6. Sovereigns pt.2

The throne room in the black castle had been decorated with a long, black table, standing in the middle of its long hallway. At its high end, the Empress sat in her throne, watching and listening as the few women before her discussed intensely. They all had pale white skin and glistering silver hair falling just short over their shoulders. The sound of scraping armor pieces filled the air, bouncing around in the sterile room. Papers laid spread out over the table, information sheets containing information about troops and maps showing the position of towns and city's. The discussion came to an abrupt stop as the Empress tapped her hand against the armrest.

"They've told us to quicken our decision, according to them he's starting to show his presence."

Her cold voice traveled to the ears of the listening women, complicated expressions painting their faces.

"But your majesty, we have no idea where this guy is." One of the woman met the gazes of the others as if her question represented them all. The Empress continued to tap her fingers on the stone thrones armrest, seemingly unaware that the question was aimed for her. "You don't always know the position of your enemies do you?" She leaned forward, letting her chin fall into the palm of her iron clad hand, "And what do you do if you're unaware of an enemy's position?" Her questions falling flat in the silent room, not one having enough courage to meet the superior gaze of the Empress, her usually cold exterior splitting apart to reveal an impatient frown.

"You seek them out." A new, hushed, voice emerged, not from the women around the table, but rather from behind the Empress.

"Who's that your majesty?" One of the women rose from her seat and in a matter of seconds, multiple spells had formed around her ready to be cast at any moment.

"No need to be so hostile little friends," the Empresses giggle spread across the room, confusion replacing the cautiousness in the faces of the attending people, "Besides, you're all ants before an apostle of the Sovereigns." A vicious smirk painted the Empresses elegant face as she waved her hand.

Stepping out from the shadows underneath the large pillars extending to every corner of the room was a tiny figure clad in a beautifully green armor. It wasn't as large and bulky as the armors the women in the room wore, including the Empresses. Instead it was more like skin tight, green iron plates etched onto the body, allowing the figure to move without any hindrances. The head was fully covered by a helmet in the same style as the rest of the armor. But with two white horns extending from each side of the head, bending down to follow the flow of the figures head. There wasn't a single opening on the front of the helmet, only a single green plate. On the back of the mystical figure hung a longbow, draped over a quiver, both made from a deep brown wood. The bow had intricate etchings pulsating with a dim emerald green light. A suffocating leaf green aura loomed around the figure, playing around like it was a living organism.

"I was sent here by the Supreme Sovereign, Alvera Miaphyria, to lead this mission since it's of utmost importance to catch and get rid of the former Supreme Sovereign before he regains his true strength." The figures still voice seemed to reach out to every ear, every corner of the room while almost being completely inaudible. Without any sounds of colliding iron plates, the figure stepped back into the shadows, the suffocating aura still very noticeable. "And I almost forgot," A map flew across the room from its position on the table right into the figures stretched out hand, "He is in the boundless desert." The silent voice somehow reached every attending persons ear yet again, the map landing back in its original position on the black table. Shocked gazes meeting shocked gazes as the women around the table looked at each other.

"You heard her. Prepare the scouts, have them use the wyverns to move quicker," The Empress finally took tone again, marking the presence of the actual ruler in the room which easily was forgotten with the raging superiority of the mystical figure, "Let the hunt begin." A spine chilling smile reaching from ear to ear on the Empresses face.

Out in the boundless desert, Ethan had just made it back to the camp when he felt the cold aura of the apostle zoom in on him. His head snapping in the direction of the black castle, a sour expression surfacing shortly before a emotionless, calculative face took its ground, eyes burning with an otherworldly determination.

"What's going on?" Diana's voice woke Ethan from his trance, his gaze meeting the worried gaze of Diana.

"The enemy's moving and I'm not so sure I can kill her in my current state."

"Who's this enemy?" Diana spoke in confusion.

"The apostle of wind, a Supreme Sovereign in the art of the bow." Ethan's words shook Diana down to the very core of her existence, 'Why would someone like that hunt for Ethan?' A silent thought taking up the whole of Diana's mind.

"Then how do you plan to deal with her?" A hint of worry portraying Diana's words.

"I'll need to break the second shackle to fight her comfortably. I managed to break the first with sheer strength but we won't have enough time for me to do the same with the second," Ethan's words didn't calm Diana for a second, 'He doesn't have a solution?' Diana's worry only grew larger and larger with every moment. "So we'll move east, towards the mountains and hopefully we can find the Sand Dragon's den." Ethan turned his head east, looking at the distant mountain range, "If I can get my hands on a couple drops of purified dragon blood I believe I can shorten the breaking progress with at least a couple of days."

On the walls of the black castle, the apostle stood silent, bow in hand, gaze locked on the horizon. 'Why don't you have a little welcoming present?' She raised her bow, knocking a beautiful silver arrow. Pulling the string back with inhuman strength, the wood creaked as it slowly bend. Wind began manifesting at the tip of the arrow, creeping down over the shaft before enveloping it completely. The intricate etchings shone in full bloom, helping the wind manifest. She pictured the signature of Ethan's power and released the arrow. With a howl, the arrow got sent flying, disappearing from sight in a couple of seconds.

Ethan looked up. feeling the arrow coming towards him at a frightening speed.

"Step back." The two words seeped with enough authority for Diana to not question the situation, quickly taking several steps back.

Ethan's eyes glowed with a deep blue color as he tapped into his power. Not wasting any time he began to pull, twist and push on the blue lines only visible for his consciousness. His arms started moving, leaving streaks of blue energy in the air as he painted a simple pattern in the air before him. He drew forwards as much energy as he dared to do, releasing his spell. A violent surge of wind erupted, pushing outwards as a bubble of vacuum began forming around Ethan's body. Looking up, the arrow had come into view, an even more violent surge of air surrounding its path forward as it didn't show any signs of being affected by the air around it.

Diana gasped, not knowing what to think. 'Was this really the power of a apostle?' She could only watch as the arrow closed in on Ethan. Him standing in the middle of a vacuum bubble the size of a living room. When the arrow touched and penetrated the vacuum bubble it seemed to just stop midair, all the momentum just disappearing in the blink of an eye. Ethan stepped forward and grabbed the now harmless arrow before it fell to the ground.

"What was that?" Diana's shocked voice reached Ethan's ears when he let the vacuum go, filling it with air.

"That my dear disciple, was the apostles weakest attack."