The Human Kingdom throne room was still.
Torches cast a flickering glow along the tall stone pillars, and a cold shine on the marble floor. From outside the palace walls the clamor of alarm bells still rang, an echoing, hollow sound against the night.
But here, in the quiet heart of the palace, the silence was heavier than a thousand storms.
The royal knights stood, kneeling in the center of the throne room.
Their heads were bowed low.
None dared to lift their eyes.
From his position at the far end of the room the king stood before his throne, his face a mask of grim fury.
The captain of the execution squad gulped. "Y-Your Majesty..."
The king's voice sliced through the silence like a razor's edge. "Explain."
The captain's head drooped even further. "When we reached the prince's chamber... It was empty."
The king said nothing.
"The balcony door had been opened. We believe someone helped him escape."
Still nothing.
The captain hesitated. "We have sealed the palace gates. There are search parties everywhere in the capital. The prince cannot have gotten far."
For a long moment the throne room was still.
Then the king turned slowly to face the captain. His eyes were like chips of ice.
"Do you truly believe that?"
The captain choked. "I... I-"
"Sir Valerian."
The name seemed to hang heavy in the air.
The captain's eyes flew open. "The battle mage..." the king whispered, "There are few enough individuals in this kingdom who could even bypass my palace's defenses. The battle mage is one of them."
A murmur rose from the kneeling knights. The kingdom knew the power of the royal battle mage.
The king stepped down from the throne. His footsteps echoed with the sound of marble on marble. "Send riders to every road leaving the capital."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"Seal the northern and eastern gates of the kingdom."
"At once!"
"And send for the royal hunters."
The captain's head lifted slightly. The royal hunters, the elite trackers for the most dangerous quarry, were never called out lightly. "You intend to hunt the prince yourself, Your Majesty?" he asked cautiously.
The king paused, staring out the dark windows of the throne room. Then he replied softly, "Do you think I enjoy this? Do you think I had my own son executed without reason? Years ago... A prophecy was delivered to this palace. A prophecy that a child born of my bloodline would have the power to bring destruction to the entire world."
The knights shuffled. "You believe the prince is this child?"
The king's eyes darkened. "When Aurelian was born... Our astrologers found darkness within the stars."
"Darkness?" the captain whispered.
The king tightened his fists. "If this prophecy holds true... Then the boy I loved like a son will bring disaster to the world."
The captain bowed his head again. "I understand, Your Majesty."
The king turned toward the throne once more. "Find him," he commanded, his voice cold and unwavering. "Before the prophecy can awaken."
Far away, deep in the forest bordering the capital...
Aurelian and Valerian continued running through the darkness, Aurelian unaware that the royal hunters were already hot on their trail and that the fate of the world rested on his young shoulders.