Chapter Two -- The King's Request; Hunting a Monarch

--Lewis--

Anyone would have marveled at its grandeur. A strong, vibrant azure and white glow came off the walls and filled every corner of the room. To most people, it would've seemed like it opened up to a night sky above, but it was a roof made of smelted irden, invisible to the untrained eye. This place was full of Renvin, so much that it made the magic flowing in my blood excited; warm, full of energy. This place, grand as it may have been, was where my life ended. Here was where my peaceful life was stolen, and I was turned into this instrument of war.

[Dominant Heart]. A Renvin spell that required a victim of extremely weak willpower and multiple casters. It allows a sentient being to assume almost full control over an entity's body, although the victim's mind and soul remain free.

Thoughts of a childhood I'd never had took over my mind as I reminisced over what it had turned to be.

"Kneel."

An overwhelming presence flowed through my body, it was a sickly feeling, like mud seeping in from my heart and dripping through the insides of my skin. My knees lowered themselves to the ground and my head bowed against my will.

"Honestly, when will you learn?" Castine said with a bright smile as he strolled over to me, his blond hair covering most of his minty eyes. He had a seductive voice, calm and peaceful, with eyes that shone alluringly.

"You may stand, Captain Lewis. I have an offer for you."

I rose to my feet and stared dead into his eyes. I wanted to be angry, Infuriated at him. I had a primitive desire to end him. Yet this curse placed on me prohibited outwardly showing any forms of aggression against him – It was frustrating. I had harbored these feelings since I had set my eyes on him.

"I am indebted towards you, my grace. A gift is unnecessary ." I spat at him like the words were burning my tongue.

"This… is an option. I grant you the region of Steiwan to… lord over."

He pauses. Whether for dramatic effect or doubting his own words.

"..I'll let you decide this for yourself." He finishes with.

I regarded the offer with high suspicion, Castine wouldn't do something out of 'grace', or 'mercy'. Even though he'd said it was an 'offer', refusal would cause retaliation.

Mulling over it in my head, I came to a conclusion.

"Apologies, your grace, but I'm going to refuse this gift", I said blandly.

"That's understandable. You'd rather not have a high position in society, as it'll make you stand out." He stated matter of factly. Those intelligent, minty eyes of him scanned me, for any emotion or thought I may have exposed.

"I thought you'd refuse it."

I turn to exit, thoughts of the offer racing around my head. Then he continued.

"I have a task for you, Lewis. Go to Jirlee Valley. There's a resistance forming in the area, and I'd like you to assist our men. I ne-"

"Your men." I corrected.

"-I need you to leave immediately, and take your little team with you."

I stood and left the observatory immediately, not wanting to spend any more time with him.

--Aeryn--

Twigs snapped and leaves broke over the barrier of quiet wind I projected around my body as I flew through the trees of Werven's forest. It was soundless. Cool, natural breezes flowed through the trees and died quickly. There were no visible animals, the trees all looked the same. The whole forest was illuminated by a large moon in the sky that seemed to be watching my every move, everything seemed to be judging my very presence in this place. Even though this place seemed to never end, I knew exactly where to go. I had the mental instructions stolen from the king's accomplice burned into the front of my mind. I spotted a large tree, standing high above the others, and altered course towards it. I channeled my wind barrier into a sudden uplift and flew upwards, landing on the branches above. From where I perched, I could see most of the forest, and the little clearing secluded within the thickest part of the forest. My eyes lifted to the moon that was ending its journey across the sky as I resumed charge through the forest towards the clearing I spotted earlier. My mind wandered to useless thoughts. Ones about how pretty the forest felt. Pretty? What was its true meaning? Was it a viable emotion? Or just something we felt in regard to things that please our eyes?

Shoving those unnecessary thoughts aside, I continued my forest flight.

--Unknown Commander--

"His grace has given us a mission, and we WILL complete it!" My voice was dry and coarse from the consistent yelling, but someone had to make sure everything was right.

"Mages! Order yourselves within your groups and position yourselves between Twor's Chains. We have approximately three hours before the targets arrive!" I ordered, then proceeded to yell, hopefully for the last time for a while. "In the King's Name!"

"GLORY TO CASTINE!" A battalion of soldiers shouted back.

From my position above the camp, I looked across the land toward the Capital. Our orders were to capture a team of traitors sent here, kill the leader and curse the rest with Ruling Heart. So.. why was I so afraid? What was that feeling of dread that loomed over me? It felt as if an omnipotent power was controlling me, was I a puppet in some grander scheme? I shook those thoughts from my head, I had my orders, I had my men, I will not fail the king.

--Evelynne Grasle--

The fire danced around its prison of stone and iron and eagerly consumed the offering of wood I had given it. A breeze alerts me to somebody's intrusion on my peace, I glanced at the reflective metal pot and saw a letter resting by the now open window, then got up and went to see who had sent a letter at this dark hour. A wax sigil stared back at me, a letter from the Captain?

"Eve, we've received orders from him, I plan to move out in two hours. It's a rebellion suppression operation, we'll meet at ▖┃▀▛▖."

I sighed, nineteen long years full of blood and massacre ended a week ago, why must people still fight? Two hours to get across the city… did he still doubt me after all those years? I'd make it in 20 minutes. I tied my belongings around my shoulders and lept from the balcony onto the roofs below, then broke into a run. I was in the High Quadrant of the Capital, high above most of the city. During the day most parts were busy, the noise echoed everywhere, but at night it transformed into a quiet city, illuminated by house fire-lights and only pillars of smoke rose into the sky. I preferred the busy city, there were people, places to socialize and have fun, and most importantly, alcohol. I should've treated the Captain to a drink…