Chapter 87: Palace

Lucian counted a hundred armed guards moving about, packing tents and equipment onto packhorses and carts as they got ready to move. Behind the soldiers was the guest manor Lucian had visited yesterday to speak with Prince Takis.

As he approached in unhaltering steps, the soldiers each moved to give way, those closest saluting with a right fist over the heart.

'It seems my new position is already known.'

When he reached the guest manor, Lucian knocked loudly and was greeted by a man in his late thirties.

"Sir Lucian, His Royal Highness is expecting you. Please." The older man gestured for Lucian to enter and then led him through the manor towards the same lounge as he visited the day earlier.

"Ah, Lucian." Takis called as he entered. "Allow me introduce you."

Within the lounge, aside from a few servants, there stood two men by the Prince, the first, a young man who looked to be in his early twenties. The other was an older man in his forties with a muscular, warriors build, armed and armored despite his proximity to the prince.

"This is David Ballas, son of Archduke Miron Ballas, and my close aide."

"A pleasure to meet you" The young man said somewhat blandly.

"And this is Captain Hugh Stone, in charge of the men outside. When we openly leave the palace, it is usually he that arranges the escort, so you can expect to see him often."

"Sir Lucian, I look forward to working with you." The older man put forward a rough, square-like hand which Lucian gave a firm shake.

"As do I, Captain Hugh."

"Well, with that out of the way, the Captain was just saying that his men are almost done with their preparations. Are you ready to go?"

"I've not collected a horse yet, but I can do so as we pass the manor. The stable is nearby."

"No need, not unless the horse is your own and you wish to bring it. You will ride in the carriage with David and I."

The aide, David, turned his head at this, though his expression did not change.

"If you will excuse me Your Highness, I will go and organise the men."

"As you will Captain." Takis dismissed.

"David, see that the servant's are packed and ready, then meet us in the formation."

"Understood, Your Highness."

Lucian noted that the aide, despite being an Archduke's son, did not refer to the prince by his name, as he had requested Lucian to do.

'Is it because he is nobility, or is Takis making an effort to win me over?'

The thought was unimportant at this moment, so Lucian took note of it but did not ponder further, following Prince Takis out of the guest manor. There, atop the steps that led down from the main entrance, Lucian's eyes swept over the armed escort of a hundred soldiers and many servants.

Horses and carriages were neatly arranged, with two identically lavish carriages bearing the royal crest, the Grasping Hand of Demia. It was the only crest he had seen outside of free companies and the like to resemble anything human. Most crests would bear beasts of significance, or celestial bodies and stellar formations.

According to Instructor Piers' history lessons, the ancient Demia Kingdom originally bore a soaring eagle in their crest, but it was replaced with the grasping hand by a king of old after successfully crossing The Declaration mountain range and conquering the ancient Halduk Empire.

The king at the time was as powerful as a mortal man could be before the advent of qi and cultivation, and he proudly exhibited his greed and dominance with the Grasping Hand of Demia.

Takis walked down the steps and past the many soldiers that stood straight backed in practiced formation, bowing to the young royal. Lucian followed behind as they approached one of the two lavish carriages, and noted they were exactly the same in every way.

'One is a decoy' he thought.

The carriage door was opened by a servant and a portable step was placed. Takis entered first before Lucian followed to find the inside of the carriage, though luxurious, lacked the bright colours and golden gilding of the exterior.

"It will take quite a while to the royal capital, so I suggest you make yourself at home. Drink?"

The prince produced a clear glass bottle filled with alcohol from who knows where, but Lucian silently declined. He had met the prince twice now and both times he had been drinking, but Lucian had not seen him out of sorts so he did not fear a drunken waist of a liege.

A short moment later, the prince's aid, David Ballas joined them in the carriage, sitting opposite Lucian who sat next to the prince, and then after another moment, the carriage lurched forward.

There was a window on each side of the carriage, but curtains blocked the view and Lucian was not sure if he should open them, considering the use of a decoy carriage ahead of them.

Instead, he simply leaned back and closed his eyes.

'So this is it. After so long, I am finally leaving.'

Watching the procession of soldiers, servants, horses, and carriages moving further away from the estate, down the winding path that would have them leaving the property, Tess breathed out softly.

Delia had disappeared. Theo had got in a carriage with an older man and left the estate. Tyr had been given two horses to make his way south alone, and now Lucian too had left.

It was time she left as well.

Securing a common horse at the stable, Tess waited until the large procession would have left the estate behind, and then rode down that same path, out the main gate, and headed southward.

Her point of entry to Toubia was quite a distance away from where Tyr was headed, and she felt like being alone at the moment, so she didn't leave with him.

With a shifting of qi, her clothes morphed to match that of a standard traveler, and her beautiful black hair dulled and grew frayed. Her pale skin gained a few unpronounced blemishes and her blue eyes became dull. When the transformation was done, she looked average in most aspects, even hiding her cultivation and martial bearing as best she could.

When she entered Toubia, there was a particular tavern she had to visit on a particular night to meet others like her.

Three months after leaving the estate, within the royal castle of Demia's capital city, Karnath.

Consistent footsteps echoed down a pristine, hallway as Lucian Valaran moved with purpose. He had lived in this castle for roughly a month now, and had learnt his place here with every day that passed.

When his path crossed that of the servants, they would stop and give small bows, continuing their work or travel after he had moved past. Lucian responded to each of them with a small nod before finally he reached a door perpetually guarded by two armored men.

He was in Prince Takis' royal wing, every room nearby reserved for his own staff and use. The two guards saluted Lucian as he opened the door between them and entered without knocking.

Within, Prince Takis was sitting cross legged on the floor of a large bedroom, illusory images of the shifting seasons surrounding him. Lucian was one of few people allowed entry while the prince cultivated.

'Still going huh?'

Apparently the prince had reached an important milestone in his cultivation and had spent the last two days locked in his room. Lucian had already finished his own morning cultivation, having amassed a new drop of trueblood, and could only wait for Takis to finish.

"Has he taken a break since last night?" Lucian asked David who leaned against the wall waiting.

"Not that I'm aware of. It's not like I stay here all night after you leave."

David's words were bland but there was a passive aggressiveness to them, hidden beneath a casual tone. The man seemed to dislike Lucian from the first, and he did not know why. Of course he had theories, but they were just that.

Shaking his head, Lucian waited patiently as he thought about his own cultivation.

He had not formed a second anchor yet, as he had to stabilize his first before moving on. With his incredible depth in the 3rd stage, forming the anchors would prove a smooth and easy task, but stabilizing them could not be rushed no matter the strength of his cultivation.

Soon, Prince Takis opened his eyes, and all at once a swirl of green, yellow, orange, and white revolved through them before his original greenish-blue eyes returned and the illusory phenomena around him vanished.

He must have noted the sun in the sky or their change of clothes as Takis' first words were a question.

"How many days has it been?"

"Thr–"

"You have been cultivating for three days Your Highness" David interrupted.

Takis looked at them both for a moment and Lucian gave an exaggerated shrug behind David's back. He had grown far more comfortable around the prince over the past two months of travel and one month in the palace.

In fact, to his surprise, the princess too was rather straightforward, at least in the brief interactions he had with her once a week or so. And by Takis' respectful words on his brother the Crown Prince, Lucian couldn't imagine the man as anything but heroic and honorable.

There was once another child of the King, the second prince, but he had passed many years ago. Lucian was not sure on the details, nor did he ask.

"Your Highness, His Majesty King Magnus has requested your presence at the earliest." David said.

"I figured as much. Send word that we'll arrive within 10 minutes."

David glanced at Lucian for a moment before leaving the room, the door closing behind him.

Takis sighed as soon his aide had left. "Really, he's a good man, just a bit too prideful for his own good."

"It's not a problem, I'll warm up to him," Lucian said with a smile. "You said you expected the King's summons? What's happening?"

"The Cinderheart sect. In their latest report to the crown, their recorded disciple numbers were far fewer than what our own numbers reported, and they downplayed their number of elders quite drastically. Now we find that the heir of Count Glaider has been practicing the Cinderheart techniques in secret."

"Cinderheart and Glaider are working together?"

"Worse, I think Count Glaider has absorbed the sect as a faction of his own. Their sect master went into solitary cultivation deep in the wilderness and never returned. My bet is that he's either dead or playing so.

"Well, if that is why father has called for me, I'll need to report to him first if I'm to learn what he wants done."

Takis dipped behind a changing screen for a moment to wear clean clothes before walking to the door.

"Come on."

Lucian was caught somewhat off guard but followed quickly.

'An audience with the King? I've lived in the palace for a month now and have never seen the man.'

He couldn't help but feel a bit nervous at the thought. It was said that the three monarchs were all powerful cultivators, wielding the laws of the universe as if their own. Lucian was eager to see what kind of man spawned such a legend, and how true it would hold.