The Wielder of Death Magic

Piers Riverty

Amidst the expansive and diverse garden, Gallienne sat, quietly while gazing into the distance. The weak petals having aged beyond their desired lifetime with the push provided by the wind, help said petals to break off from their place of origin and float aimlessly around. The gentle breeze carried with it the petals that looked like butterflies. They went around the princess who sat courteously as she gazed further out at Brisnet Height and its always snowy tip. Almost ashamed by the physical contact; the breeze circled around her and dispersed into nothingness.

Princess Gallienne sat, her beauty was befitting for a royalty. Despite her personality and conniving nature and sadistic tendencies – in the eyes of her trusty bodyguard, Theodore, those imperfections made her look even more beautiful. After gently sipping the last drop of tea, she let out a sigh; whether out of spite or relief, none knew. In a seemingly motionless manner, she placed the cup onto the table and knocked quietly onto the glass surface.

Instantly with mist trailing; Theodore appeared with his head bowed.

“How may I serve you?” He asked politely in a gentle tone.

“Please go fetch my husband,” she shrugged and took his diligence towards her nonchalantly. Due to his standing and social status, even with all the passionate nights they shared; Gallienne didn’t care less for him. However, that wasn’t the case for the diligent butler – he would stare at her from the shadows, always admiring her beauty, her sly nature, and ill will. His eyes, normally devoid of any emotion would always brightly lit up when she sat down, quietly in the garden; away from all her conspiracies. It was only then that he would have the chance to hang back in the shadows and watched her snowy white hair casually sway alongside the wind. They seemed to dance and play with each other; it was bliss.

“As you wish, highness.” From where he came, he disappeared. Nothing changed, his presence wasn’t required to make the world go around. Theodore was only a pawn in the princesses’ chess game, a game with the entire kingdom at stake.

Piers Clyfford, the brother-in-law of Sophie Mirabelle as well as Gallienne’s husband, wandered aimlessly around the courtyard outback. He had come back from a very serious audience with the Emperor. In the past; he was reprimanded for stealing his to-be wife’s virtue before marriage. Normally, that would have slid by seeing as they were to be wed. Sadly, conceiving a child before the engagement was more than enough for the

king; who at that time was still powerful and mighty to reign down punishment. As a result, said child was thrown to sea and despite their marriage, Piers lost his claim to his family and goes by Piers Riverty. This sent outrage amidst the nobles’ but Gallienne played her cards just right and made few allies as well as enemies in the process. Thanks to that, Piers’s animosity, due to his very prideful nature, grew. He hated the royal family more than he could ever put into words nor actions.

.....

Sadly, the king had solely forbidden him to cause any trouble for the kingdom as well to the name

Riverty. Hence, the revenge he desired could never come to pass for if he did anything to so much as slightly tarnish the royal family’s reputation – the entire Clyfford family, as well as their allies and friends, would be stripped from their status as nobles and put to the sword for everyone to see.

The love for one’s family and fortune can turn one into a true martyr for the sake of their survival. Tis is the nature of living things, survival comes first, then revenge and other frivolous motives. As he went around the rectangular courtyard in which a massive fountain with the sculpture of a forgotten goddess’s figure was graciously carved out with the utmost care and affection. You could say the craftsman responsible was under a trance; inspiration. It felt as if he had made love with said object, from start the finish, the passion didn’t diminish. The intricate statue was placed in the middle of a pond on which flowers and other decorations could be found floating aimlessly. There was harmony within that discord of randomly placed objects. Like a mermaid stranded on a lonely deserted island, small as it may, the statue and the pond gave out the same aura, close yet far apart. The mermaid could go out to sea and find whatever she sought but those objects, the discord amidst them – played the role of the thunderous weather which ails the island perpetually, hence, preventing her escape.

“My lord Piers,” Theodore reappeared. He stood silent and waited for a response.

“If it isn’t her highness’s private plaything.” He unwillingly stopped and faced the bowing Theodore.

“What lowers a being such as yourself; a hero, the princess’s savior to seek me? Has her highness finally made up her mind to have me killed?”

Ignoring the provocations, Theodore delivered his message and vanished. “Once more, I shall be sent out to the wolves to act as bait, my guess is that my wife…” His fist tightened, “-wants me to go and meet with someone who very well might end my life.”

“Greetings Highness.” Piers answered her summons. Without so much as lifting a finger, she continued her examination of snowy peaks. “Oh, you’ve come.” She didn’t care.

“How may I…” Before he could end, she furiously spoke out. “Don’t speak unless I’ve given you permission.” Obliged to obey, he bit his lips and stared at the stone path leading to where she sat. The wind had stopped blowing, the tension was palpable.

“I shall get right to the point. Sources have informed me that Arda and Kreston are preparing to attack Dorchester. They wish to provoke me, sadly, that won’t be enough. I want you to go meet with the Duchess of Dorchester and tell her that if she should ever lose her grasp over castle

Garsley, then, I, princess Gallienne shall personally come and aid them in their distress. I’ve sent envoys to Arda to negotiate. And don’t forget to tell her that, in no way does that make me her ally;

I don’t care for the weak – her castle is the only thing protecting this capital from invaders. Now leave, I shan’t tolerate failures.”

Grudgingly; he left with a sealed scroll. “Arda, if you wish to seek independence, then prepare to suffer the repercussions. Lowly Demi’s, how did they come into being is a mystery even the Order can’t answer. At least with a basic concealment spell or mutilation of their ears and tails; we can get cheap if not free labor.”

Out on the roads nearing Savaview bridge; Staxius went all out. The car was fully infused with his dense mana – as a result, the engine went into overdrive. This wasn’t advisable as told by the manufactures for if it went beyond its limit – the engine would die out to the point of no return. As he came into turning distance, thundering roar swore from the capital and headed straight for Dorchester; an airship. Such speed, such velocity, that airship was simply magnificent, Staxius was left baffled at how the technology really advanced.

A small bump in the road nearly tipped over his car, this broke him out of his admiration for such a work of art. Minutes turned into hours, Piers landed. Outside the castle, the raging sound of the airship hovering; shook the entire ground. Adelana and Undrar were outside caring for the people who rejoined the camp only a few hours prior. Most of the Silver guardians were outside; either serving food, tending to the wounded or playing with the kids. The yard inside slowly became smaller as the number of people rallying under Staxius’s effort to make Millicent a just and caring noble, increased.

Piers jumped off. He now stood in front of the entrance of castle Garsley. It truly was terrifying up close, the central tower in which dwelled Sten’s room and torture chambers as well as the study stood out. The four other towers at the extremities of the castle walls weren’t that tall in comparison though they were tall on their own. The front gate led into the courtyard, where the temporary camp was set up. Said yard went around the main building in which the bedrooms’, the throne room and other rather repelling chamber’s laid to rest. As far as today was concerned; only the throne room was to be used. As soon as he landed, Adelana courteously greeted the stranger.

“Greetings sire, how may I be of service?”

“Greetings my fair lady, I have an important message to deliver. It’s addressed to the duchess personally, sadly, I can’t divulge any more about this matter.”

“Very well, please follow me.” Everyone around raised their guard, especially the silver guardians. The peasant’s, not that much, but everyone keenly stared down the expensively dressed gentleman.

His perfect boy persona had been altered since the days at the academy. He now wore rectangular glasses which fitted his rather oval face nicely. The brown eyes and tanned skin paired with short light brown hair gave him a charm unlike any other. They soon entered the main building, directly in front of them laid the dining hall, rather blunt but that was the first thing people saw. To the right, the corridor went into a circular fashion around the four main rooms. The dining hall was located on the bottom while the throne room was directly in front, just after the circular tower. Ignoring the rather unconventional way of arrangement and architecture in general, Adelana took the circular hall and went around the other rooms. After each room, a door would separate them, a door which was never used for it was only opened if disaster struck. In total four inner halls separated the main rooms into an x-shape. Dead square in the middle; the main tower.

“Here we are,” they reached the throne room. Sat inside, Millicent casually had a conversation with Eira who asked about how politics worked. As usual, the place was a mess, Piers didn’t seem to care, for he instantly bowed his head and introduced himself.

“Greetings duchess Millicent, ruler of Dorchester. I am Piers Riverty, husband to her royal highness. I’ve come to deliver a message to your hands only.” Those last words subtly gave Eira and Adelana the order to leave, to which, they soon left.

“Greetings lord Piers,” she straightened her posture into one more befitting a ruler and waited for Piers.

“As I’ve said before, I come bearing a message,” slowly, he walked while maintaining his chest high and stomach in. After handing over the scroll, he bowed his head and retreated to his original stance.

After reading the rather short and undignified message, Millicent held her forehead with her right index finger and thumb. She sighed at regular intervals, her whole posture lost its confidence and pride.

“Duchess, may I please know what your response shall be?” He asked with a skeptic tone. Millicent nearly gave in and told him that she wasn’t going to decide for the province, Staxius was the one who would deal with this. Before she could speak, her own mouth shut subconsciously. “Lord Piers, can I please reflect on this matter and get back to you in an hour or so?”

“I’m sorry, I’d rather have your decision this instant – but if it’s time that you want, then I shall wait.” Elegantly, he headed outside and sat in the dining room – which had turned into a makeshift tavern. Commoners, traders, merchants, all had fun. Seeing an elegantly dressed man enter, the atmosphere died for a bit then got back to where it was. People sang, drank, and ate good food at the expense of Staxius’s good graces. Piers dropped his noble act and began to chat and drink with the people. Soon enough, he became one of them, they drank, sang, and had fun – for the first time since Piers got married, he had fun.

As soon as he left, the room was swarmed by the others. Everyone began to question her thoroughly. She ended up giving the scroll and went to have something to drink.

“Keep it in their girls, I’m coming.” The car crossed Savaview bridge, the airship which previously hovered had left for quite a while now. The scene that soon followed, would soon change how Staxius acted.