Veins of Ruin

"My liege, your humble servant, the Duke of Orhim, writes to issue a critical report, one of them has been found. A black eyed assassin that ran our lands untamed is being held at this moment in the catacombs of the castle, I fear that it will not be contained for long. I am going to proceed with the usual interrogation, my son Ano will be delivering this letter, I hope Your majesty will receive him well, from your loyal vassal, Ark Kertaz."

The Blood King, as the Duke of Orhim was known, wrote that letter on the third day of the first summer week in 1274, He used a small desk at the left side of his chambers, and the usual calligraphy kit dedicated to the noble houses of the Zuhrav empire. He put the paper into an intricate envelope and sealed it with some wax using the emblem of the Kertaz house in his ring, leaving the letter in his desk for later delivery.

The old man soon left the ornate room into the upper corridor of the castle, he passed through the representation of the first Kertaz patriarch, the old man's painting showed a glimpse of Ark's reflection, tall and swift, in a hurry never seen before. His short blond hair was turning grey with time, and his muscular build was fading with time, but still, he was the finest warrior allied to the emperor.

As he turned to the right on his path, he entered the weapons room. That part of the castle was for exclusive use of the Duke direct lineage, as it contained the most well crafted military artefacts available in the whole empire, and between those there was one armour set greater than all the others, the Blood Knight set. 

With a black metal build, the armour was composed of a well adorned and robust chest plate, all well decorated with blood red jewels that brightened up the night. Also accompanying the armour was a greatsword in the same colour palette and sharp as it could be - The crimson reaper. As a common practice, Ark changed into the armour in less than a minute, leaving his golden garments in the adjacent hanger.

He sheathed the sword and soon left the room now prepared for what was to come. The Duke walked the halls of the castle greeting the guards on duty as he made his way to the main entrance. When he arrived at the main door, with a simple gesture - bringing his closed right hand to the left shoulder - he dismissed the knights guarding the door and made his way to the garden of the fallen. 

That garden was the pride of the Kertaz, with a grave for each one of the deceased members of the family that left a legacy in their times. Ark would be no different, he too would end up buried under that soil and be used as fertiliser for the decorating roses that spread through the garden. The spirits of his ancestors tapped on his back as he went on his way, paying his respects to every former patriarch's grave that laid on that red dirt.

"It's him, isn't it father?" Asked the Duke in his father's grave.

A sense of conversion in his own veins gave him the answer he searched for:

"Yes."

Walking through the path of stones, the Duke went in the direction of the chapel that stood far into the distance. The religious building was tall and had spikes around the well crafted ceiling, with red stained glass windows surrounding the black walls, contributing to the grim atmosphere that lurked in those flowery fields.

The ominous sensation wasn't just on the outside, as the interior was decorated with numerous skulls, those that gave the name for the chapel, The Bone Sanctuary. As Ark got close to the altar he took a key hanging from a chain on his neck and used it to open an iron trapdoor beneath a red rug. Opening it revealed a set of stairs going down into a dungeon-like structure built beneath the whole state, it was dark and was filled with guards that all saluted the Duke while he walked through the corridor.

"Patriarch, he is at the end of the hall, the one you asked for." Said a kneeling knight.

"Good, now go and rest, the peaceful times might be over."

"Yes, sir."

It was the patriarch's routine to go down there, and the eeriness reminded him of the battlefields. The cells on the sides housed some prisoners of the interest of the Kertaz house, and close to the end was the recently captured figure that stood shackled to the wall. When the Duke approached the man with full black eyes, who said while grinning: 

"Oh, if it isn't my good old friend Ark. Are you surprised to see me, dear Blood King?"

"As I suspected it was you, Sakhel. After all those years, what business has a Leher in the Kertaz state?" Said the Duke, cutting Sakhel off quickly.

"You know very well that the Leher do not serve the empire anymore. If you want an answer, I'll give you one my friend, Our craft? It's perfected itself. You'll see soon enough." Said Sakhel laughing.

The Duke seemed hesitant at first, maybe fearful? But then remembered who was in front of him, and said:

"For a second I thought I was the target, but it seems like someone else is on your aim. Cunning as always."

Sakhel laughed maniacally.

"Do you really think that I would come after you? No no no, my dear, I come for the traitors of the Leher, those who lost their way, and soon your loyal hound will join all the others that have taken this path."

"He can take care of himself, you should've known better. We were so close, Sakhel, but those damned eyes of yours took you entirely." Said the Duke with menacing eyes.

"Soon you'll find out that the darkness lurks deep into your blood too, Kertaz." 

"That's a shame my friend, I wished for you to stay beside me and see the glory of our growing empire" - Said the duke opening his hand - " But I, the Duke of Orhim, cannot allow you to roam free in this land after you abandoned us. No matter how many times you come back, I will be there."

The Duke closed his hand making his own back bleed streams of blood through his armour, Ark's red eyes shined in the dark and the blood on the ground soon lifted into the air and took the form of seven lances, and before Sakhel could scream for his life, the blood lances pierced his body pinning him to the cold walls behind him. 

The sharp metallic smell filled the room in an instant, Sakhel's blood mixed with the lances and ran up the body of the Duke while he turned his back and left the catacombs without any hesitation or care for his old friend. But a familiar voice echoed through the halls similarly to a spirit:

"You don't know what you're doing my friend, soon enough the darkness will beat the blood, and this empire will crumble." 

"We both know what will happen, Sakhel. Keep it to yourself until our next encounter."

And in that cell, no body was found.