Chapter 3: The High Chancellor

After taking the letter, the chancellor carefully tucked it inside his robe's inner pocket and led the way to his chambers with William trailing behind. As they walked, the chancellor's thoughts were consumed by the letter's contents, as well as the looming presence of the five dukes and the new wonder presented by the dragon egg.

The way back seemed much shorter than earlier, having arrived at his chamber without a concrete response to his thought.

As Charles walked over to his small desk, tucked away in the corner of the room, he reached for a half-burned candle and lit it with a match. Turning to William, he spoke in a measured tone, "I'll need to send out some letters soon. I'll let you know when they're ready to go."

As the boy began to close the door, he heard the request and paused, before opening it wider and positioning himself in its frame. With a respectful tone, he replied, "As you wish, High Chancellor"

The old man settled onto the creaking wooden chair, its arms worn smooth from years of use. His back was aching as he leaned forward to retrieve five of his finest parchments. With a practised hand, he began to transcribe his king's message to the five dukes, starting with Duke Hasting, whose lands lay to the east, where the egg had been discovered

The duke most likely was already aware of the events, if not even took part in finding the dragon egg, but he has to receive an official invitation similar to the others. There was no doubt that he would send his son Daemon to the capital as soon as possible. He was afterall the crown prince's cousin.

The other three dukes, Larossi in the north, Wright in the West and Martel in the south, were also loyal subjects of the crown, having many times proven their support and agreement to the king's decisions. They were the ones who made the kingdom ruled by King Darian so prosperous, despite losing the northern region.

Charles wrote the words with a clear and precise hand, his pen gliding across the parchment as he conveyed news of the wondrous dragon egg. He described the limitless possibilities that came with its discovery, and concluded with an invitation to the child of the Duke to journey to Regia, the capital, where they would have the chance to bond with the last known creature of its kind.

Having read the text, the Chancellor found it more than satisfactory, and he carefully folded it and placed it into a pristine envelope adorned with delicate red leaves. With great care, he sealed the letter with a stamp of crimson wax, bearing the image of a majestic aurochs.

After he transcribed the same words onto three other parchments, he set to work on the final one, beginning with the name of the person he likely detested most in the entire kingdom. The nib of his pen scratched ferociously against the paper as the Chancellor's face contorted with a growing sense of displeasure.

Duke Everglow' land lay to the southeast, the region of Timis, which remained the only part of the empire that had been able to withstand every war and conflict. The two routes leading into the region were fiercely guarded, rendering any attempt to conquer it nearly impossible. Its elevated coasts loomed above the shores, while the eastern mountain range rose abruptly to the skies, creating a formidable barrier that most would struggle to breach. Even monsters.

However, those fearsome creatures were wiped out centuries ago by the Great Mage, the very one who breathed new life into the slumbering dragons. Her tale is still recounted to the academy's novices in their earliest days of study, but it remains nothing more than a distant legend, a faded myth.

It was a pity they didn't have any knowledge of how to find dragons or dragon eggs. The few clues they had hadn't had any result. It seems as if only luck led to the founding of that one.

And if there really was an egg, a real one, that would get in the hands of such a terrible person as Duke Everglow. The chancellor trembled, clenching his hands in thigh fists at that thought. The most cunning man, who, although protected, had always found a way to not help others.

When the meriasi attacked 20 years ago and took half of Versge in the north, he arrived two days before the conflict ended, only to be told the land was lost.His party of only 500 soldiers, returned without even sharing a drop of blood, but he still had the insolence to ask for compensations the year after when the northerners wanted to conciliate and proposed to give each involved party the rights to a mine in their now new region.

He was also the one responsible for the death of the old king, having such power was a terrifying thought.

Of course, there was no proof but that just demonstrated just how calculated of a snake the man was. Not even the heir could do anything to harm him, directly or otherwise, without drawing unwanted attention. What use was knowing the truth if one was unable to do anything regarding the matter?

Once the last letter was finished, he called for William. "Here boy, these letters must be sent at once with no delay. Not even until the morning."

"I'll send them at once, High Chancellor," William responded, his voice having calmed down while he waited.

Charles went to his bed as soon as the door was closed behind the young page. He started to take off his robe when something unfamiliar started to rustle inside it. When he checked the source of the sound, he took out a paper. The letter entrusted to him by his king.

The text wasn't too long, but with each word, his face transfixed more and more until absolut shock engulfed him. He read it three more times to make sure of its contents and burned it on top of the lighted candle.

His clouded eyes watched as the ashes of the startling words drifted aimlessly through the stagnant air of the room.