City In Ruins

When dawn broke the next morning, the city lay in partial ruins. Fire fighters and medics rushed around the city to rescue civilians. Soldiers continued to sweep the city house by house for insurgent remnants. In a city that large, magical beasts couldn't hide that well but the rebels themselves could.

Fort Kast took firm control over the hidden passages and gates along the outer walls. Like rats in a trap, the insurgents would be captured sooner or later. All of the important ones, anyways. They didn't bother to hide their faces since they considered victory a foregone conclusion.

Their minions required more effort to track down. Some of those minions went berserk when their plan failed. They dealt as much damage as possible to the city. Though easily captured, the battered outer city became even more wrecked. The trickier cases were the minions that chose to hide.

By dawn, all of the visible insurgents had been captured. The military continued to track the hidden True Order agents as well as their sympathizers. Citizens happily helped as much as they could. They silently recorded who sold them out in their hearts.

Efforts to rebuild were already underway. Those who had fled to the inner-city or outside of Halcyon had returned to their homes in the outer-city. With thousands of people homeless and penniless, the city urgently needed places to house them all.

First responders were overwhelmed by the destruction. Fires kept popping up and spreading throughout the city. Wood, thatch and other Tellan specialties were common building materials. They were also highly flammable. Desperate civilians and fire fighters frantically tried to save what they could.

At one house, a dead magical beast lay on the street while the home burned behind it. Just as the fire threatened to jump to another roof, a torrent of water drenched the building. The flames fizzled out in seconds.

"Thank you! Thank you for saving our home!"

An energetic woman vigorously shook the hand of the wizard who extinguished the flames. He awkwardly nodded his head and smiled.

"No need for thanks. Helping this city is my honor and my duty."

A guard in shiny armor appeared behind him.

"Young master, we need to go. The fires on the west side are getting out of control."

"Excuse me, ma'am. I need to leave now."

"Oh – of course, of course. Thank you again."

Her family bowed once again in thanks as the guard picked up the young man and disappeared. A gust of wind blew by the family down the street. The children nearby gasped in awe.

"Wow! That mister is so fast!"

"He's so handsome, I bet he's a prince!"

Little girls began to daydream about their new knight in shining armor. Meanwhile, the adults had different ideas.

"Whose family's young master was that?"

"That guard's armor looked like the City Lord's elite unit's armor. Could he be the Forolan's young master?"

"He should be in the north though? I thought that the Forolans were keeping him hidden since he wasn't good with practical things. The young master never appeared after the city was attacked, after all."

The family whose house was saved immediately jumped in when strange rumors started.

"Bah! Stop it with the nonsense! Who knows what he was doing? We haven't gotten much news from the outside world lately. Besides, he's here now. That's the important part."

"That's right! Travelling right now is very dangerous. Even if he just hid somewhere before this, we can't really blame him. The True Order was searching for him every day."

Unaware of the talk going around the city, Daren held onto the guard while they flew rapidly through the air. This guard was his only escort. The others were too busy cleaning up the streets. Daren's magic and stamina were reserved for important tasks, so the guard would carry him around the city.

"How's my uncle doing?"

"The City Lord is still securing the city, young master. The enemy commander and several high-level combatants have disappeared. He is searching for them now."

The guard glanced at Daren's face. His young master seemed stressed yet calm.

"The others have told me that those two were captured. According to the witnesses at the inner wall… they did in fact try to force your uncle to surrender."

"… they were the ones who helped the True Order infiltrate the city. They caused all of this."

A wry smile crossed the guard's lips. That wasn't a question. It was a statement. The young master's intuition was keen.

"Most likely. Nothing has been confirmed yet. The pair has been thrown into the dungeons for Lord Forolan to interrogate personally."

Daren shut his eyes and focused on clinging to the guard. They still had a few minutes of travel time left before they reached their destination. A sharp pain stabbed at his heart. Those people never seemed to care how many people they hurt.

People always whispered behind his back after those two did something awful. Sometimes they even blamed him when anything went wrong. The city's residents only viewed him as 'that couple's child' or 'a cursed being' rather than 'Daren Forolan'.

Though his grandfather and uncle wanted him to be the next City Lord, many supported his younger male cousin. No matter what Daren did, something was always wrong with him in their eyes. They couldn't ever let 'that couple's child' gain any sort of power.

Daren had always tried so hard to be his own person. Yet nothing really seemed to work. Even his own cousins constantly made assumptions about him and stayed away from him. He was always 'that couple's child' to everyone else except for most of his family, even if they supported him as the future City Lord.

The Goldings had always supported and encouraged an engagement between him and Vanessa Landrienne, the young lady of the traitorous clan and longtime rival to Halcyon. Suspicion would undoubtedly fall onto him as well.

The glares and unearned hatred towards him would be much worse this time. He could already feel the stinging, accusatory gazes of the citizens and officials. His stomach formed knots as his anxiety peaked. Daren would much rather leave this city to become a magic researcher than stay to be City Lord.

In a way, perhaps he was a cursed child. The guard internally sighed as Daren's body tense and felt his grip tighten. Fortunately, the guard had kept some of what he had heard to himself. The City Lord tried to shut the nasty rumors down, but Daren and his cousins heard a lot of them growing up.

Perhaps they could use the chaos to purge some of those who've played malicious tricks for their personal benefit. The Goldings weren't the only ones that the former City Lord should have exiled.

**********

The City Lord soon returned to Halcyon. The enemy commander was dead, along with most of the high-level enemies. The rest had been captured. Now, the city could be cleaned in peace. Prepared for a huge mess when he returned, Innello was pleasantly surprised when he returned.

All of the major fires had been put out, though the hospitals were still overrun. Temporary medical wards had been constructed all over the city by the military. The remaining unstable elements had been purged, including a few tumors that had perished in the chaos.

His greatest surprise was learning that Daren had returned. News of his nephew putting out fires and aiding the reconstruction had spread throughout the entire city. The family's people definitely helped in the spread, but all of the news was true.

Artifacts had recorded some of his actions, and there were many witnesses throughout the city. Overall, the good rumors outweighed the bad, especially in the outer-city. For once, the citizens of Halcyon had seen just how good his nephew was. Innello was thrilled.

When Innello finally returned to the City Lord's mansion, his wife Rebecca greeted him with a smile.

"Becca, my love! I am so happy to see you," He picked her up and twirled her around. "Unfortunately, we had to kill most of the True Order leaders. Nevertheless, the battle is over!"

Rebecca giggled as she hugged him tightly.

"I know. Now put me down! We are in public. People are watching!"

"Yes, yes. I have more news. Daren has returned to the city!"

"I also know that. Your grandfather sent him along with a team of Halcyon Guards. The team leader reported to me a while ago. Daren has gotten a few good achievements that should shut up some of those annoying gossips. Most importantly, he helped break the siege."

Innello's eyes lit up in shock. He believed in his nephew's skills, but entering a battle this large was extremely dangerous.

"What on Tellus was Christopher thinking?! How could he let Daren do something so dangerous? He could have died!"

Rebecca placed a finger on his lips. The City Lord's complaints were strangled in his throat.

"Dear, he's not a little boy anymore. Our Daren has grown up. He's capable of great things, as we always knew and as the city is just finding out."

The City Lord calmed down as Rebecca fixed his cloak.

"Oh! I almost forgot. He also brought his little girlfriend home~"

Innello nearly fainted.