27 Distress

The man turned towards it and continued – "It is uncertain… but I received information of a strong bound spell that was unheard of… the mage was able to fend off two rune users, without showing itself, also..." He paused for a moment fearing the reaction that his next words could cause – "he was able to break into Callas lair… and killed him."

• "How did he break in?" The shadow continued inquisitively

• "The men outside saw no one coming in and the portal crystals are gone - he got inside using them." The man commented.

The shadow figures flickered- "You think that this mage is one of those that survived the shadow fiends?" Questioned another shadow clearly knowing what happened in the mine already.

• "Perhaps it's Ursula's family… she is a crafty old hag, if given time to prepare she can prove herself a worthy foe" One of the shadows spoke out

• "We investigated all noble families in Allard, none had such mage amongst them… Bound spells are not that common" said the man confidently.

Another shadow spoke, this one for the first time - "Which can also mean you failed to find this mage amongst them… It is known that the Allard families hide their secrets with their lives."

• "No my lord… please, you must understand that I did all I could… even now, I sent Gilliath to stir conflict in Allard. As we speak an army of orcs and goblins are preparing to assault Brigantium city, it will surely hinder their defenses now that most of the court mages are gone…" Explained the old man desperately.

The entity at the throne moved for the first time and all shadows seemed to quietly turn towards it in respect.

An ethereal dark voice echoed with a deep tone through the room – "You didn't serve your purpose. Your lack of new information will not be forgiven!"

• "My lord… please if you give me another chance I will certainly…" before he could complete the sentence the shadow around the dark entity grew bigger. The man knew what would come next and began to slowly step back.

Trembling and mustering all his power he erected a mana barrier between him and the throne. It was very thick and extremely strong. He then quickly turned around and began to desperately run with all his might to the exit.

After just a few steps he heard a shattering noise and felt a hot sensation in his chest, quickly spreading all over his body

Looking down he saw a spear made of black fire, piercing his chest and burning his body. The pain kicked in as the flames burned his skin and organs from the inside out. H dropped to the ground.

It took only a moment for him to die… but the screams and struggle clearly demonstrated an extremely painful death.

The body on the ground continued to burn even after his death. A few moments later nothing but ashes remained and the black fire finally disappeared.

• "Tessai, you will be personally in charge of Allard, do as you see fit. I expect better news on the next gathering" Said the entity, as the shadows remained silently listening.

• "Now… have you found it yet?" The entity asked the room.

A few moments of silence took place until finally one of the shadows spoke:

• "No, whatever passed the barrier 2 months ago is still to be identified, we sent many scouts into the rift inside the Endher but none has returned yet"

The entity remained silent.

• "It may still be lost inside the forest" the second shadow suggested.

• "Or if it's a living being, it could have escaped by itself" said another shadow

• It's been almost 2 months of search with no results. Anything alive would have brought attention by now… Also do not forget that the half breed was near the area when the rift was created… perhaps he found whatever it was." The fourth shadow said

• "It's possible, he also can travel inside the Endher" The third shadow commented.

• "But didn't he die by his disciple hand?" The first shadow asked.

• "The body was never found" The third shadow replied.

The entity moved once again – "Send agents to Allard, investigate the disciple laboratory - find his body and if the magus is alive, find him, if there is a chance that he has information, we need to know it"

The shadows flickered simultaneously as if in agreement. The sun shined once again. The two at the door turned around and left the room as the chairs and throne were once again empty.

-------------------------------- The Trio's view

Askjell filled with renewed strength, because of the mana enhancing his body, rushed forward swinging his sword with extreme speed and power at the boy. But every swing hit nothing, as the boy masterfully dodged them by side stepping on vertical swings and back stepping on horizontal ones.

Askjell pushed on until the arena ended, Riou had nowhere to run and so Askjell thrusted his sword towards the boy's chest. He wanted the boy dead.

Riou parried with his sword pushing Askjell thrust to the side, but Askjell was able to continue from the momentum and generate enough power to come in a horizontal, powerful swing from that position trying to get Riou unprepared.

Noticing the danger the boy brought his sword up and straightening it horizontally, forcing the opponents swing to slide on Riou's sword edge, ending up hitting his guard near his hand. Askjell overextended his swing and only the tip of his sword was near Riou's sword core and gravity center, which allowed the boy to create a leverage, which Askjell was not able to overpower even with his strength enhancement.

Riou pushed his sword once again against the noble's sword pressing the opponent's blade to his right. Askjell was unable to attack Riou, with the norse sword still near his guard. Riou applied more pressure to it to prevent Askjell from trying to remove his sword from there. If he did a mortal blow, he could easily be thrown at the noble that tried to prevent Riou's sword from approaching further.

• "Look how he dominates the opponent's sword. The man is completely exposed to Riou's weapon… he was disarmed the moment Riou straightened his sword after the last swing" Said Therese to Leona.

Riou in a quick movement, using the leverage once again, bumped the noble sword, making it lose all momentum to counter. He followed the bump by thrusting his sword towards the man's face, stopping only when it touched the man's nose.

Askjell froze once again, even with physical enhancement he was not able to win against a regular boy. He was furious with the thought of the shame he once again would suffer.

The boy gestured with his head towards the man's sword as if saying to drop it. Reluctantly Askjell complied.

• "Say it!" Commanded Riou.

The Norse man took a step back and looked around.

The crowd was silent watching without believing their eyes, he looked at the balconies and saw no authorities. The guards were not of the king's personal army… a thought crossed his mind.

Taking another step back, the disarmed man shouted to his companions.

• "This farce has gone long enough! To arms! This commoner has no right to challenge me, join me my brothers as I call you upon your vows!"

The crowd were mostly noblemen from Askjell Party, and about 12 of the noble's guard shouted in response quickly getting their swords and shield ready to advance upon on the arena, they began to surround the boy.

Riou lowered his sword and looked very seriously at Askjell.

Leona's eyes widened and she stepped forward in the direction of the Arena.

Noticing her disciple movement, Therese quickly touched her shoulder. When she turned towards Therese, she saw her master shaking her head from side to side slowly.

Riou was about to step forward when something got his attention - "Enough!" a feminine voice said loudly gathering everyone's attention.

A gorgeous blond walked elegantly into the arena. She passed the boy and went towards Askjell.

His face was distorted as he was cornered and furious because of the humiliation.

*SLAP* resounded through the whole garden

Eileen hit Askjell vigorously with her open palm as the noble brought his hand to his face. Eileen turned around and faced all the men that were about to attack Riou.

• "Are you not men of the north? So why do you act so shamefully? How can you willingly accept such a petty request? Do you have no honor?" She said very displeased - "You are not men of the North, leave! You are not welcome here" Eileen said loudly and eloquently to all of them.

The men in arms looked at each other… noticing that some of them began to step away, soon all followed sheathing their weapons. Askjell looked around not believing his eyes that his men accepted the princess command so easily.

She looked at Askjell for a moment with revolted eyes and turned back going towards Riou.

Infuriated, the noble began to move towards the princess. As soon as he stretched his arm to grab her, Eileen turned around dodging his hand. She stepped forward and violently punched Askjell's face. The noble fell down on his back, flat on the ground unconscious.

Eileen turned towards Riou, despite being happy for his actions she felt she needed to set things straight– "Thank you for helping me... but this was unnecessary, I didn't tell you what happened to get your help. There is no point for all my training if others fight my battles" She said seriously to the boy who was still in the center of the arena.

Her words hit deep within him "She is right…" He thought.

• "I'm sorry but, it's just… when I noticed I was already there. Then he started to talk and it got me, all I wanted was to kill the bastard" Said Riou looking at the man on the ground who his meen carried away.

The princess nodded slightly – "But keep it in mind… if I ever want your help, I will ask for it" she replied seriously.

Therese listening to Riou's comment looked at him squinting her eyes without turning towards her disciple, she whispered to Leona

• "What do you see when you look at him? Does he resemble any of the clans?" – she asked in a low voice

• "No, strange enough he looks like a regular human boy, he does not have any of the clan's physical traits" replied Leona

• "So you don't sense the youngsters fever within him?" she continued in a low tone

• "Now that you mentioned it, he does have the scent within him… its faint. But don't humans suffer it too? The age seems right as well" said Leona.

• "I don't think so, something is amiss" Completed Therese pondering on that fact

• "Do you think he needs a shaman?" she asked concerned.

• "Maybe, but for the moment, go to the city and find some yellow fruit from the purple crown tree, there should be some in this capital" She said to Leona.

• "Understood" Leona replied, immediately vanishing from her side.

Riou returned from the side of the arena with the rapier in hand. When he was near Eileen he threw the sheathed sword at her, as she grabbed it surprised, he said – "You should take better care of a legendary sword. If you lose it one more time I will confiscate it" He said smiling the first time since the incident happened.

Therese looked at the sword and the way Riou handled it "Why did he call it legendary and then treats it as an ordinary object?" pondered Therese puzzled.

Riou seemed much better, his usual face was looking at Eileen. Therese was able to tell his anger had subsided.

Eileen smiled – "It won't happen again, you have my word on that" she said promptly.

-------------------------------------- Back to Riou's view

After a while they went back to Riou's room, he was accompanied by Eileen and Therese.

• "So, why do you want me in the room? Shouldn't we find Bhalrom, I need to talk to him" Said Riou.

Eileen shook her head – "Bhalrom and some of the council mages are in Brigantium. Meanwhile you will tell me what happened inside the mine" she said seriously

Riou sighed and sat down on the bed - "After I went inside I tried to follow the mages. I ended up finding Ursula exhausted and helped her out, then I went back for the others. But before I could find them I found a portal, thinking it could have been made by our mages, I followed it. Unfortunately it closed as soon as I stepped inside. There I found another black hooded mage that mentioned the name Callas the Undying and his teacher in the city of Iris, he also told me that Rodrick is a pawn in the council's hand. After dealing with him I noticed I had ended up in the coast village to the north of the Capital, took me a week to get back here with a caravan" Riou paused and looked at both of them – "So, have you heard that name before? Callas the Undying?"

Eileen shook her head while Therese thought for a moment finally saying – "I heard of such name belonging to a death mage… it was said that he used the lives of children to increase his own, he is very old… I don't recall anything else"

Riou nodded agreeing to her remark and continued asking both of them – "Do you know anything about runes on a person's body that can store mana and allow common people to become mages?"

Eileen widened her eyes - "You mean that the high tiered mages we faced so far were not mages?"

Riou nodded – "Thugs trained to use magic using the runes that way the council can produce mages very quickly."

Therese seemed concerned – "Do you think Argos can do that as well?"

• "I suppose so, the twilight council is working with Argos, it would not be strange if they exchanged this kind of knowledge" Answered Riou.

Therese clearly became even more preoccupied after hearing that. The war with Argos would prove problematic if the amount of mages on their side would increase even more.

• "So what's going on in Brigantium?" Asked Riou.

• "An army appeared from the forest in the north… Goblins and Orcs are riled up approaching Brigantium. The First army was sent there to help in the defense of the city." Said the princess

• "Who is in charge of the defense of the castle?" questioned Riou.

• "The green and yellow banner" Said Eileen already knowing what Riou would say next

• "This is not good… we can't trust Rodrick and his men… he is not directly under orders of the council, but there are reasons to believe he is being used by them" Said Riou.

Someone knocked on the door and a guard came in

• "Riou, you are being summoned to the throne hall. Your highness, you shall join as well."

--------------------------------- Moments earlier in the throne Room

Askjell barged in shouting – "This is an outrage!" the guards quickly surrounded him, but the king gestured for them to let him in. He quickly passed through the guards and continued

• "I've never been so insulted!" He approached the king with a bleeding nose, clear sign of a fight.

• "What happened Askjell?" asked the king preoccupied

• "I expected more from the household of the castle! I was assaulted by one of your servants and I expect capital reprimands to be taken upon him!" he said trying to stop the bleeding of his nose.

The king frowned – "What? What happened? Who did this?"

• "The princess' servant, he came and attacked me out of nowhere spouting nonsense about how he should be the one to challenge the princess instead of me. King Elrik, he clearly is out of his mind to attack a noble, and even more so if he thinks he could challenge the princess" Askjell was talking without stopping, and as noticing the kings hand went up he restrained himself.

• "Obviously it had to be that boy. Guards, go get Riou and the princess." Said the king thinking that the boy had returned and that he would have some answers. The king hoped to solve this matter quickly to be able to ask Riou what happened.

Rodrick smiled and noticing a chance to decrease the boy prestige in the castle grounds stepped in – "My lord, I think this clearly shows how the boy overextended his permanence in the castle grounds. After disappearing for days he returns just to cause a commotion with our allies, he clearly should not be forgiven for such an insult."

• "Enough all of you… we will hear him before any decision" said the king angered. As they heard the king not wanting to take their side immediately, both showed displeased expressions.

------------------------------------------

When Riou entered the Throne room and noticed Askjell near the king his blood boiled once again "That bastard won't quit? What did he do now?" he thought to himself. Therese who was coming along in the back immediately became concerned once again by the sudden surge she felt from him.

Riou took a deep breath "Calm down… breath… let it go… he knows he can't win so he is desperate… play along and he will trap himself in front of the king"

Askjell looked at him with disdain while Riou calming himself directed his attention to the king.

• "You summoned me, King Elrik?" He said a few steps from the throne, between Ursula and the knights Rodrick and Rottcher.

Ursula seemed very interested in hearing the boy's story, her eyes followed him every step he did in the throne room, and she was surprised to see him alive and well.

• "Yes, I'd like to ask you where you have been this past few days and especially hearing from you what happened during the incursion… but that will have to wait for a more private session. We will have to deal first with what just came to my attention, that you attacked Askjell… is that true?" asked the king already knowing the answer for that question.

• "If by attacking you mean challenging him to a duel and winning… then yes" replied Riou with a smile.

The king smiled "Of course he did" thought the king knowing the boy's loved to get into trouble.

• "Outrageous! My lord you can't possible believe that! He was the one who attacked me, unprepared! You can't believe I'd lose to such a boy in normal conditions." Shouted Askjell

The king brought his hand to his face – "Was there a proper challenge or not?" continued the king trying to get to the point

Riou took a moment thinking on how to respond that

• "There was a proper challenge, and it was accepted!" said Riou

• "On what grounds did you challeng him?" continued the king.

• "None!" exclaimed Riou to the surprise of the king and the rest of the room, especially Eileen.

• "Then why, by the elements, did you challeng him to a duel?" the king questioned dumbfounded.

• "Because I don't like him" Riou spoke mocking the noble.

The king couldn't take it and let out a small laugh

• "You've just gotten back here what could he have possibly done in that timeframe that could have provoked such response?" Said the king curiously

Riou looked at Eileen and then back to the king – "I'm certain you'd feel the same way if you just exchanged a few words with him, your Highness" Said Riou calmly.

• "That doesn't help your cause boy" replied the king pondering the meaning of Riou's actions.

• "Do you see my lord? He continues to defy the hierarchy even in your presence, if we were on the north he'd be already dead for disrespecting us, for far less than what he did today!" Said Askjell looking at the smiling boy.

• "We are not in the north, you better remember that Askjell. I have a high esteem for your family, but you are not helping yourself either with those remarks" Said the king angered by the noble's words - "Eileen, what do you have to say about this? I believe you were involved as well"

Eileen stepped forward near Riou – "Yes father, I saw the duel in the arena, and stopped it when Askjell commanded his men to attack Riou once Askjell was defeated, I banned them from the castle by their lack of honor, attacking a single man in a group during a duel" Said the princess confidently to her father.

• "Is that so, Askjell?" Asked the king with signs of anger in his eyes.

• "Absolutely not, my lord! My men came to my aid after the boy attacked me when I was preparing myself, the princess intervene before I could do anything else. I came here right afterwards to search for justice, after all I can't have my future wife having such bad impression of me"

"He still on that… why does that not surprise me" thought Riou hearing those words silently.

• "Eileen did you see the duel being proposed?" Asked the king once again to his daughter

Eileen thought on how to put it… but she did not participated on the terms.

• "They were already in the arena when I arrived… so I do not know what terms were discussed" said the princess regretfully.

• "Then you could not pass judgement so hastily. I agree that attacking a single boy is not the way to behave, but to banish and question their honor without knowing the contents of the challenge..." the king tried to argument with her

But before Eileen could reply to that statement Riou spoke again

• "Then let's cut the chase, I challenge his word in the throne room. I say he is a liar" Said Riou smiling looking at the noble.

Askjell legs almost gave in when he heard those words. He knew he was no match for the boy. He wanted to finish it by getting the king on his side before involving the boy himself. And now that had come to this he was out of options.

A moment later, from the knight side of the room, a voice came for his rescue.

• "My lord! You can't expect a son of our allies to fight against a commoner just because his word was defied… I plea on his behalf and support his claim upon the throne room" Said Rodrick stepping up for the overjoyed Askjell.

"That was unexpected… he shouldn't have shown his hand this early, unless he knows more than I thought about me, where did I mess up?" thought Riou seeing Rodrick openly challenging him for the first time.

"I better lay low with him for the moment, he is my best bet to get to the council. If I scare them off now by accusing him they might cut his strings and let him loose" Thought Riou still trying to find out what triggered Rodrick to show his hand.

The king sighed - "You are certainly a fast learner Riou… but Rodrick words are also valid, he supports Askjell's cause. So does any of the presents and remaining council members wish to support the boy's claim?" He said looking at Rottcher and Ursula

• "I don't know enough of the situation to properly support either my lord… but if you ask me to choose a side, I'd side with the boy." Said Ursula to the king. Rottcher smiled after hearing her position.

• "What else could you expect from mages? We can't have anyone challenging whoever they want at the throne room, the noble's cause is the one supported by the law and should be supported by us!" Said Rottcher.

The king leaned back on his chair – "As a representative of the elements I can't choose a side. The majority favors the Norse noble" he said in a heavy tone pondering on what would should be decided upon the boy.

Therese began to step in and was about to call the king, when from the center of the room another voice spoke first

• "If all that is required is a noble to challenge a noble then as royalty I suppose no one would oppose it. So I take upon me Riou's claim and call Askjell to prove himself in battle." – Said Eileen confidently looking at the king that sighed deeply.

• "Both are hopeless" Said the king to himself already used to the situation.

Therese smiled faintly and remained back in the shadows watching.

• "As there is nothing I can say now to stop this nonsense… may the elements be the judge of your resolve…" Said the king looking at his daughter.

Askjell smiled and walked forward to face Eileen. He drew his weapon – "Well princess I think we shall have our duel after all" he said to the princess then turning to the king – "The rites still apply to this, if the princess loses, not onlywill the boy be punished, she will marry me" Announced Askjell…

The king remained silent with a serious expression.

Riou stepped back, giving room for the princess and looking straight to the noble. His eyes fixed and showed no emotion, a serious expression was all that could be seen in the boy.

"You are lucky today, you should thank Eileen for extending your life" Thought the boy restraining himself to not act harshly in front of everyone there.

The princess drew the rapier, everyone on the throne room looked perplexed to such a different tone and shade of metal. It was the first time they actually saw the sword unsheathed.

Eileen took poise as Askjell approached her.

He was not playing anymore, he immediately started to concentrate his mana to his muscles to have an edge on top of the princess. He was using a long sword as he did not have a shield to protect himself now. Eileen had the advantage in length and dexterity while he had the advantage of easier parries and strength.

Eileen was the first to move, remembering the teachings of Riou she advanced with a swift movement. She went in with her sword down and in an upward movement aimed to hid Askjell hands with the tip of the rapier as her feet touched the ground once again.

Askjell dodged by pulling his hands near his body, and before he could retaliate her swing continued now from the inversed position, her sword came down in his direction. He barely parried it in the last moment and her rapier slid down easily without effect to his left side.

He quickly countered trying to get Eileen out of position with a horizontal slash from the position he parried, it was not a very strong movement due the lack of proper distance, but still could cause some damage. Eileen expecting such counter used her blade to direct Askjell sword upwards and above danger. This move left his blade outside of action while hers, in the inside of his defense. She quickly repelled his sword to throw him off momentum and swiftly thrusted his right shoulder.

The piercing wound was deep, blood begun to dye his white clothes in a red spot that got bigger and bigger. He stepped away bringing his left hand to the wound to check it. He moved his right arm with certain pain, but it had not affected his movements too much. Askjell smiled – "Lucky shot, let's see how you deal with me in the attacking position" Said the noble rushing forward with a very strong diagonal slash, he brought his blade from the upper right, aiming to Eileen's center defense. He knew it was too much for her to defend head on, any contact with his blade would send her sword flying.

She would try to avoid the slash by bringing her sword down to the only point the slash wouldn't reach, the below left side of her guard. And the next attack would certainly be devastating as she would have no time to dodge once again, she would be forced to parry, her sword would not be able to hold on to the strength he was using and she would lose the fight at that moment.

All she needed to do was to follow her instincts and avoid his blade by lowering her guard, and he was sure to win the fight.

As he expected, she dodged by stepping backward, but she did not abandon her guard putting her sword down to her left as he expected. No, instead she took a very weird stance, she brought her weapon to her chest, holding it in a vertical position very near her body. As his wing passed by her midsection without hitting anything, her sword immediately followed it once again holding his sword to the outside of the guard.

He was having difficulty with Eileen swords, it bended, adapted and went back into form when hitting or sliding his sword, as if it was alive. The normal behavior of iron swords were very different, rigid and always to the verge of breaking. The speed to which her sword moved and its unpredictability were proving to be a challenge by itself, aside from Eileen's own ability and technique. He could not believe how good she was in a swordfight, even with improved reflexes and strength he was still having difficult to match her.

They ended up in the same position that got him wounded, so fearing the same outcome he quickly tried to use his sword guard to protect himself preventing a slice attack from Eileen while he slid his sword back into guard and poise.

He could easily deflect and prevent her sword from attacking him, but his speed was nowhere near her. Before he could complete the movement she applied pressure against his movement forcing him to defend once more. She quickly pulled her sword and thrusted at his chest at a very small distance. But that was her weapon specialty, speed and piercing attacks.

Noticing the movement he quickly tried to follow bringing his sword to the encounter of her thrust.

Again Riou's teachings took place… she remembered his words and a flashback from their training. "Feint, fake and deceive… this is a fight of wit as much as a fight of strength and skill. So use it to your advantage"

Riou fought all day long with Eileen for 3 days in a row, she didn't know how much that could have improved her skills. But the fact was that the duels she was used to have, that put her on edge and concerned for losing, now seemed like a distant memory.

She couldn't help it, it was something that couldn't be avoided after fighting with Riou. She began to compare her opponents to him.

Askjell was sluggish, without technique, his attacks were wide and predictable… He had more strength than her, but it alone meant nothing to her that relied on speed and precision. The noble seemed like a walking target, the first attack she had to hold herself to not maim him permanently or even kill him, for the first time she did not see a challenger to her as a real opponent. A thought crossed her mind

"Were all the challengers before him at this level as well? He seems a better fighter than the last one, but still… this is too different, how could I improve that much in a few days of training?"

The fight continued it was a feint, his sword found nothing in the attempt of parrying the thrust, his hand ended up unprotected as his sword continued the movement to his side. Eileen took her time to aim and slashed with small force the hand holding the sword. It opened a wound in his forearm that forced him to let go of the sword.

His sword fell down… he quickly tried to get it back but her sword followed. She touched his chest with the tip of the rapier forcing him back, and away from the sword. His shoulder and forearm drenched his clothes in blood.

The king smiled – "The winner is Eileen… Askjell lost and now is compelled to compensate the winner. What do you want Eileen?" Said the king proud of his daughter.

Eileen stepped back and looked to her father – "I want him to leave the castle immediately, and never return."

The king nodded. He looked to the guards and pointed to Askjell, they came immediately and forcefully carried him away. Askjell shouted while being dragged – "You won this time princess, congratulations once again!" he shouted in a mocking tone, clearly stating that was not the last she saw of him.

The princess paid no mind to him and cleaned her sword with a swift swing to the ground, before sheathing it once again.

The king took a more comfortable position on the throne – "Now that we resolved that matter… Riou, tell me what happened. I believe Ursula also wants to know your side of the story." He said looking at the boy. Ursula's eyes followed him as he took the center of the room once again.

• "Well… where to begin with?" he said looking to the king