A King's Legacy Ch. 37-38

"Wait... So the moon goddess just LIED about an entire prophecy to turn the beasts against man?" Calium shook his head as he answered the expected question.

"Actually, she was telling the truth, partly anyway. She still misconstrued it all enough to manipulate them, but the next beast king really hadn't been born yet. He was, however, destined to be a tyrant. The beast would rise up through nobility, and eventually lead a coup to kill the reigning king and his family before seizing the crown of Alora. You were destined to be the last human shield bearer, my son, and you were fated to fall in your clash against the new ruler of Alora in time, however, the goddess manipulated it enough that it would all go about the same, just a little bit earlier than predicted. This is how our kingdom was pulled back into the fray mere weeks after fending off the sword demon." Aster pressed further.

"So, in their desperation to avoid a genocidal tyrant, they ended up creating another?" Calium sighed as he answered this as well.

"Fate has a way of trying to keep things in order. There is a balance to things, it's one of the reasons we had to be so careful where we intervened." Aster frowned as he quietly asked a question he didn't want the answer to.

"By we, you mean you and Death, right? I'll let you explain that first, but I need to know... where exactly did you and Death intervene? Was it in ways I couldn't see back in the land of the living?" Calium went silent, weighing how to proceed. He answered with his own whisper.

"No... You were pretty aware every time we stepped in." The older king bore a look of shame as he continued that statement. "I promise, I'll clarify, but I think it best I try to keep it all in order for you. If you don't understand my reasons, you won't understand my choices... You may judge whether or not I made the right decisions at the end, and I won't hold it against you either way, but just hear me out first, my son." Aster stared at his father in that humbled state for a while before he finally nodded. That seemed fair to the boy. Calium continued on.

"The moon goddess made a deal, the humans of Cadictum used blood magic to kill the queen of Alora before she could ever bear the foreseen tyrant, or so they had believed."

===

Radia was minding the smaller clinic rather absentmindedly on that slower day. The healer of the clinic was out on a house call at the time, so the smaller mouse was just tending to some of the odd cleaning jobs the little building needed as she let her mind linger on all manner of recent gossip around the smaller town of Cayne. She was keeping busy for the most part, humming her little tune as she went about her work, and all seemed like it would be just another day for the little rodent... That is, until a very large bull came barreling through the door with a cat over his shoulder, and a lion on his tail.

"WE NEED A HEALER!" Captain Rix was shouting loud enough to make the smaller mouse squeak out in surprise as she turned to meet the patients.

"Oh, my master is away right now, but she should be back so-" The bull cut her off swiftly.

"THE CAT KEEPS CONVULSING, AND SHE GROWS WEAKER BY THE SECOND, WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO WAIT! FIND THE CRUSTY OLD BROAD AND GET HER BACK HERE!" Radia stepped back a little, feeling overwhelmed by such a large bull shouting so loudly. She started her reply meekly.

"She- She should be back any minute now... We can take your friend to one of the rooms for now, and-" The smaller mouse was cut off once more, this time by something much louder than even the captain.

A small explosion rocked into the front of the clinic, caving in the entry wall and sending debris flying around the room. Tyfin was knocked aside by the blast immediately, avoiding the worst of it in his position. Rix took a few flying bricks to the back of his head and body, likely sparing the life of the little mouse standing in front of him by sheer coincidence. Even the mighty Captain Rixator was knocked over from such an unexpected blow.

As the bull and the lion groaned while they struggled to regain their orientation, a loud and obnoxious voice came flowing into the clinic from right outside on the main street.

"WELL SHIT, I DIDN'T MEAN LEVEL THE WHOLE DAMNED PLACE! WE NEEDED TO BE SURE IT WAS THEM FIRST, YOU FUCKIN' IDIOT! We may have some freedom to cause some damage if needed, but we aren't trying to have the whole damned town coming after us with pitchforks and torches for trashing their homes!" A squawking voice answered shortly.

"YOU SAID WE NEEDED TO HIT THEM HARD AND FAST, BOSS! I-" The first voice, the one presumably belonging to the leader of the attackers, interrupted the mage partway through his own defense, and instead called out mockingly into the dusty remains of the structure.

"HEEEEEYYYY! YOU ALIVE IN THERE?" No answer came to the large boar, so the boss grumbled out to the crow beside him once again.

"Oh, that's just great... THE CLIENT WAS CLEAR HE WANTED THE PRINCE'S PELT! YOU'D BETTER HOPE YOU DIDN'T BURN IT ALL TO SHIT YOU FUCKIN' IDIO-" The crow never heard the rest of his boss's insult, he was instead wondering why the world was suddenly spinning around him... Then he saw the bull, the axe, and his own beheaded corpse below him as his head spiraled through the air to land on the ground with a thud. Captain Rix was never one to hesitate to take action against an enemy.

The boar stumbled away in surprise as the crow's corpse hit the ground. The seasoned bull knew taking out that mage was his first priority, and their bickering had given him all the distraction he needed to go on the offensive and do just that with his first strike. As the boar struggled to come to, the bull shouted out behind himself, bleeding from the back of his head all the while.

"NOW, GO!" Prince Tyfin jolted out of the ruined clinic behind the captain, running at full speed with Lady Alice on his back. Rix broke off after the lion, careful to keep the prince in his sights as they fled their attackers. Tyfin would press forward, keeping an eye on things ahead as he steered them, Rix would cover their rear, cleaving into any pursuer that got too close. It wasn't the most fail-proof plan, and it was forced to be made on the spot, but the pair was hoping it may be just enough to get them out of there.

Rix had underestimated exactly how many mercenaries were there for the prince. Those two would be chased halfway through that town, leaving behind a splotch of death in their wake whenever a sell-sword thought they were beast enough to step within range of a Rixator's axe.

===

Adamare had just began coping with their losses from the sword demon when it happened. It had barely been three weeks since the attack, but the little prince seemed determined to get a head-start into the world nearly two weeks early. While Queen Vera was quite occupied with her twelfth hour of labor, a guard came quietly into the room, and whispered something into King Calium's ear. The king went wide-eyed at the message, and took on even more of a grim expression. He turned to his wife, (who was, needless to say, not having a great time of things,) and spoke apologetically.

"My queen, I have to go... I will return to you as quickly as possible, but-" She never let him finish, answering between strained breathing.

"Go. You wouldn't leave if it wasn't important. The people need their king, now more than ever." Vera topped the statement off with a pained groan as another heavier contraction hit. Calium stared at his wife for a moment longer.

Her dark-red hair was matted to her brow, her face flustered and dripping with sweat. Her eyes looked swollen and tired, and she was shifting around in apparent discomfort as the nurses did their best to move the process along. Her lips were parted and dry, and her breathing was forced and measured between groans. Calium spoke softly before taking his leave, gently bringing a hand up to cup her face tenderly.

"Only you, my love, could ever look so beautiful, even here." The queen scoffed lightly, and rolled her eyes despite the pain. She answered in kind.

"Only you, my love, could ever see such beauty, even here." His lips met her own briefly before they were interrupted by another movement from the impatient prince on his way into the world. Calium pulled away as Vera groaned out once more, taking his leave with the knight. The moment they had made it five paces from the door of their bedroom, the king quickly turned to his soldier, and spoke in a lower, desperate tone.

"Please tell me I misheard you in there..."

There was a strange parcel left in the center of the road a good distance away from the kingdom, a longer box crudely nailed shut that was discovered by an elderly merchant traveling into Alora. The merchant was hoping it was some cargo that had been misplaced, but when he chanced opening the box, he was met with far more of a surprise than he had bargained for.

There were two human corpses sealed inside the makeshift coffin, two bodies left to rot beneath the sun's rays. The guard had been notified, and the box was moved to Adamare's castle. Calium was still holding on to some hope that this was all some mistake, and that this wasn't what he was told, but gazing upon that delivery from Alora's capital in his own courtyard all but confirmed as much.

Beast King Alocer had murdered both of Adamare's ambassadors currently serving in Alora, (along with the ambassadors to the other two human countries,) and he had sent their remains back where they had came from along with a message crudely written in the dried and crusty blood of their victims on the inside of the box's lid.

"All men shall fall !"

There was no mistaking it, King Alocer had declared war on humans, and King Calium trembled at the realization. He didn't even have time to finish accepting that disturbing reality before a nurse came running into the courtyard delivering another message.

"King Calium! Your son, HE IS HERE! We checked, and... HE HAS YOUR EYES! A new shield bearer has been born!" The king was drawn back to reality, and he rushed back to his queen hastily, suddenly more fearful for his children's future than ever before. The queen had rested for quite a while after the delivery, but when Vera awoke quite a few hours after the sun had set, the very first thing she laid eyes on was her husband holding their newborn son, sitting in a chair near the window. Calium was gazing out at the moonlight over the ocean absentmindedly. She spoke quietly, still not exactly feeling well rested.

"I know that look all too well. How bad is it?" Calium never looked away from that window as he answered honestly.

"It's bad, and the more I tell you, the more it's going to break your heart." Queen Vera closed her eyes, and answered decidedly.

"There has been no shortage of misfortune for our people lately, I don't know that I want to taint the day my son was born with such a terrible reveal, not after we may finally have something to give us a little hope again." Calium nodded, answering her warmly.

"I don't think anything could ever damper the pride I feel right now, but I understand. Still, I could really use some wise council, so can we talk about it in the morning?" The queen nodded lightly in reply. Calium continued. "Thank you. So, how are you feeling, my love?" She responded softly once more.

"I'm still so very, very tired. Lunai didn't take near as much out of me, but I think I'll be alright. How is the baby?" Calium answered playfully

"As fussy as his mother." Queen Vera laughed lightly as she answered.

"Good, it sounds like someone needed to make sure you were handling things while I was resting, and I'm sure he was just the one for the task. Did he set you straight for me?" Calium chuckled along, returning the playful banter.

"He certainly did, I suppose it would be fair if he gets that from you, he got my eyes and hair, after all." Vera smiled playfully as she corrected him.

"You mean he got your shield?" Calium gazed down at his son, and only smiled at the sight of the sleeping infant, relishing the most sensational feeling of fluttering in his stomach. The king gently ran his thumb over the child's brow, and smirked lightly when the baby decided he didn't much care for the gesture. As the child shifted lightly in his father's arms in protest, his mother spoke once more.

"So, now that you've met him, have you decided on a name?" Calium smiled sheepishly at his wife, and confessed the truth.

"Not at all... Sorry, I've been trying, but nothing seems right..." Queen Vera laughed lightly for a moment before she stopped and groaned, gently holding her hand to her stomach as the pain passed. She let out a sigh, and resumed where she had left off.

"Well, it's a good thing I know his father is really good at procrastinating..." Calium looked to his wife in confusion before he realized what she meant. He flashed that dazzling smile of his before he pried a little further.

"...You've already chosen one, haven't you?" She only kept on smiling in response at first. When she did answer, it was with a hint of slyness.

"We have a daughter named after the moon, so why not a son after the sun? It is where you draw your strength from, and where he one day will as well." Calium leaned into her suggestion happily.

"So, you have come up with something after all?" Vera answered her king thoughtfully.

"Solis, Solis Aureus, the next king of Adamare. I think our people would welcome "a little solace," right now, don't you think?" Calium was grinning ear to ear when he heard the suggestion. It was perfect.

"I just knew she had picked the right name." Calium spoke warmly of his wife in the garden. Aster was listening so very closely, feeling rather humbled by his father's story. Humbled to finally know his mother's name. The boy spoke somberly.

"It's a good name, the one she gave me... Some have even called it a strong name. I'm glad I was able to learn who it was that gave it to me. I am happy to know my parents really loved each other. How did mother handle the news about the war though?" Calium gazed off towards the river flowing through the garden of life, and answered his son in a raw voice, one that was overflowing with remorse.

"She didn't. She passed in her sleep that night. Something was wrong after the birth, but nobody ever realized it until after I awoke to find her the following morning. In retrospect, I am thankful I didn't soil her last night on this earth, nor your first, with the news." Aster sucked in a sharp breath and lingered heavily on those words for a moment. He answered his father in respect.

"So... your best friend was killed by the sword demon, you discovered King Alocer had declared war on our people just as I was being born, and you lost my mother, all in such a short time?" Calium nodded once in confirmation before answering.

"It almost broke me, I almost let it break me... but I had two children to ensure would have a future in such an uncertain world. Giving up was never even an option for me at that point. I found something that gave me the strength I needed to keep fighting back. I realized the severity of what was heading towards us, so I went to go seek a little advice from an old friend of mine. As it turned out, he had already been looking into his own ways to intervene." The king continued on, working up to the next part of his story with a sense of dread. He just knew Solis wasn't going to like this...

===

Cortist was eyeing down the monster carefully, they had been repeating their little dance for a while, but the prodigal mage was starting to lose his patience. He hit this thing hard time and time again, but it just never seemed to stay down no matter what. Cortist figured he couldn't pierce its heart without killing his brother, considering his master had simply told him to stall it, but Cortist was starting to worry he had this all wrong.

The creature was growing impatient as well it seemed, that, or it was finally starting to take Cortist seriously. Either way, the monster would keep trying to capture its taste of flesh in any way it could manage. Cortist was almost appalled by what the opponent did next.

An unsettling, armored hand reached behind the monster's own back, the claws wrapping slowly around the hilt of the shadowy blade through its chest as it began to slowly slide the corrupted weapon free from its new hilt. When the tip had pulled free, and as the blade had exited the larger gash in its own back, more writhing and shifting started occurring around the hole left in the creature's center.

Two blackened wings shot out from between the demon's shoulders, giving the creature all it needed to try a different approach. The dark creature brandished the sword in its right hand, the shield in its left, and rose into the air with a powerful flap. It dived towards its dinner at unbelievable speed. Luckily, Cortist didn't hesitate to shoot a spear of light through its mouth. The demon crashed to the ground briefly, it's head already working on reforming itself. Cortist took the opportunity, and burned the demon again, stalling its regrowth. Cortist was almost starting to get a little too comfortable, and was quickly caught in the next attack.

Before the panther could react, the headless body plunged the sword into the stone below surprising the mage as the shockwaves began to rock through the throne room of King Calium. Dust fell from the cracks all around him as the dormant castle was rattled by the force of the impact, and Cortist was barely able to raise a wall of stone to divert the blast in time. Obscuring his own vision was almost his downfall. Cortist barely managed to look up in time to avoid the creature's sword cleaving him in half on the landing, but a shielded fist stole the mage's breath away immediately after as the monster launched its follow-up.

Cortist was almost certain it should have killed him. It was like somebody had fired a large cannon right into his gut. He almost even lost consciousness as his body was sent flying by the mighty impact. Cortist landed with a roll, feeling like he really had to use the restroom all of a sudden. He had no idea what that thing was actually packing, the kind of damage it could do with a single strike. Cortist was starting to feel afraid again, and the demon knew it. The mage could've sworn it was smiling ever so slightly as it lunged towards him, propelled faster than ever before by blackened wingbeats.

Cortist knew he still had quite the battle ahead of him, but more and more of the shield's golden light was slowly being swallowed up by the craggy darkness consuming it. The mage furrowed his brow in concentration. He would NOT fall here, and he was NOT going let Aster fall here either. That's what self-proclaimed, expert big brothers such as Cortist Venatus were for, after all.

The panther calmed his troubled mind, latched on to what mattered in that moment, and inhaled sharply. Before he even considered what he was doing, Cortist Venatus exhaled. A breathe of freezing air passed over his maw to meet the demon head on. Cortist Venatus had finally unlocked the power of both ice, and wind, and the result was a demon seemingly trapped in ice, still only inches away from its mark.

Cortist stood proudly, well aware the icy mass of shadow was already being rumbled apart by the squirming monster inside of it. It wouldn't hold him for long, but it was alright, the panther would keep fighting as long as it took, because that is what Aster would do for him in this situation, he would keep fighting for his brother. Cortist was learning what was most important to him in this world. Cortist was one step closer to discovering the true source of his own celestial power.