"When we first discovered it, it was a small vortex.
King Eryndroin chanced upon it during a hunting expedition. It was a portal that connected Ledra to the underworld. "
"A vision was shown to one of our oldest mages even before the war. It says that thousands of wires were scattered all over the land of Ledra, and they draw dark emotions and the after effects of the magic of darkshades into a small crystal ball.
"So apparently, the ball was like a concentration of evil energy," I asked
"Yes, but it was not a threat to the land. It was something small that couldn't cause harm.
And if the need arises, we can counterattack it with the presence of formidable leaders and magic practitioners Ledra had at that time.
"But unbeknownst to us, Vaelric was sacrificing innocent blood on the ball. The ball accumulated more evil energy than it could hold.
It was as if he knew the outcome of the ball bursting. We didn't read too much into that vision at that time. No one even knew that the darkshades would wage war against the kingdom. So, who would care about a minimum vision as such when war befell us without warning?
"And your lack of knowledge about that caused the damage. "
King Tharion stood from his throne walking down the vast stairs he said.
"Yes, we paid a heavy price for our inattentiveness. Losing our king and the kingdom falling into darkness with only lumeris left standing.
"We retired for the night and woke up to see that more than half of Ledra was swallowed into darkness with our king nowhere to be found.
"Then what about King Eryndroin becoming the drape, "I asked him.
"The gods intervened when the darkness became overwhelming, Demons poured out of the vortex like a swarm of bees. Attacking the people of Ledra relentlessly. Anywhere the darkness covered, no one survived.
The despair and anguish of the people gave birth to the negative energy the portal was feeding on, making it expand beyond what our strength could manage.
By the time our defenses crumbled, the gods had already sealed Ledra from other countries, preventing the vortex from advancing further.
King Eryndroin's soul was used to seal Ledra away.
He turned towards us, his face now serious. "Now part of his soul resides in you due to your connection to the drape. And the portal is already weakening it won't be long before it tears away completely. We have to be prepared. "
I thought King Eryndroin went missing. How did the gods use his soul to seal Ledra?
"I don't know what ensued between Eryndroin and the Panteon gods, but I felt his essence when the drape closed, so I knew it was him, although his body was never found
That is tricky, I said thoughtfully. "It sure is," King Tharion replied.
With a snap of his fingers, a white-haired man appeared in the room. His ocean-deep blue eyes looked straight at me.
"Is he the one?" he asked the king
"Yes, Prince Iael, meet the Lord of Primyra. He is a mage with earth abilities. With the presence of hellfire in you, you will need to master the earth element of Eryndroin first.
"Did you know that by just touching my mark?" I asked in bewilderment.
"You can say that," he replied and smiled. "So lord Kein, I will leave this young prince in your capable hands.
"I will take good care of him, your majesty," he said with a bow.
King Tharion nodded and directed his attention to us.
Prince Iael, join me for lunch. "
"I would like that, but I have to hurry, but I have to hurry back to the inn."
"He raised a brow at me in question."
Our female companion would worry if we didn't return by the estimated time.
"I understand, let's dine together next time."
"Thank you, we will see ourselves out then," I said and bowed to him.
"As we proceeded to leave, he suddenly seemed to have thought of something and said. "Lord Kein, retrieve the scroll of mental swordsmanship and magic arts.
It is my gift to your knight.
Lord Kein tossed a sack over to us.
" In there is the scroll that you should read carefully. I know your swords skill is probably emphasized in power. The scroll will teach you how to deflect the enemy's power against themselves. Take a break from your normal training for a while and practice this first. It would be useful when you fight with anyone who uses magic.
"Kevin took hold of the scroll his hands trembled slightly, showing his excitement.
"Can I really practice with this? He asked his eyes, sparkling in a way that I had never seen before, and this made me wonder what that scroll contains.
"Of course," he nodded and said; "if there is anything you do not understand, you can ask me.
"Alright, thank you," he bowed deeply. "I shall go and practice this immediately. Kevin said his tone giddy with joy as he held the scroll in his hands.
I looked at him when we stepped out of the palace, I said.
"Are you happy about your gift?"
"Yes, I like it," he answered, still focusing on the letters written in the scroll.
"That hurts. You have never reacted this strongly to anything I give to you."
"Don't frame it like that Iael ", I just love anything that could make me stronger, " he said.
"I hear I would choose my gift for you now carefully now that I have seen your happy moments. "
"You don't have to do that."
"I am still not satisfied that someone could make you that happy. Let's pass by that Treasure Pavilion.
"Shopkeeper, do you have a durable sword to withstand magic here?"
"Sure, but what kind of sword would our young master like to have? The prices are different, ranging from the high to medium and low grades, the shopkeeper said with a smile.
Bringing three sets of swords , and put them all in front of me.
"This one then," I picked the expensive set as the blades were more well-made and strong.
I saw Kevin looking at a scabbard hanging high up on the wall. I turned to the shopkeeper and asked, "How much is that scabbard?
The shopkeeper followed my line of sight and said, "Your servant really has a keen sight, that is a unique sword scabbard that our Pavilion has. You won't find one that is similar to it in the whole of Lumeris.
"He is not my servant, he is my friend," I said to the shopkeeper.
"Oh, sorry for my error then, I mistook his way of dressing."
"Never mind, bring the scabbard down.
He billed the items, and I left the place together with Kevin.
.....
In one of the inns, a middle-aged man was polishing his sword while sitting near the fireplace.
When he heard a low voice calling from behind the door.
He said: "Come in."
A man walked in and greeted respectfully before saying: "Second master, your subordinate followed the targets the whole day, and coming out of the palace, they entered a small inn.
I asked around and found out that they had moved in a few days ago.
And in the treasure Pavilion today, his knight took out a sack with the sacred crest of the royal family on it.
But the crest is red, not the normal black I know.
"The middle-aged man stood up from his sitting position.
"That means they met King Tharion, and those two are probably important to him. He sent them away with that sack to establish his claim on them.
The middle-aged man's eyes darkened his temperament suddenly filled with malice.
" Have a portrait of them drawn and send it to the black market's bulletin board. Reveal that I'm the one ordering their assassination. I want to see their heads here by tomorrow morning.
"Won't the king find you if you reveal yourself?" the man asked cautiously.
"Are you questioning my decision?"
"Sorry, second master , I will do it right away."
The man answered in reverence and quickly retreated from the room.