A King's Legacy Ch. 41

A King's Legacy

Chapter 41

Dawn of a Second Son

Death was always rather fond of the smallest mortal children; before they could walk, talk, or truly comprehend what his presence implied for them. Most of those cubs simply stared in silent curiosity when they met him, never shying away, even as he offered them his hand to hold so they wouldn't have to go alone. He always liked the new life, those still carrying just the smallest lingering scent of his beloved's power, but he rarely looked forward to guiding any such youth. The god believed that guiding the young should be left to the living, but Death understood that fate often had other design.

Solis Aureus was quickly becoming an exception to that rule. The human baby was resting in the final bed his father had made for him, smiling so warmly up at the god's vessel. The tiny gold-flecked eyes were brimming with excitement to have some company after being so rudely awakened by the nearby skirmish coming to its end. The child raised both hands above itself; his little fingers trying so vainly to grab a hold of the unicorn's horn. To the infant's great disapproval, it remained just out of reach. Death had appeared before this child after his deal with Calium was finalized, and the god was quickly making his final preparations as he hovered over the infant for which such a grand deal had been made.

"Such great weight sat upon such tiny shoulders, including my own life as well. You had better live up to my expectations, Solis Aureus. I'm going through a lot of trouble just to keep us both around, so don't you think of squandering such a gift from the very gods." Death rarely spoke out loud, usually electing to simply speak into minds, but then again, the deity wasn't truly speaking to the infant in that moment. The god let out a sigh as he realized the truth; that even he was feeling far too vulnerable in such a situation, but he continued despite such buried emotion. "Although, I suppose you'll have a new name soon, given this all actually happens the way I need it to, given I don't meet the very same fate I've always delivered onto others... I do hope you like felines, Aster Venatus."

The deity slowly reached his bony hand forward, bringing it up to the boy's brow as he spoke softly to the infant once more. "You should be asleep for this part. It won't hurt, but it may be a little scary."

The child's grip finally found purchase on the deity's thin digit, and the boy let out a delighted cackle in triumph. His eyes and toothless smile shining brilliantly in the face of Death, something the deity rarely saw in even the bravest of souls, certainly not from one so young. He could only hope the boy could repeat such a feat when the time would eventually come. The god scoffed lightly as he spoke into the darkness of that room one final time before sending the infant back into the land of dreams for a while. "Perhaps you'll be strong enough after all. Until next we meet, young king."

Death finished his work there and moved into position at the Venatus estate. He gave Calium his cue a moment after he was ready. The deal was struck, and their terms fulfilled. They could merely watch and wait from that point on; their great gamble of a plan was truly out of their hands, with all the weight of countless lives balancing on the fate of such a delicate existence.

===

Syphur didn't understand anything at first. He couldn't fathom why his general didn't think he was capable enough to join him. He just didn't see what Sir Byron really meant for him to learn by staying with the medic teams. Syphur learned many things that day, starting with a valuable lesson... Sometimes, it really is better not knowing.

The smell was probably the most nauseating aspect of it all. The charred remains of beast and human alike half-baked in their armor. The countless corpses, some gruesomely strewn from one side of the street to the other at their ends. The overwhelming, heavy undertones of shit lacquering it all so lavishly. The smell was inescapable, invasive, and entirely assaulting. Death was the scent, and it seemed determined to make its presence known to the young coyote.

Syphur had tried to push that smell away, to focus on helping save those he still could, but the adolescent could never truly let that putrid combination slip from his thoughts for very long. Every time his eyes passed over another loss, be it beast or human, the young squire couldn't help but wonder how necessary this all really was... He suddenly understood what lesson his general, guardian, and, idol, Sir Byron had tasked him to learn. Successfully completing an assigned task usually felt better to the aspiring knight, if he was being honest with himself.

"It seems we've done all we can." A quieter voice came from behind the young coyote, and he turned to meet the one speaking. Lady Dorma, the bighorn ewe, continued in her slow-paced tone. "Take peace in knowing our task is finished. We all may soon rest now, both those still here, and those that have moved on."

Syphur turned to the elderly sheep and asked his question in a whisper. "So, is it over? The human king has fallen?"

Dorma nodded in response, moving on to the matter at hand. She held something towards the young squire and spoke quietly. "This just came, it probably took around five mages worth of magic to deliver to camp so quickly, so I can only imagine the urgency behind it."

Syphur stared at the parchment, noting the red wax seal stamped over the folds. He spoke cautiously. "So then... There is news from the Venatus house." Syphur looked back towards Dorma and frowned a little.

She let him settle his thoughts a little and gave the coyote a final order in her lower tone before returning him to Byron's care. "You should know as well as I do how foreboding this is. If that wolf is right about you, you're smart enough to figure that out. Even so, you are here for a reason, young pup, so don't assume your lessons are finished merely because your time with me has. Now go, deliver this, and return to your General after. Report your progress and do know that you were most helpful in saving what lives we could today. Thank you, young Syphur."

The coyote bowed his head in respect, grateful for the chance to learn from one of the oldest and most trusted advisors in Alora. He offered her such thanks, and accepted both the letter, and the duty attached with respect. The young coyote hastily took off in a sprint, heading up the last of the main street and through the castle gates. He ran through the entry hall doors, made a short bound over the broken glass at his paws, and started shouting the moment the panther came into sight.

"General Venatus! General Venatus! I bring urgent news from your wife and house for you!"

The panther took the note, and then he took his leave with the king, stepping away into the throne room. Syphur watched them go, the same as everyone else standing in that room full of the highest-ranking members of the king's army. Syphur suddenly found himself becoming dauntingly aware of how out of place he felt in that room, but luckily for the young coyote, his mentor was there to give him some ground to stand on.

"I don't recall putting you on messenger duty." General Byron started lightly, being considerate of the time and place as he stepped up behind his ward. "Let me guess, Lady-"

"Dorma." Syphur finished the sentence with a nervous grin. Byron had a fanged smile of his own cross his muzzle for a moment, chuckling at the obvious.

"She is always consistent, if nothing else." Byron continued, taking on a bit more formality, pulling his student further away from the other beasts in that room all the while. "So, I am waiting for your report, young Syphur. What did you learn in the duty assigned to you? Do you feel it was a wasted experience? Do you still long to be at the heart of such affairs?"

Syphur dropped his gaze for a moment, already prepared for this question, but still finding his answer a tough one to admit. "The smell was the worst part. I never noticed there was a difference between the way warm and cooling blood smells, but there is, and both make your stomach churn for different reasons. One is the fresh smell of recent death; the other is the scent of chilling decay. Topping both off with all the piss and shit makes me question if I'll ever smell anything other than these awful and lingering scents ever again."

Syphur looked back to the older wolf, and saw Byron was simply staring, letting him give his report uninterrupted. The squire reluctantly continued. "I walked the aftermath of your charge, of all three charges against the main streets. I stepped through the battered gates and doors of our enemies, and I helped drag our injured out to be healed. I helped pile up the bodies of the dead, our dead at least, and I turned my back on the ones deemed at fault, the humans." Syphur looked away once again to steady himself, knowing he had to keep his composure in such a place.

"I learned a lot working with the medic teams. I know about moving bodies with different injuries, including which ones to leave in place until a healer is present. I crafted a lot of makeshift splints and slings. I even helped set a lot of broken bones to be healed as well..." Syphur trailed off.

Byron cut in encouragingly, giving his subordinate some short reprieve. "No small experiences for someone your age. Still, the medic experience would prove useful in the field for any young knight moving forward, especially one heading towards leadership."

"I can't say I share such optimism when it comes to my future roles anymore..." Syphur was speaking truthfully, yet hesitantly. "I am still a smaller beast than most, a commoner, and, above all else, one without a bloodskill." Syphur was pretty sure Byron was choosing to ignore that sentence, so the coyote just sighed lightly, and continued where he had left off instead.

"I learned many things today that I expected to learn. Working under Lady Dorma left little to wonder, or so I thought. While I gained knowledge about healing, as predicted, I think I grasped more about the truth behind war itself today than I ever have before. I didn't expect that... I didn't expect it to feel how it did. I thought I would at least feel some lingering trace of glory or valor moving in your wake, but I finally realized I was looking for something that wasn't there. I had glamorized something that no amount of ignorance could ever excuse glamorizing." Syphur bowed his head, closed his eyes, and lowered his voice even more, making certain nobody would overhear their conversation.

"I am sorry I ever questioned your order, and I am thankful that I wasn't there." His voice broke just as he got the last of it out, and his eyes started welling up in response immediately. The adolescent coyote was just trying so hard not to cry in front of Alora's greatest... Syphur finished his report with tears dangerously close to falling, the lightest sniffle, and the hoarsest whisper.

"All the carrion birds of the world would surely sate their hunger long before they could ever clean up what we have done here. If this is where my duty will bring me, then... I am sorry, General Aschefell, but I cannot do what you have done today. I cannot be your squire if this is what my future would ask of me... It seems I made a mistake... I'm not cut out for knighthood at all."

Byron just gazed that stony gaze of his down towards the adolescent, his expression serious, but otherwise unreadable as he only stared down the mere commoner pup that would throw away every opportunity the noble wolf had ever given him. Syphur had just made a choice, and Byron was deep in silent thought for quite some time.

Byron barked his answer suddenly, making the cub jump a bit from the firm tone used. "Syphur Ictus, from this day forth, you will no longer be my ward, nor my squire. You will no longer reside at my estate, and you will not be accompanying me to any other battlefields."

Syphur was still fighting back those tears as his dreams were all but confirmed as crushed. He expected this much after giving such an answer, but he honestly didn't even know what he was going to do anymore. He was so caught up in his own thoughts at that moment, that he almost didn't hear the older wolf continue.

"The main reason I brought you along this time was because I was still deciding on which way to push you, but I think the answer is clear to me now. The best thing I can do for you is to have you educated further and help prepare you as much as possible for your future as a knight."

As Byron finished his statement, Syphur just blinked in his stunned state, wondering if the old wolf had heard him correctly at all. The adolescent prodded a little further. "General Aschefell? I don't follow."

Byron smirked a little before he placed a hand on his student's shoulder. He turned the coyote around and gestured towards the beasts on the far end of the room. The noble wolf nudged the coyote softly with his words. "What do you see?"

Syphur wasn't sure he really understood the question, but he answered regardless. "The nobility of Alora, and the greatest of our ranks."

Byron shook his head lightly as he gave better instruction. "Look beyond their titles, look beyond their status. Look at them, their actions. Observe their behavior and tell me what you see."

Syphur did as he was asked, doing his best to see them all on equal footing for a moment. The coyote was uncertain, but he gave another answer after a pause. "Some are resting and silent, some are noisy, and celebrating. Is that what you mean?"

Byron replied in that serious tone of his. "There are two kinds of beast here today. The first being those of us who know what we have done. Among others, General Venatus and myself fall into this category. We knew the weapons we would become in our king's arsenal, and we still went along with this entire thing regardless. We are perhaps the most at fault, since we knew better, yet still did nothing to stop it. We compliantly played our parts." Syphur was listening closely, knowing whatever Byron had to say must be relevant to the coyote's own experience here.

"The second, are those that really are just too dense and selfish to see anything besides themselves here. They celebrate such glorious victory, yet most of them were nowhere near the main clashes. They send their soldiers to battle and die in their places, and then such poor leaders soak up all the credit after, reassuring themselves that their hands are still clean this way. They are the kind you always need to be careful around, especially should you find yourself following their orders."

Syphur prodded further, really holding on to every word from that wolf. "So, what am I missing here? What am I not seeing with that perspective?"

Byron turned his stony, gray eyes back to the adolescent, and answered him with the faintest, fanged smile. "That both kinds need to go for different reasons. Every single one of Alora's so-called greatest deserves to be removed from our positions. We have no right to lead this country, nor her people anywhere anymore. We failed catastrophically on a moral level, and any dignity the knights of Alora could once claim has been tarnished by this crusade... Our generation has failed, so this is where you come in, young Syphur."

Syphur blinked in surprise before speaking hastily. "Wait, me? I don't think I could make such decisions..."

Byron chuckled a little before replying. "You will have to, or somebody far worse may end up taking the reins. You are both lucky, and unfortunate. You were born into the first wave of the next generation, so that means you'll be among the first that get a chance to shape the future. However, it also means that you'll have to be the first to deal with the messes of those that came before you, our messes."

Byron let out a sigh, and finished his lesson with troubled eyes to the floor. His gaze was rather distant for a moment. "I brought you with me to see which type of beast you are, to see how you would shape this world going forward given the chance. You have proven yourself a capable student yet again. You have proven that your heart and morals won't be easily swayed by selfish desire, nor power. You have proven that your mind is perceptive, ever learning, and calculative, even in harrowing or stressful moments. You have proven yourself among the few worthy of leadership, so, by the gods, that is where I'll make sure you end up. I'd expect no less from a former student of mine."

As Syphur was humbled by the praise, Byron finished up. "So, I'm sending you off to be educated further, given you understand my reasoning, and still want a future leading our forces? I'll handle the cost for everything, and even include a few private lessons with some personally chosen mentors if you still want this path. Alora will need knights like you, to replace knights like me. We will need such compassion, hearts, and mercy, for without it, we truly are no more than two-legged, feral beasts."

Syphur was humbled beyond measure. This was the last response he ever expected, but the adolescent was quick to begin expressing such gratitude. "General Aschefell... I don't know how I could ever repay such-" He didn't get to finish that statement.

An ear-ringing roar of pure sorrow came echoing through the stony hall, carrying with it the evident reveal to the content of that letter. General Venatus had received news far from fortunate, so the wolf and coyote were quick to rejoin the beast king and his closest advisors at the other end of the hall. Within minutes, only a handful remained. Thanks to Byron's extended privilege once more that night, Syphur found himself counted among the trusted few that would bear witness to the beginning to the story of Aster Venatus; the human king raised by beasts.

===

Stahl had been listening closely to every single word between Calium and Aster since waking up in the Afterworld. The wolf had remained silent through it all, from every single jaw-dropping reveal and heart-breaking truth. In all honesty, that was perhaps the best thing the young knight could've ever done for his king in such a situation. Stahl was paying attention, he was learning what he needed to learn, but he was still feeling quite a storm of emotion welling up inside of himself on his mate's behalf.

It angered Stahl so terribly, to be forced just out of reach of his lover as Aster's heart was broken again and again before him, but the beast was at least thankful he was there to hear the full story, to be able to truly understand what his mate was shouldering now. However, Stahl never would've fathomed the horrible truth behind Aster's very upbringing. As Calium finished the last of his daunting recount of that night's events, and as Aster first began to back away from his birth father in disbelief, the wolf cast his gaze to those beside him.

The panther had his arms crossed, and his gaze low and mostly hidden. He looked incredibly tense, although Stahl really couldn't blame the panther considering what was just revealed to him. Lady Alice was curled into a semi-ball a short distance away. She couldn't bring herself to really turn to face anyone present, so she just elected to listen quietly to the end of the story as well. Finally, Stahl turned to face Death once more from his position lurking behind the trio.

The deity captured the wolf's gaze in this short moment and grinned ever so lightly at the pure rage he felt emanating forth from the wolf. The god praised such powerful emotion, speaking hauntingly to only the beast. 'Did you know that your father repeatedly challenged fate with his actions? His choices, mercy, and influences have tilted more results than you could ever fathom, young knight... And yet, he is a beast whose rage knows no bounds when it comes to protecting his own. I can see you inherited that trait at least, but can you really stand against even destiny?'