Prologue I

The assassination attempt was the last straw.

Sage had never wanted to be king, not himself. Sure, in his youth he had fought to put his family on the throne, but he had expected his eldest uncle to wear the crown. When that uncle and his sons had died in the civil war, Sage had wanted his oldest cousin, Earnest, to take over the family's claim; however, his ally and then-friend Adamant had threatened to end his support unless Sage took over the claim.

Adamant's support proved vital in winning the war, a fact the earl had leveraged to demand the position of Royal Marshal, as well as a stipend and various other privileges. As marshal, he had proposed the creation of a Royal Army of professional soldiers after the Daican style, loyal only to the crown. Sage had approved of this, and as Royal Marshal, Adamant had assumed he would command the Royal Army, but last month Sage had informed him that the Royal Army would not be placed under the command of a landed nobleman. That would contradict the whole "loyal only to the crown" aspect and all.

That night, an assassin had kicked down the door to the royal privy, dagger in hand. Sage, a former Knight, had managed to wrest the dagger from his assassin and stab him in the throat, but the attempt had left him shaken. The man had been in a royal guard uniform, but none of the guards knew him, and Captain Xanthic of the Guard had resigned in shame when he learned an outsider had gotten a hold of one of his men's uniforms.

Sage sighed as he crept down his palace's secret passage. He felt he should execute Adamant for the attempt, but he had no proof that Adamant was behind it aside from the timing, which could have been a coincidence; all of the king's vassals were required to contribute men to the Royal Army, which they all hated, so there was no shortage of men with motive. Besides, the alliance between Sage's clan and Adamant's was the foundation of Sage's government; if the families started feuding openly, the country would collapse.

Of course, there were more subtle ways to remove Adamant, which would not lead to civil war. Using an assassin rather than an executioner. Conspiring with a cousin of Adamant's to install a more loyal earl in the Midlands. But Adamant had been a friend, and though they had grown estranged, Sage still couldn't bring himself to order the man's death.

Because I'm a coward, Sage thought. But Earnest never knew the man. He can do what's necessary.

Sage emerged from the tunnel in an alley near the docks, between a cheap tavern and a cheaper brothel. Some predecessor of Sage's had built this tunnel; Sage had never used it himself before tonight.

A short, silhouetted figure leaned against the wall at the mouth of the alley, watching the street beyond. At the imperceptible sound of Sage sliding the false wall out of place, the figure perked up and turned. The alley was too dark even for his sharp eyes, but he sniffed sharply.

"Sage?" Vulpine had been a friend of Sage's since before the war—since before Adamant even—and had never taken to calling him "your majesty", even in public. Other advisors complained at the informality, called it inappropriate, but it would have felt weird if Vulpine had addressed him so impersonally.

"Yes." Sage stood and dusted himself off.

"I don't suppose I could convince you to reconsider?"

Sage shook his head. Then said "no" when he remembered how dark it was.

Vulpine sighed, and tugged on something with the hand on the opposite side of his body as Sage. A midnight-black horse, saddled with a greatsword sheathed and hanging from its shoulder, trotted into view.

Sage took the reins and put a foot in the stirrup, but turned back to his friend before mounting. "You sure you don't want to come? I'm gonna see if the Knights will take me back; it'll be like when we were youths, before the war."

Vulpine shook his head. "I've come to like it here in court."

"You know, my cousin Earnest doesn't know you as well as I do." Sage grunted as he pulled himself up into the saddle. "You won't be as influential once he's king."

"But I'll be more influential than if I'm off hunting monsters in the sticks." Vulpine shrugged. "And besides, I'm regent 'till he gets here. Acting king."

"Believe me, it's not as fun as you're thinking. When Earnest relieves you of duty, be sure to tell him what we suspect about Adamant." That still might lead to Adamant's death, but Sage's part was indirect enough that it didn't twist his insides quite so much.

Vulpine nodded. "Farewell."

"Farewell," Sage agreed. Fully expecting to never see Vulpine again, he turned from his friend and nudged his horse into a trot.