Chapter 6: Cruelty

Back on Fliska, Kyron arrives as a conqueror with Lady Mortezia of Vezar, one of his most trusted allies. As they reach the palace, Kyron says to himself that at last Fliska is theirs. His men bowed as he walked through the hallways. When he entered the grand hall, one of the captains approached.

"Great ruler, I am Captain Arudok. General Bartava has sent me to oversee the palace siege. So far, we have - "

He was cut off by Kyron. "Where are your prisoners, Captain?"

"We have rounded up some servants and nobles. We have imprisoned them, great leader. The Fliskan Queen is dead but no trace of her body was found. Her daughter escaped but we will surely find them."

All at once, Kyron's jubilation turned into a fit of anger. He grabs the general by his shirt and retorts. "I cannot believe how incompetent you are! Make sure all those who failed to capture the princess will be executed!" He then lets loose his grip on the general.

"As you command, great leader." The captain responds and bows as he tries to keep his composure.

Lady Mortezia who was right behind him steps forward to soften his anger. "My Lord, Great Ruler of Nybos, it is but a trivial matter. Soon, we will have Elzilaura and Fliska will be fully yours. The council will not hesitate to declare you emperor!"

"It won't be complete without her. Make sure they retrieve her. I want her alive. I will have everyone eliminated if she perishes."

"Yes, my liege. You will have what you wish. They all know failure is not an option." Lady Mortezia affirms." You need to rest and leave it all to me and your generals to capture the princess. If you will allow it, let me start enforcing your wishes."

He waves his hand in reply and the lady takes a bow before leaving his presence. As he was finding himself a place to rest, he remembers how his mother told him about Fliska.

As a young boy, his mother would always tell him that Nybians descended from the so-called "renegade prince" whom she deemed to be the rightful ruler of Fliska.

His mother was Royal Lady Irassa, King Morgoda's concubine. Nybian Kings seldom marry unless for political gain. Irassa was a slave from a conquered world and was gifted to Morgoda as a tribute. He was smitten with her and she grew fond of him even though he could be cruel at times.

Irassa was killed protecting her son during an ambush when the royal family was traveling back to the palace. Though Kyron wanted to grieve, the king forbade his son to weep or show sadness. He must soldier on.

He was then placed in the care of a tutor who was cruel to him. She was strict and stern. To make matters worse, she would make the boy starve as punishment for disobedience or any other mistakes. She rationalizes her methods as means to inculcate discipline. It turns out that she was conspiring with Morgoda's enemies. She tried to poison the young prince but her plot was soon discovered. She was executed for her crime and abuse towards the young prince. Since then, he became too doubtful of anyone who came near him.

During his adolescent years, the king remarries. Kyron is suspicious of his new stepmother. He refuses to cooperate initially until they finally meet. The new Royal Lady, Vessea, came to Nybos with her niece, Saride. She introduces the young lady to him. Since they were of the same age, she and the young prince became good friends. He slowly became complacent with his stepmother.

One day, he pledged his love to her. Saride cared for him but did not love her romantically. He was hurt by her rejection that he hit her. When Saride cried, he apologized. Since then, she has lived in seclusion.

Lady Vessea sends her niece far away to protect the young woman from Kyron. When the prince learns of her upcoming departure, he tries to stop his beloved. Saride runs away from him and throws herself in the lava pits to escape from him forever.

The death of Saride made Kyron more psychotic and delusional. Since then, he has hated Royal Lady Vessea.

He also became so unruly that his vices and stubbornness became his undoing. One day, he fell ill and was rushed into a treatment facility. When he recovered, he was exiled to Balyn, the moon of Nybos temporarily until the king passes judgment.

He was thinking of depriving Kyron of his birthright and replacing him with one of his nephews but the Lord of Vezar urged the king to consider his suggestion. He requests the king's permission to allow Kyron to partake in a campaign to expand Nybian territory. This way, the young prince will develop discipline, strength, and other skills necessary to prepare him for his future role.

With the king's permission, Kyron embarked on a campaign and succeeded in conquering a planet. With his victory, Kyron could go home but he refused as he planned to go on further. He did so and found great treasures which he initially concealed. One of them was the blood basalt, a power stone which once belonged to the king of Nybos. The mystery of his discoveries spreads rumors that Kyron is truly powerful and could easily overthrow his father.

When the king became very ill, he was immediately ordered to return to the palace. His homecoming was a threat because of the rumors that he is now more powerful than his father. The royal advisers were very fearful that Kyron would depose his ailing father to exact revenge on him. Kyron did return and the rumors were confirmed.

They were expecting he would give the command to have everyone in the palace killed. However, when he saw his father, he abased himself before the Nybian king who finally saw how changed his son was. In his last act as a king and father, he gives Kyron a box that contains the other half of the blood basalt which Nybian kings kept safe since their ancestor's defeat.

King Morgoda dies of his ailments and Kyron refuses to be called king as he claims to be an emperor. He could easily command the council to bestow upon him the title but he wanted Fliska in his control so that all could hail him as galactic emperor. He settles for an equally great but simpler title "Ruler of Nybos". He wanted to parallel himself with a Nybian hero well adored by all who assumed the same title and eventually became their king.

His first order of business as the new ruler of his kingdom was to send his father's widow and her daughters to exile in a castle fortress on Nybos' moon, Baln, where they are closely watched.

Next, he starts making his move after years of planning for the Fliskan invasion. At long last, he finally succeeds in claiming the planet.

As he was walking down the halls, the seductive Lady Korene arrives in the Fliskan palace.

"All hail our new emperor!" She greets her ruler with great joy.

"It is not so until my incompetent warriors have my empress brought before me." Kyron continued walking ignoring the lady.

"I am here now," Korene emphasizes as she blocking Kyron's way.

"Elzilaura of Fliska is my only empress." Kyron evades her and continues strolling.

Korene was surprised. She comes from a powerful noble family of Nybos. They were long-time allies with the Nybian Kings and their descendants. She herself had been aiding Kyron's expeditions.

Even before his death, King Morgoda had already suggested that Kyron wed Lady Korene. An engagement ceremony was already being arranged when King Morgoda died.

Since then, the plan for engagement has never been discussed again. Because she was so supportive of him in every way possible, she thought he would still consider her as his consort.

"What of our engagement? It is your father's wish that we are married." Korene reminds the ruler of Nybos.

"It was his suggestion and the ceremony never happened. Father died before it was finalized."

"But after all that I've done for you? I took care of you when you were injured. I funded your expeditions. I gave you everything I could give. I am a pure noble-born Nybian which by law states that I can assume the title "queen" instead of Royal Lady when we get married. As queen, I have more political power and I can help you further-

"I am aware of the law and all your sacrifices and I intend to repay that by making you governor of Fliska and Craiine. But I am the one who gets to decide who will be empress."

Korene breaks down in tears. "I will have my revenge. I will hunt her down and you will see I should be your QUEEN!" She storms out and fails to understand Kyron's roar of anger.

"TREASON! I tell you woman I will have you eliminated if you do so! You will never get away with it!"

The guards were about to rush but Kyron motioned to them. "Leave her be. Have her followed instead. She might lead me to Elzilaura and when she succeeds, take the princess and finish Korene."

He then continues to find himself a resting place. As he walks through the corridors, he sees a shadow of a person who seems to be sneaking out. He follows the shadow and ends up in a dark creepy room filled with dust and cobwebs. He searches through the room and sees only junk and rubble. He walks around still and is somewhat surprised to hear a creaking sound as he stepped on something.

Soon, the wind blew from the opened windows, and pieces of crushed conch on the floor fly through and hit Kyron's eyes. He screams and momentarily experiences blindness. He trips into the pieces of items and rubble on the floor.

He was trying to regain composure when images of Azestina and her daughter flashed through his mind. As these images fade, he regains his eyesight and heard a voice in the dark saying he does not belong here for he is unworthy of Nimeralia.