The morning sun had barely brushed the palace's marble floors when Ammon stepped into the grand Hall. The whispers started immediately, Sharp and cutting, slicing through the murmurs of servants and nobles alike.
Did you see him? A maid hissed, her silk skirt swishing as she leaned towards a companion. "A prince without powers... how pitiful." Even the guards couldn't hide their smirks as he passed.
Ammon's jaw clenched, and a hot wave of shame and anger surged within him. Yet underneath it, a quiet longing burned - a desire for a name worthy of royalty, a name that could respect rather than provoke ridicules. One day he vowed that they would speak of him with reverence, not mockery.
Meanwhile, behind the thick oak doors of a dimly lit inner chamber, the conspirators convened, Kael lounged with a self - satisfied smile, his fingers drumming against the table. "The boy... is frustratingly resilient". mummured the king. He has survived every humiliation we've thrown at him. He walks among us like a shadow, unbroken.
An older noble, thin and sharp eyed, chuckled. "Resilient - yes. But the Lake Orcas will finish him. No one has returned there alive.
The King's voice, calm and cold, sliced through the chambers. " Do not mistake strategy for amusement", Ammon is not a pawn but a variable. His failure must appear honourable, his demise subtle but yet undeniable. The king had longed wanted a plot like this, he no longer could endure the shame of having a powerless heir, the mockery of his fellow kings.
The king nodded, Good. Let this be a test of valor in the court, but behind it lies control.
Kael leaned forward, his grin sharp as blade. "Ayden". He thundered.
Immediately, a figure with eyes, black as obsidian, scanned a sealed scroll with the King's mark. It was easy to tell that the person before them was no ordinary dragon but a beast with raw power. His lips curved slightly not in amusement but for a duty long foretold. His obsidian eyes flickered with acknowledgement, "so the young prince is being plotted against", he mummured. "Well it not my choice to protect him.... Only to see that he walks the path that the king commands".
A subtle hum of powers radiated from him, impossible to ignore, though restrained by fate, his heart longed to protect that whom fate wish to destroy.