The King

Lucian waited behind Prince Takis outside the throne room of King Magnus IV. It seemed that even with his own son, the King issued orders from the throne and not his study.

They had waited for twenty minutes before the large double doors opened to reveal the spacious hall beyond. Pillars lined both sides of the hall, directing sight down the center of the hall, up the steps atop which sat a large throne, backed by a stained glass window depicting The Grasping Hand.

A tall and muscular figure sat on the throne, his frame silhouetted by the light of the great window behind him. His cold blue eyes bearing hints of green looked down at them as he sat regally.

Lucian's eyes went wide as a stifling atmosphere encompassed him. It was not a deliberate flexing of cultivation by the monarch, in fact Lucian did not believe it had anything to do with cultivation. It was just the man himself, and the atmosphere born from his perfect synergy with the grand hall and throne.

Takis entered freely and approached the throne with Lucian following behind. After crossing two thirds of the hall, Lucian took a knee and looked at the ground, while Takis continued on, stopping only a small distance before the steps to the throne and bowing.

"At ease" A rich, commanding voice echoed, and Takis straightened while Lucian remained kneeled.

"You know why I summon you, Prince Takis. You are to take three hundred of the king's guard and Sir Hunt of the Fists to storm the Cinderheart sect. Have no subtlety and no mercy. I want you to make a show of them."

The rich voice echoed calmly from the walls of the hall, but his words resounded with cold authority in Lucian's ears.

"Understood Your Majesty" Takis responded stiffly.

"You are to seize anything you can from their inventories. Spare only those who do not resist and cripple their cultivation. If possible, seize a High Elder alive so we may learn the extent of their treachery.

"Leave this day or the next but no later, and do not return without victory."

"It will be as you will Your Majesty" Takis replied with a military salute and wholly formal manners.

"Good. You are dismissed my son."

Even with mention of their familial bond, the King's mannerisms were cold and his face apathetic, as if nothing pleasant or otherwise could disturb his calm.

Takis turned to leave and when he passed, Lucian stood to follow him. By chance his eyes met those of the King as he stood, and a subconscious spike of warning had him instinctively probe the man with his lifesense. It had happened too suddenly, and he failed to stop himself in time, before seeing…. Nothing. There was no lifeforce, and no deathfog.

The king's eyes squinted only slightly as he maintained eye contact with Lucian, but the latter froze in place. He felt he was staring down a giant he could not raise a finger against.

'No' he realized. It wasn't a giant, it was as if within that man's robust frame was held the collective military might of the great Demia kingdom, and all the supreme arrogance and power that entailed.

As sweat surfaced on his forehead, Lucian bowed and looked down in submission before the king waved him away.

When heavy doors closed behind them, Takis sent a sidelong glance at Lucian.

"Aren't you brave?" He mocked good-naturedly.

"Not nearly enough" Lucian chuckled nervously as he let loose a breath. He had no idea what level King Magnus had reached. Something was interfering with his lifesense when he probed the man, inhibiting his chance to learn anything.

"Welcome back Your Highness" David was waiting for them outside the hall. "I have already sent summons for Captain Stone, he should arrive at your wing within the hour."

The prince seemed to deflate slightly with a restrained sigh. "Guess we'll get straight to it then." He mumbled reluctantly.

"Alright, go find Sir Hunt of the Fists and have him summoned to the briefing room in an hour. We ride at tomorrow's dawn."

After David left Takis shook his head and started towards his wing of the palace, grumbling something about over-eagerness

"Making a show of it" Lucian started. "Is that normal?"

"Not particularly, but Count Glaide is not the type to take subtle warnings seriously. We'll need to sever a limb, so to speak, if we want him to fall back in line."

"What of the ordinary disciples?" Lucian said after a moment. "The king said to cripple those who did not resist?"

Takis stopped to look Lucian in the eye. "Is that a problem? What if I decide to kill them to the last?"

Lucian did not allow his eyes to widen as he considered the possibility.

"I'd think it an unnecessary cruelty, but I will not ignore the order."

Takis studied him for a moment before continuing to walk.

"Well that's not the mission today. Those disciples are people of Demia as much as they are disciples of Cinderheart. We will spare them where possible, though don't doubt that those who surrender will be the minority. Loyalty within any martial sect is bred deeply from the youngest of ages.

"As for why we cripple them… Do you remember when you first asked what it is I would have you do in the years to come? I said together we would stomp out fires within our lands before they grew untamable. Do you understand?"

Lucian's eyes lost the small hesitance within as he nodded.

"I understand."

'If loyalty to a sect runs as deeply as Takis implies, then leaving the seeds of vengeance with the potential to cultivate power would only end poorly.

'Even mercy must be moderated.' He remembered that saying from his teachings, though he'd had little opportunity to truly learn or practice the teaching before.

An hour after returning to the prince's wing, Captain Hugh Stone, David, and another man met them in a small briefing room as the former studied a map of central Demia and the terrain surrounding the Cinderheart sect.

"I will lead a hundred men personally in assaulting the gate, and assign two lieutenants to lead a hundred men each in cutting off the escape routes and closing in on the sect."

Captain Stone said after a short moment.

"Meanwhile, Sir Hunt, Lucian, David, and myself will deal with the elders in direct combat."

Takis followed

Sir Hunt, the other man present, was a Knight and Fist of the King like Lucian, though he graduated from the royal academies a decade ago and was not of the Estate.

"And if their sect leader is not dead? What if he returns mid assault. None of us in this room have reached the 5th stage, and Old Cinderheart is a veteran daoist."

Hunt's gravely voice announced his worries.

"If he does return then I can deal with it."

Hunt and Lucian both looked up to the prince inquisitively, but it seemed Takis had no intent on explaining further.

"The Cinderheart sect reports only two elders to the crown, but we know they in fact have four. One among them, High Elder Liza Papeli, is controlling the sect in the absence of their leader, and has the highest cultivation of all the Elders.

"I will deal with Liza, which leaves three elders remaining. Lucian, if circumstance allows it, I want you to deal with Elder Rafiel as he rarely leaves the side of Liza and if things are going to devolve into a group fight, your particular techniques will make the most of it.

"Sir Hunt, you will locate and draw out any other Elder you can and lock them in a solitary duel in which I'm sure you will prevail.

"David, you are to stay within sight of Captain Stone as you find and lock down the final elder in combat. Captain, when you see David engage an elder, I want you to leave command of the men to your second and join him. The sooner the two of you can best an elder, the sooner David can move to support whoever among needs it while you, Captain, retake control of the battlefield."

No one interrupted as Prince Takis laid down orders one by one, looking each man in the eyes as he spoke. Lucian knew from his mannerisms that Takis had done this plenty of times before and reaffirmed that his choice had not been a bad one, as it might have been if his liege was less competent.

He may be bound for now, but that did not mean he could not let loose.

"Any questions?" Takis' eyes looked to each of them in turn.

Captain Stone asked about a great deal of details regarding how he should have his men act in various situations including in the face of surrendered foes, and Prince Takis patiently answered every one of them.

Sir Hunt asked questions too, though it seemed David had none.

When no others continued to ask things, Lucian spoke.

"Can you go into detail about what you know of the Cinderheart sect's primary method and techniques? Are they an augmentation or daoist sect, and what are their primary methods of engagement?"

These were the questions he was most concerned with as the answers to every one of them would help shape the way Lucian fought that day and how he reacted to the shifting scenery of battle.

With a nod, Takis replied:

"They are a mixed sect with two core methods, one each for augmentation and daoism. The first, is a martial method named the Unfaltering Flame, it enhances the vitality and will of the practitioner and allows one's intent to fuel their body, aiming to surpass the limitations of flesh through will. The longer the augmenters of the sect battle, the greater their fires burn and the more power they gather, though too much so and all but most steadfast will burn themselves out.

"The second is a daoist method, one that wields qi to battle remotely. This method is known as the Ashen Wake, and involves conjuring and manipulating flames and heat with heavy spiritual aspects capable of burning the soul. The greatest weakness of this method is its lack of defensive capabilities and the fact that the practitioner is not completely invulnerable to their own flames."

Takis went on for a very, very long time discussing the general overview of the most common techniques used in the sect, followed by the nuances of their cultivation.

Lucian began to suspect that the prince had actually read through all the methods and techniques the Cinderheart sect kept secret. His mind drifted back to the gargantuan library he had seen on a few occasions within the palace, and he shivered at the thought of how much they knew.

By the time their briefing was done it was already late in the afternoon and Captain Stone had to leave swiftly to make many preparations.

Lucian followed the prince back to his room until after dusk before leaving for his own and cultivating late into the night. He would finally see action once more.

'And blood.' He thought.