected a lot from him tonight and he would absolutely despise the thought of disappointing his father today. While he was trekking across his chambers,he found himself hanging from the ceiling deep in thought, his penetrating gaze burning holes into his shadow while he raced with it across the ceiling.
The prince's one and only younger brother Rylan silently entered the room,the young lad had a knack for being quiet even when he did not intend to be, at only 14 years of age with the quiet footsteps of a seasoned dark elf assassin. “mute paws” his brother would often jest on the matter, “his trotters were as quiet as those of a hunting leopard” -he so liked to warn any maidens who fancied Rylan.
"Your highness ?" immediately noticing his older brother's disposition, quite the perceptive lad indeed he is "My lord father hath bidden me retrieve his heir, so that he might take great delight in unveiling to his noble companions the future head of House Arstafas."
"Ah Rylan! " as his soles were released from the care of the ceiling, gracefully letting the young master maneuver himself in the air to a safe landing "Thou didst find me whilst I was lost in contemplation. Pray, inform my father that I shall arrive soon."
Rylan approached his now upright older brother and after a careful inspection of him, he burst into a spiteful laughter and the young master made no hesitation in retorting with a proud chuckle on his part."Tell me, Does father impel you to speak to guests in such a manner as well? ", asked the prince with a relaxed smile on his face and he embraced his younger brother momentarily as if he had been praying for his arrival.
"You don't know the half of it, he's had me and our sister re-educated on etiquette and some dialects for a fortnight” said Rylan with noticeable displeasure in his tone, “it would appear he will not settle for less than perfect tonight" said the young master continuing his previous chuckle with a face painted in amusement "at least you younger brother, did not have to deal with the hoards of father's friends trying to build a relationship with the 'next flame holder', I would not dare doubt I have shook the hands of nearly half the kingdom by now".
“It would bring me the most pleasure if this silly ceremony tradition could be done with already” returned the young Arstafas, with a contorted look of annoyance on his person.The ‘passing of the flame’ as some would informally call it is a tradition that has been carried out without fail for centuries in all four families of the tetrad, although in the other families, a different element is passed down,the ceremony is more or less similar. “Come now brother, I understand this has all been a tiring experience for you, but you must see the importance in all this, I'm going to bear the flame that built this family” said the young master as he stared at his sweat ridden palm with a grin on his face “the actual flame that built this family, the most pure and strong fire on all the land, and a month from now I wear our father's crown” the young master's eyes starting to call forth tears, although his expression was a fierce one, his eyes told no lies. “Woah,woah,relax “ Rylan intervened, embracing his older brother “It's a lot to handle I know,sorry, I was being inconsiderate” Placing his hands on both sides of his brother's head and pulling his forehead unto his own, Rylan began to heat up his hands with simple fire magic, he knew his brother better than anyone beneath the heavens and he knew that his brother is most tranquil when enveloped in the warmth of a fire. “Thanks Rylan, I lost myself in thought for a moment there but I'm alright” said the young master while straightening his stance with a relaxed smirk across his face. “Sometimes I wonder who's the older one between you and I, maybe you should be the one to inherit this thing Rylan, you're incredibly intelligent and the flame would fix your...”
“I don't think someone like me can lead anyone, I'm not the biggest fan of all the work and responsibility that entails” interrupted Rylan before his brother could finish what he wanted to say, Rylan already knew what he would say.
All the Gods and Rylan knew the thought had crossed his mind before,inheriting the flame would give him the power to control fire,one of the elements of creation, like the rest of his family and rid him of his inability to create powerful flames. The four families of the Tetrad had control over the main four elements that created this world (water,earth,fire and air) any close member of these families will have the magic to control that element and have the body suited to it, it is the gift that had been passed down from the heavens to these families since ancient times.
Branch families however inherit the plethora of lesser magic of the sub elements, light,ice,metal and alike, weaker than the main families but still sets them above the average peasant. For every century that witnesses the birth of a child of the four families, there must be one that will not inherit the family magic,one that will be cursed to a weaker,lesser magic ,’a forsaken child’. Rylan was a user of light magic, his family loved him all the same but he is perceptive enough to notice how much wider his father smiled for his older brother, the awe in their eyes when they see his older brother and younger sister practicing their daily spells, casting powerful aberrations with ease. He grew accustomed to being the black sheep of the family, he bore no hatred or jealousy towards any of his kin as he knew, it is not their will that he not have that fire inside. He loved them more than anything and could not dare dream of any other. Since he was not blessed with the Arstafa fire, he rarely casted spells and therefore almost never sets foot in the training fields. He does not enjoy casting light spells, so he rarely does it lest he need a light to visit the lavatory in the night. He would rather find pride in his knowledge than his magic, as he would more than often stick his nose into the texts of his father's grand library, enjoying his studies of the world more than anything. “Alright, I think I am as ready as I'll ever be” said his brother with a now firm confidence about him, “ time to make history”. They both made their way to the ceremony, the hour of the flame's passing drew near.
The king was to be found amidst a crowd with nobles and peasants alike, the king had no qualms with who he befriended, if they tickled the man's fancy then why not make them a friend. He was known for his shortage of enemies and no shortage of friends, but they say even the greatest men have some enemies, but with a man as powerful as king Arstafa, they wouldn't dare bear their fangs to him lest they fancied the thought of being defanged. The king, with his vision compromised by the crowd surrounding him, picked out his son's approaching in the pool of people almost as if he could sense them, “Ah,my boys!” His declaration led the people's eyes to the two young men proudly advancing to their father, and in terrifying unison, they all bowed their heads momentarily.
“This is the man of the hour, he is about to be the strongest mage in this family tonight” King Arstafa proclaimed with a proud grin on his face. The young master made no retort to this,he just quietly smiled and held the fabric of his robes tightly and firmly. “The moon will turn blue any minute now, and the transfer can be made, let us go to the ritual site” The King stated to his followers “Once we complete the ritual,we will feast and drink for three days and three nights” The people let out passionate cheers at this declaration and all began moving towards the ritual site ,to prepare to watch the transer.
“Rylan my boy, let the head butler know that we will begin eating shortly in half an hour or so, I know how Erende hates to not have time to prepare for things” whispered the king to his son
“Yes father,I shall inform him immediately”
Rylan rushed to the kitchen to find the head butler,he dare not miss his brother's ceremony,not only because it was one of the biggest moments in his brother's life, but because Rylan was curious as to what the passing of the flame ritual actually looked like,books he's read on the matter speak of a blue bird of fire being the purest form of the flame,he absolutely must see this legendary flame with his own eyes.
He entered the kitchen and searched tirelessly with his eyes for the head butler,but to no avail. He went through many of the kitchen's doors to try and locate the head butler who should be in the kitchen given that this is the busiest place in the whole kingdom right now.
“Have any of you seen Erende?” He asked the maids in the kitchens,but they all replied with the same automated ‘no young master’, which he was getting tired of hearing.Rylan gave up on his search and delegated the task to one of the kitchen maids, he had better ways to spend his time tonight. The ritual site was located a few hundred feet behind the Arstafa castle, a slightly mountainous region where it is rumored to have previously been a necrotic dragon's nest due to the abundance of dying trees and poisonous fauna in the area, Rylan jogging his way up, spotted Erende walking down in the distance with a fantastically dressed arachni male beside him.
“Erende!” He cried out to the old man.Erende was a refined old human man, he kept a clean, thin gray beard and a white head of hair which matched his pale skin complexion and was in contrast to the black perfectly cut suit that house Arstafa butlers must wear. The man heard Rylan's call and after a quick word to his companion, made his way over to the young master. “Evening Master Rylan, how can I be of service?” He said with a subtle bow. “I have been searching for you, I thought you were supposed to be in the kitchen right now” Rylan questioned.
“I was but some other matters required my presence sir”.
“Who was that arachni guy you were with? , I don't think we have any arachni servants” Rylan looks behind Erende but the man they speak of is no more.
“That is one of the guests, he was helping me with the matters I was attending to, but we just finished”.
“What matters would you have in the middle of a place like this by the way ?” Rylan asked curiously.
“Oh nothing that I would dare bother someone like you with, very trivial servant matters ” replied Erende after a moment of hesitation and a calming smile behind his words.
Recalling that he was in a hurry for something, Rylan jolts up and turns around to start hurriedly making his way to the ritual area. “Whatever, I have to go, father wants you to know the feast will begin shortly” as Rylan's voice fades when he makes his way up the mountain.
“Damn it all, I hope I can make it in time” Rylan whispers to himself. He reaches the peak and behind the crowd of people a loud explosion noise was born and majestic blue phoenix rises into the stars and shoots down in a beautiful swift motion, blue sparks covering the whole mountain top like glistening snowflakes. Rylan, in awe of its beauty, stopped moving to appreciate its glamor. The phoenix transforms into a lateral blue flame and hurls itself down out of Rylan's view behind the crowd of people. Rylan picks up his feet and pushes through the crowd to see what has become of the majestic beast. He finds his older brother floating with a warm blue aura around him and his father not too far behind him. The young master comes to his feet and the aura disappears, he raises his right hand and a blue flame erupts from his palm. He couldn't contain his own excitement, he looked at his father with tears in his eyes and a smile on his face.
“Dad look, it's blue”
“The ritual was a success! ” The king states to all the people and in turn they all cheer, king Arstafa raises his son atop his shoulder and cheers for him with the biggest smile he can muster before his face rips in two. “My boy will be king soon, let us go feast in his name! ”, “Rylan!, you come stand here with us, you're an Arstafa boy, let's celebrate together.” His father immediately noticed Rylan in the crowd. The crowd followed the King and his sons to the banquet hall where the doors seemed to open themselves magically when the king approached.
The banquet hall was as large as it was glamorous, the walls were a rich earthy brown, with bits of gold dust embedded in their crust as the queen loved the way the light reflected off of them and lit up the whole room. The prestigious tables stretched on for at least half of the room,they could seat hundreds, the main table in the middle was especially elegant, it bore the Arstafa family crest in all its glory and the wood was of an older, higher quality than the others to signify ranking. In the corners and near windows stood several trusted family guards stationed to protect the Arstafas and their guests, Erende in the middle of the hall with an army of battle ready maids behind him, made him appear as a captain in a war, greeted the guests and with one swift clap of his hands, dispatched his troops. The maids led everyone to their designated seats, whilst Erende stood by to make sure everything went smoothly.
The Arstafas seated at the front of the main table, Rylan, his parents, older brother and younger sister followed by the uncles and aunts and alike. Guests were seated on the other tables beside the left and right side of the main and the bountiful platters that the servants had crafted were to die for. Over fifty golden brown turkeys lined up on the tables, Girftten boiled pork ribs that would melt off their bones to the slightest touch and the like. “How blessed I am to have such a capable staff to prepare a meal such as this for my family, Erende my boy, you've outdone yourself here” The king mentions in earnest. Erende smiles and bows his head from across the room, gratefully.
“Before we feast, a toast”. The king stands up with a glass of specially made wine in hand “to my wonderful children, to my wonderful wife and to the Arstafa family to keep burning strong for centuries to come”
The crowd claps and hoots passionately afterwards and the king takes his seat.
“Son, today you are a man, and It would please me greatly to give you your first glass of wine” the king now speaking to the young master as he pours him a glass from his own special bottle.
“This is a special blend that I discovered myself back in the forests of Grifften, it was a very sour fruit that when crushed and mixed with the creamy milk of a wooly mammoth, would create the most exceptionally creamy wine you've ever had the pleasure of tasting. I named the fruit Bacchus and the wine as well” The wine had a viscous but enticing flow to it, it was a light purple color with hints of pink pulp in it. The recipe and technique for making this wine was known only by the king and Erende, not that none have tried to replicate it, the Bacchus fruits he described have not been recorded ever being in Grifften, it is a delicacy that cannot be replicated. It was his special blend that no one had the honor of tasting besides himself and his wife. Noticing Rylan's fascination as he pours and tells the story, a thousandth time,the king lets out a short giggle.
“One day when you're older, Rylan, I want to let you have some of this wine too, but for now you will have to settle for milk”
The whole table chuckles as Rylan puts on a displeased look and turns to his mother.
“Sorry dear, just two more years” she says with an earnest smile as she pats her son twice on the head. “It has been sitting on the shelf for a year now, so it's especially sour tonight, I'm telling you son, after this all the other wine you have in your life will taste like sweetened horse crap” The eager king laughed on.
The hall was filled with conversation, many nobles took this as a chance to expand their influence and get on good terms with the races they did not know before and others were just curious to meet them. Rylan was Infatuated with what his father and brother were doing as he wanted to try and imagine what the wine tasted like with his brother's reaction.
“Wow, it really is sour” the young master returned after the first sip, “but, it becomes sweet right after the sour, how does it do that?” he takes another sip, and another, each sip longer than the last. The king silently watched with a mischievous grin.
“It's sticky at first but after it warms up in your mouth, it becomes as smooth as water, this is amazing, I can't stop drinking it” The king starts laughing and his wife covers her giggles with her hand.
“Told you it'd be sensational. Drink to your heart's content!”
“It's making me a bit light headed though” the young master added, before falling flat on his face into the bread in front of him. The king's laugh roared even more passionately “I didn't think you would be a lightweight, I thought Rylan would be the only lightweight here”.
“I don't feel so good” returned the young master from inside the bread. One look from Rylan revealed it.
“Dad I think he's actually sick” Rylan added, maybe I should take him back to his quarters.
“Alright, be back quiche though Rylan, I wanted to give you something impor.. ”
The king added before he too fell to wine's numbing power, the king fell off his chair and to the floor. The whole table panicked and which in turn caused the other tables to disrupt their meal and peer into the situation.
“He's never been one to pass out from wine, something's wrong” The queen added in worry as she hurriedly picked him off the ground and placed him back on his chair with all the strength she could muster, only managing to put his upper body back on his chair before she too herself collapses to the ground.
“Mother!” Rylan shrieks in distress, the guards leave the post and approach to help Rylan carry them all, the guests are panicking and murmuring their assumptions of what has happened (“are the gods punishing the Arstafas for passing the fire”, “Has the king brought us some strange disease from his travels”, “Has the king's wine gone bad”). Rylan looked up frantically , “Where's Erende!? , I think something's wrong with the wine he's prepared” But he realized Erende has left his post, as he stands up with brother searching the room as quickly as his eyes can, Erende is nowhere to be found, the guards appear to be lacking as well, there's usually at least twenty men guarding the family hall but only nine showed up to help him. Rylan’s head was spinning, the restless crowd peering unto him from their seats as he held his weakened brother and tried to figure out what was happening.
The banquet’s north wall blew up with a loud explosion violently resonating through the ears of all the inhabitants. Chunks of debris destroyed the antique furniture and hit several guests, the wind that came with the explosion painfully kknocked everyone on their backs. Rylan positioned himself upright, he was seeing double of everything, his ears were ringing and his brother was unconscious.
“What in god's name is going on!” Rylan focused his vision into the clearing dust cloud and spotted several silhouettes approaching. Rylan slaps his brother's face frantically, “wake up, come on, I need you”. His brother opens his eyes but struggles to move his body, “I fear someone has poisoned me” his brother says drowsily, failing to pick himself up from the ground. “Help me up, I have to protect everyone” Rylan picked up his brother from the ground and they both stood up to face the silhouettes approaching. A man's face revealed itself, a young krirsanee man in a brown peasants robe, not a day over twenty by the looks of it, he had fair light brown skin which isn't akin to the krirsanee race and sinister scarlet eyes like that of the arachni race. “Sorry about the mess,I didn't think it would blow up that much” the man said to Rylan,now standing a few feet Infront of Rylan, with his hands buried in his robes.
“Who the hell are you!” Rylan questioned, enraged and weakened. The man grinned and walked closer to Rylan and his brother,not being able to even take a step back due to his fatigue and injuries, Rylan held his brother tightly, with a menacing look on his face letting the man get within arm's reach. “I am this world's savior, I need something from your brother there”
“Get out of here!, do you not realize where you are, you'll be beheaded for breaking into this house!” Rylan returned abruptly.
The man reached out his hand to try and touch the young master's head, Rylan could not fight back, he attempted retreating with his brother but he felt they would fall flat if he tried to move any further. In that instant a blue flame erupted from Rylan's brother and hurled itself at the man, burning his arm and propelling him onto the floor several feet away. Rylan takes notice of the other people with the man, they were cloaked in black robes, their faces hidden by their hoods. The two that picked up the krirsanee man were clearly men from their builds, Rylan noticed one of them had a thin gray beard, that he has seen on only one man before. “Erende!!” Rylan screamed out between his grinding teeth.
The krirsanee man got up with severe burns across his body, he started laughing and continued his approach to Rylan's brother, his wounds closed on themselves. Rylan had never seen anything like that before, nor had he read about it, he could not contain his shock but was too terrified to release the words trapped in his throat.
“A final struggle?” The man asked Rylan's brother, who has now completely lost consciousness, “This is the unfortunate mission only I can complete” The man reached out to Rylan's brother and grabbed his head, a cold black tendril emerged from his hand and squeezed his head causing the young master to jump to life in pain. The darkness began to shroud the krirsanee man's body, his smile grew even more malicious with each second as the young master's eyes rolled back, his mouth twisted into a silent scream, he lost all feeling in his lower body, the tendrils raised him up into the air, relieving a frightened Rylan of carrying him. “Stop…let go.. please…plea” Rylan said under his breath, so low not even he could hear his own voice, his eyes filled with tears and his throat blocked with unspoken words, “Rylan! Run!” They all turned to the man shouting and they saw the king standing using one of the guard's spears as a crutch, the king was surrounded by burned corpses wearing the Arstafa guard armor, his compromised constitution was apparent. “Get out of here!, you won't be able to fight him” The King shouted to Rylan, he inhaled a big breath of air and blew a large gust of bright orange flames, that propelled the krirsanee man and the young master towards the wall, the king rushed to Rylan as fast as he could. “Rylan listen my boy, I fear this is the end, this was planned, they've taken everyone from us, you need to run son, I can't let them take you too, it would kill me a hundred times over if I had to watch another one of my children die, I arranged for a tutor to help you with your magic, the tutor was to arrive next week, before your birthday, I don't know who to trust anymore, but I believe they're a friend.” The King shook with each word, his fading breath wringing the tears out of Rylan's eyes “Go to the trap door under the stairs, hide and don't come out until you're sure you're safe, if..if…. this really is the end, please Rylan, live a happy life for all of us and..”
The sound of the rubble moving, shook both the king and Rylan to their cores.
“That really hurt” said the krirsanee man lifting a piece of the wall that should be way more than anyone can lift lest they were a minotaur.
Rylan's knees could barely muster the strength to keep standing, he could not dream of running. “This monster won't hurt you, I'll create a diversion, run and don't stop running Rylan”. A desperate fire erupts from the king's body, it swirls and expands until it fills the whole room, it pushes the man and Rylan several feet away, burning the krirsanee severely, but Rylan only receiving damage from the force of hitting the ground, Rylan pushed his body as hard as he could, he crawled towards the trap door and entered it, he could not keep his mind awake, his consciousness slowly faded and before he realized it, his body gave out from the pain.
Welcome post
11 Nov, 2024,
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Welcome, this is just a site to share my first work. I want some constructive criticism, hope you can help me.