ULTRAMagic Interlude - Chapter 11
Previous | First | Next
Master Post - Patreon
To say that Englehart’s court was a bit worked up that day was an understatement. The citizenry did not fully realize it, but Dunja still had some authority despite being stripped of her honors. Specifically, declarations of repentance had to be taken seriously. The council had expected Englehart to dismiss Dunja, not accepting her word. What he had done threw everything into disarray for them. It was safe to say that that meeting was very hectic. The only thing that rivaled it was the day that Dunja betrayed the kingdom.
“Your majesty!” Octavius exclaimed. “This has to be a mistake!”
“His majesty did not stutter yesterday, councilor,” Radovan pointed out.
“Aye, my word was and is final,” Englehart stated calmly.
A slender, dark haired man amongst the councilors cleared his throat and straightened out his coat. “Very true, your majesty. The only issue is that this contradicts your word from before. Both of you for that matter. You and your former queen declared that one day you two would duel to the death for honor…”
“I’m fully aware of this, Councilor Caius. Trust me when I say that it weighs heavily on my mind and complicates things greatly.”
“Your majesty, you’re not planning on throwing the duel, are you?” Theobold cut in. “That would go against honor and tradition!” He froze when he saw the king shoot him a glare that made it clear what his intentions were. Theobold sighed. “You know what? Fine. It’s your throne, not mine… but what about Dunja’s past crimes?”
Regnault nodded in agreement. “He has a point. Need I bring up the fact that Dunja has slept with Milosh? Or how they nearly collapsed the Market District not too long ago?”
“Missing the elephant in the room, gentlemen…” a manly, yet raspy voice pointed out.
“Thank you, Drazhan” Barna replied. “Thebold, Regnault, do I have to remind both of you that Milosh is a manipulative, rat bastard… and an outsider?” he eagerly made clear. “If anything, the onus is purely on him. In fact, once things settle down a bit, I’m heading right over to Shadowland to ring his neck until he stops moving… assuming Sten hasn’t cleaved him in half already.” This made Drazhan, Caius, and Radovan chuckle.
Englehart looked over at his brother. “Barna, is this an official declaration on your part?”
“Indeed it is, brother. And if you say no, I’m going to do it anyway!”
Drazhan laughed in solidarity. “Haha! There you go, gentlemen! Barna takes a leisurely stroll over to ye old Shadowland, has a real shindig with a pint or two, and fixes the whole damn issue. And no matter how that slime dies, I’d argue that it clears Dunja’s name, no two ways about it. It’s about time someone cut that dame some slack” The burly councilor elaborated as he lit a cigar.
Octavius groaned. “I suppose you're right, General Thornefield, but I must point out the OTHER elephant in the room: Can we actually trust Dunja?”
“She seemed incredibly distraught and exhausted yesterday,” Caius answered. “If that was acting, she has truly mastered it”
“No, she was being honest,” Englehart asserted. “I’ve known her long enough to be able to tell when she’s lying. She always has a tell and I didn’t see any. She made those declarations from a place of desperation, not deception.”
“It lines up with recent intel and events that have transpired as of late” Radovan stated as he pointed to a board with documents tacked to it. Noted on one of them was an outbreak of plague amongst Milosh’s ranks and a certain flyby of two noteworthy dragons on another paper. “Perhaps I should bring my son into this, given that the council is unsure about what to do.”
“Wait, what would that accomplish?” Theobold questioned. “And isn’t he an outsider too? Not comparing him to Milosh, I’m just saying…”
“Debatably, but he was seemingly born outside The Iron City and taken in by my dear Dragoslava” Rose replied.
“Fair point, your grace.”
Regnault gave a frustrated sigh. “That’s all fine and good, but what authority does the child have?”
“Aside from the obvious?” Englehart answered. “I should note that I did offer to Knight him for retrieving Rose.”
The majority of the council gave the king incredulous looks as it was fairly unorthodox to them. Drazhan felt differently. “Well I say bring the lad here then. A fresh perspective wouldn’t hurt at all.”
Back at Blood-Wraith’s house, he was relaxing by watching some television. He had realized that he should take time to rest after his adventures before anything else started. A knock at the door startled him. “Coming… Hello, Barna!”
“Blood, my boy, you got a moment to spare? You’ve been summoned to the tower for a meeting in progress.”
This was surprising. “Oh? What’s it about?”
“Well we’re discussing recent events and we’d like your thoughts on the matters at hand. Sound interested?”
Blood-Wraith thought for a moment, as he knew what they probably wanted to ask him about. “Sure, Barna. Just let me write a note for the others real quickly…”
“Ha, I was about to say; where is everyone?”
“Well Aureolus is at your house, Vex is upstairs writing something down… and done! Alright, let’s go.”
The Singing Storm Tower was busy once again, with Blood-Wraith beginning to fully understand why Corentin went out of his way to get him a home of his own. Naturally there were a lot of greetings and this caused Barna to waste brief moments chatting. Eventually the two got back on track and made their way to the throne room. Englehart had called a recess due to Barna’s habit of socializing, but everyone quickly reassembled once the two entered. Truthfully Blood-Wraith felt a bit intimidated seeing everyone look at him.
Barna noticed Blood-Wraith’s unease. “Don’t worry, Blood. Here, I’ll introduce you. This is Octavius Lennox, our resident stiff, HA.”
Octavius shot Barna a displeased look, brushing back his short, dirty blonde hair. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Blood-Wraith. I oversee relations with other kingdoms and hold the position of Englehart’s advisor.”
“Nice to meet you too, councilor,” he replied.
Next was Caius Aakster. “It is an honor to meet you, Mr. Raynot,” he said as he shook his hand. He was the royal apothecary and had a soothing, yet mildly intimidating voice.
Theobold and Regnault Bloodworth were a bit nervous themselves, but quickly realized Blood-Wraith was harmless. In fact, they quickly took a liking to him. The two were tall and strong brothers who had gone different paths in life, yet both ended up on the royal council. Theobold was the captain-general of the royal guard and Regnault was the head of the city treasury. Both of them were highly trusted by Englehart. Last was Drazhan, who looked fairly eager to meet Blood-Wraith.
“And this hulking bear of a man is General Drazhan Thornefield,” said Barna. “He’s been supplying me with raw material whenever he’s not in the war room.”
Drazhan laughed. “Yes indeed-Barna here is too busy with his craft to go outside, so I make sure he has what he needs. Put it there, kid. How you doing today?” he said as he held out his hand. His rough skin showed signs of past battles and his auburn hair was graying, but he looked full of vigor regardless.
Blood-Wraith accepted the handshake, noticing the general had a firm grip. “It’s nice to meet you, general. And I’m doing pretty good… I’m a little nervous though.”
“Don’t worry lad, these gentlemen wouldn’t hurt a fly, despite all the politics. That’s my job, haha!”
Englehart chuckled. “Now Blood, I trust that we don’t have to reintroduce you to your parents?” This made everyone laugh and chuckle. “Now before we get into the purpose of this meeting for our joining guest; Blood-Wraith, do you accept the offer I made you before your previous journey?”
He thought for one last time. “Yes, your majesty.”
“Very well then. The ceremony where we bestow knighthood is still two weeks away, so I hereby unofficially grant you the privileges and permissions of a Knight.”
“Thank you, your majesty… what does that mean?”
Rose chuckled. “Well sweetie, it means a couple of things. You may now act as a Lieutenant, you can freely assemble missions, and you can request to be included in meetings such as this one.”
“... plus you’ll receive your title and badge of office soon” Radovan finished.
Barna tapped Blood-Wraith on the shoulder. “Blood, sword or shield?”
“Um… sword… no! Shield.”
“Haha, noted. Also interesting, not going to lie.”
“As happy as we all are for our knight to be, we should get back to the Dunja situation” Octavius interjected.
Englehart nodded. “Ahem, right. Blood, how much do you know about what happened yesterday?”
“Drago and Kresimira filled me in on the details prior to you guys coming back. Is Dunja really as bad as she’s been made out to be?”
Englehart answered this question with an explanation of how he met Dunja. It all centered around and started with Shadowland. When he was a young man, that kingdom was ruled by the Vozenilek family. They were awful at leadership, leaving their people starving and to fend for themselves. During a covert trip to the main city, a young Englehart would become friends with a poor, orphan girl named Dunja. Bringing her back to The Iron City and hearing her plight convinced Englehart’s father to intervene in Shadowland.
The Schindewolf’s reached out to the Haugen’s and assisted them in overthrowing the Vozenilek’s. Once the dust had settled, Englehart brought Dunja into the seat of royalty as he was in love with her. In hindsight, Englehart realized bringing Dunja into luxury like that was not a good idea. It instilled insecurities in her, making her feel unworthy. Alas, he was blinded to this by love. Them having to take the throne early due to the previous king and queen vanishing did not help either. Things were rocky at first, but the two persevered.
The straw that broke the camel’s back was Milosh Proch, the self-professed heir to the Vozenilek’s. He was embittered towards the Schindewolf’s and plotted to overthrow them. To do this, he started by sewing seeds of doubt in Dunja. He convinced her that Englehart did not actually care about her. One thing led to another and eventually Dunja renounced the Iron City. The schism was a shock to everyone. Things were chaotic for a while as Dunja and Milosh fought to wrest control of the Iron City from Englehart. The Great Hunt marked an interesting turn of events, however.
“...I believe the crumbling of Milosh’s ambitions has allowed Dunja to wake up and realize the reality of the situation she’s in. Her repentance feels genuine and I have accepted it.”
“Even after all that, your majesty?” Blood-Wraith questioned.
“Yes, Blood. Time heals all wounds. At first I was sad. This gave way to burning anger, but eventually I sank into denial. Through my many lonely nights I realized something: This wasn’t Dunja’s fault. It was mine… aside from the manipulation of Milosh. I should have been more open to her inner turmoil. I would happily welcome her back with open arms, had we not sworn to our fated duel. Now Blood, what do you have to say to this? You did foil the other half of Milosh’s ambitions after all.”
Everyone remained quiet as Blood-Wraith took his time. It was a lot to consider and he had to make up his mind carefully. The boy seemed to be getting nervous, so Rose took him to Englehart’s office where he could think in peace. She also helped him formulate his thoughts and provided commentary to his ideas. After a roughly twenty minute talk, the two returned to the throne room. Blood-Wraith looked a lot more confident at this point.
“Your majesty? Councilors? I’m going to be upfront about this: I feel really bad for Dunja.” They all figured Blood-Wraith would say that. “It’s bad enough that Leif and countless others have had to pass away. I don’t want to see Dunja die either.” This surprised most of the council.
“What are you proposing, Blood-Wraith?” Octavius asked.
“I’m not sure, councilor. I just don’t want people to die… I mean, I’m not dumb: Milosh sounds like a really bad man that needs to be stopped… but Dunja? I think she deserves a second chance. It felt off being so ferocious to her yesterday, if I’m being honest. Yes, the king was in danger… but at the same time, it felt like I was missing something. You know what I mean?”
The council was silent, processing Blood-Wraith’s sentiment. Drazhan then spoke up. “Hey, Englehart? Can we have Blood on the Council? The lad’s got too much heart…”
The king smiled. “In time, if he desires it. Blood, I couldn’t agree with you more. I think it’s time traditions changed…”
“Oy vey…” Octavius muttered. “...but I suppose it wouldn’t be the worst thing ever.”
“Are you sure about this, your majesty?” Caius asked. “This would be quite the upheaval.”
“Well, why not challenge her then?” Blood-Wraith put forth. “Like, what if we acted like the duel was a battle to the death, but in reality we’re testing her…um…?”
“Character?” Rose proposed with an encouraging tone.
“Yeah, that. What my mom said.”
Radovan noticed that this idea had caught the council’s interest. “Ah, I see. Make her think it’s real to reveal her true colors. Not a bad idea, Blood. Albeit the idea could use some tweaking, but the general concept is sound. Your majesty, I am in favor of this. Shall we put it to a vote?”
Englehart nodded again. “Aye. All in favor?” Hands were raised. “Any opposition?” Everyone remained silent. “Well now, that’s a bit unexpected of you in particular, Octavius. Ahem, we shall discuss this for the rest of the meeting and iron out the kinks, but just know that not a word of this shall leave this room. For the sake of the kingdom and Dunja, this must remain a secret until the final outcome is decided. Are we clear?” There were no objections.
Next: Chapter 12
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
Master Post - Patreon
To say that Englehart’s court was a bit worked up that day was an understatement. The citizenry did not fully realize it, but Dunja still had some authority despite being stripped of her honors. Specifically, declarations of repentance had to be taken seriously. The council had expected Englehart to dismiss Dunja, not accepting her word. What he had done threw everything into disarray for them. It was safe to say that that meeting was very hectic. The only thing that rivaled it was the day that Dunja betrayed the kingdom.
“Your majesty!” Octavius exclaimed. “This has to be a mistake!”
“His majesty did not stutter yesterday, councilor,” Radovan pointed out.
“Aye, my word was and is final,” Englehart stated calmly.
A slender, dark haired man amongst the councilors cleared his throat and straightened out his coat. “Very true, your majesty. The only issue is that this contradicts your word from before. Both of you for that matter. You and your former queen declared that one day you two would duel to the death for honor…”
“I’m fully aware of this, Councilor Caius. Trust me when I say that it weighs heavily on my mind and complicates things greatly.”
“Your majesty, you’re not planning on throwing the duel, are you?” Theobold cut in. “That would go against honor and tradition!” He froze when he saw the king shoot him a glare that made it clear what his intentions were. Theobold sighed. “You know what? Fine. It’s your throne, not mine… but what about Dunja’s past crimes?”
Regnault nodded in agreement. “He has a point. Need I bring up the fact that Dunja has slept with Milosh? Or how they nearly collapsed the Market District not too long ago?”
“Missing the elephant in the room, gentlemen…” a manly, yet raspy voice pointed out.
“Thank you, Drazhan” Barna replied. “Thebold, Regnault, do I have to remind both of you that Milosh is a manipulative, rat bastard… and an outsider?” he eagerly made clear. “If anything, the onus is purely on him. In fact, once things settle down a bit, I’m heading right over to Shadowland to ring his neck until he stops moving… assuming Sten hasn’t cleaved him in half already.” This made Drazhan, Caius, and Radovan chuckle.
Englehart looked over at his brother. “Barna, is this an official declaration on your part?”
“Indeed it is, brother. And if you say no, I’m going to do it anyway!”
Drazhan laughed in solidarity. “Haha! There you go, gentlemen! Barna takes a leisurely stroll over to ye old Shadowland, has a real shindig with a pint or two, and fixes the whole damn issue. And no matter how that slime dies, I’d argue that it clears Dunja’s name, no two ways about it. It’s about time someone cut that dame some slack” The burly councilor elaborated as he lit a cigar.
Octavius groaned. “I suppose you're right, General Thornefield, but I must point out the OTHER elephant in the room: Can we actually trust Dunja?”
“She seemed incredibly distraught and exhausted yesterday,” Caius answered. “If that was acting, she has truly mastered it”
“No, she was being honest,” Englehart asserted. “I’ve known her long enough to be able to tell when she’s lying. She always has a tell and I didn’t see any. She made those declarations from a place of desperation, not deception.”
“It lines up with recent intel and events that have transpired as of late” Radovan stated as he pointed to a board with documents tacked to it. Noted on one of them was an outbreak of plague amongst Milosh’s ranks and a certain flyby of two noteworthy dragons on another paper. “Perhaps I should bring my son into this, given that the council is unsure about what to do.”
“Wait, what would that accomplish?” Theobold questioned. “And isn’t he an outsider too? Not comparing him to Milosh, I’m just saying…”
“Debatably, but he was seemingly born outside The Iron City and taken in by my dear Dragoslava” Rose replied.
“Fair point, your grace.”
Regnault gave a frustrated sigh. “That’s all fine and good, but what authority does the child have?”
“Aside from the obvious?” Englehart answered. “I should note that I did offer to Knight him for retrieving Rose.”
The majority of the council gave the king incredulous looks as it was fairly unorthodox to them. Drazhan felt differently. “Well I say bring the lad here then. A fresh perspective wouldn’t hurt at all.”
Back at Blood-Wraith’s house, he was relaxing by watching some television. He had realized that he should take time to rest after his adventures before anything else started. A knock at the door startled him. “Coming… Hello, Barna!”
“Blood, my boy, you got a moment to spare? You’ve been summoned to the tower for a meeting in progress.”
This was surprising. “Oh? What’s it about?”
“Well we’re discussing recent events and we’d like your thoughts on the matters at hand. Sound interested?”
Blood-Wraith thought for a moment, as he knew what they probably wanted to ask him about. “Sure, Barna. Just let me write a note for the others real quickly…”
“Ha, I was about to say; where is everyone?”
“Well Aureolus is at your house, Vex is upstairs writing something down… and done! Alright, let’s go.”
The Singing Storm Tower was busy once again, with Blood-Wraith beginning to fully understand why Corentin went out of his way to get him a home of his own. Naturally there were a lot of greetings and this caused Barna to waste brief moments chatting. Eventually the two got back on track and made their way to the throne room. Englehart had called a recess due to Barna’s habit of socializing, but everyone quickly reassembled once the two entered. Truthfully Blood-Wraith felt a bit intimidated seeing everyone look at him.
Barna noticed Blood-Wraith’s unease. “Don’t worry, Blood. Here, I’ll introduce you. This is Octavius Lennox, our resident stiff, HA.”
Octavius shot Barna a displeased look, brushing back his short, dirty blonde hair. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Blood-Wraith. I oversee relations with other kingdoms and hold the position of Englehart’s advisor.”
“Nice to meet you too, councilor,” he replied.
Next was Caius Aakster. “It is an honor to meet you, Mr. Raynot,” he said as he shook his hand. He was the royal apothecary and had a soothing, yet mildly intimidating voice.
Theobold and Regnault Bloodworth were a bit nervous themselves, but quickly realized Blood-Wraith was harmless. In fact, they quickly took a liking to him. The two were tall and strong brothers who had gone different paths in life, yet both ended up on the royal council. Theobold was the captain-general of the royal guard and Regnault was the head of the city treasury. Both of them were highly trusted by Englehart. Last was Drazhan, who looked fairly eager to meet Blood-Wraith.
“And this hulking bear of a man is General Drazhan Thornefield,” said Barna. “He’s been supplying me with raw material whenever he’s not in the war room.”
Drazhan laughed. “Yes indeed-Barna here is too busy with his craft to go outside, so I make sure he has what he needs. Put it there, kid. How you doing today?” he said as he held out his hand. His rough skin showed signs of past battles and his auburn hair was graying, but he looked full of vigor regardless.
Blood-Wraith accepted the handshake, noticing the general had a firm grip. “It’s nice to meet you, general. And I’m doing pretty good… I’m a little nervous though.”
“Don’t worry lad, these gentlemen wouldn’t hurt a fly, despite all the politics. That’s my job, haha!”
Englehart chuckled. “Now Blood, I trust that we don’t have to reintroduce you to your parents?” This made everyone laugh and chuckle. “Now before we get into the purpose of this meeting for our joining guest; Blood-Wraith, do you accept the offer I made you before your previous journey?”
He thought for one last time. “Yes, your majesty.”
“Very well then. The ceremony where we bestow knighthood is still two weeks away, so I hereby unofficially grant you the privileges and permissions of a Knight.”
“Thank you, your majesty… what does that mean?”
Rose chuckled. “Well sweetie, it means a couple of things. You may now act as a Lieutenant, you can freely assemble missions, and you can request to be included in meetings such as this one.”
“... plus you’ll receive your title and badge of office soon” Radovan finished.
Barna tapped Blood-Wraith on the shoulder. “Blood, sword or shield?”
“Um… sword… no! Shield.”
“Haha, noted. Also interesting, not going to lie.”
“As happy as we all are for our knight to be, we should get back to the Dunja situation” Octavius interjected.
Englehart nodded. “Ahem, right. Blood, how much do you know about what happened yesterday?”
“Drago and Kresimira filled me in on the details prior to you guys coming back. Is Dunja really as bad as she’s been made out to be?”
Englehart answered this question with an explanation of how he met Dunja. It all centered around and started with Shadowland. When he was a young man, that kingdom was ruled by the Vozenilek family. They were awful at leadership, leaving their people starving and to fend for themselves. During a covert trip to the main city, a young Englehart would become friends with a poor, orphan girl named Dunja. Bringing her back to The Iron City and hearing her plight convinced Englehart’s father to intervene in Shadowland.
The Schindewolf’s reached out to the Haugen’s and assisted them in overthrowing the Vozenilek’s. Once the dust had settled, Englehart brought Dunja into the seat of royalty as he was in love with her. In hindsight, Englehart realized bringing Dunja into luxury like that was not a good idea. It instilled insecurities in her, making her feel unworthy. Alas, he was blinded to this by love. Them having to take the throne early due to the previous king and queen vanishing did not help either. Things were rocky at first, but the two persevered.
The straw that broke the camel’s back was Milosh Proch, the self-professed heir to the Vozenilek’s. He was embittered towards the Schindewolf’s and plotted to overthrow them. To do this, he started by sewing seeds of doubt in Dunja. He convinced her that Englehart did not actually care about her. One thing led to another and eventually Dunja renounced the Iron City. The schism was a shock to everyone. Things were chaotic for a while as Dunja and Milosh fought to wrest control of the Iron City from Englehart. The Great Hunt marked an interesting turn of events, however.
“...I believe the crumbling of Milosh’s ambitions has allowed Dunja to wake up and realize the reality of the situation she’s in. Her repentance feels genuine and I have accepted it.”
“Even after all that, your majesty?” Blood-Wraith questioned.
“Yes, Blood. Time heals all wounds. At first I was sad. This gave way to burning anger, but eventually I sank into denial. Through my many lonely nights I realized something: This wasn’t Dunja’s fault. It was mine… aside from the manipulation of Milosh. I should have been more open to her inner turmoil. I would happily welcome her back with open arms, had we not sworn to our fated duel. Now Blood, what do you have to say to this? You did foil the other half of Milosh’s ambitions after all.”
Everyone remained quiet as Blood-Wraith took his time. It was a lot to consider and he had to make up his mind carefully. The boy seemed to be getting nervous, so Rose took him to Englehart’s office where he could think in peace. She also helped him formulate his thoughts and provided commentary to his ideas. After a roughly twenty minute talk, the two returned to the throne room. Blood-Wraith looked a lot more confident at this point.
“Your majesty? Councilors? I’m going to be upfront about this: I feel really bad for Dunja.” They all figured Blood-Wraith would say that. “It’s bad enough that Leif and countless others have had to pass away. I don’t want to see Dunja die either.” This surprised most of the council.
“What are you proposing, Blood-Wraith?” Octavius asked.
“I’m not sure, councilor. I just don’t want people to die… I mean, I’m not dumb: Milosh sounds like a really bad man that needs to be stopped… but Dunja? I think she deserves a second chance. It felt off being so ferocious to her yesterday, if I’m being honest. Yes, the king was in danger… but at the same time, it felt like I was missing something. You know what I mean?”
The council was silent, processing Blood-Wraith’s sentiment. Drazhan then spoke up. “Hey, Englehart? Can we have Blood on the Council? The lad’s got too much heart…”
The king smiled. “In time, if he desires it. Blood, I couldn’t agree with you more. I think it’s time traditions changed…”
“Oy vey…” Octavius muttered. “...but I suppose it wouldn’t be the worst thing ever.”
“Are you sure about this, your majesty?” Caius asked. “This would be quite the upheaval.”
“Well, why not challenge her then?” Blood-Wraith put forth. “Like, what if we acted like the duel was a battle to the death, but in reality we’re testing her…um…?”
“Character?” Rose proposed with an encouraging tone.
“Yeah, that. What my mom said.”
Radovan noticed that this idea had caught the council’s interest. “Ah, I see. Make her think it’s real to reveal her true colors. Not a bad idea, Blood. Albeit the idea could use some tweaking, but the general concept is sound. Your majesty, I am in favor of this. Shall we put it to a vote?”
Englehart nodded again. “Aye. All in favor?” Hands were raised. “Any opposition?” Everyone remained silent. “Well now, that’s a bit unexpected of you in particular, Octavius. Ahem, we shall discuss this for the rest of the meeting and iron out the kinks, but just know that not a word of this shall leave this room. For the sake of the kingdom and Dunja, this must remain a secret until the final outcome is decided. Are we clear?” There were no objections.
Next: Chapter 12
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
Comments
Post a Comment