The Hero's Pilgrimage

Chapter 4: The Wisper of Darkness

King Sinestros paced back and forth in his dimly lit chamber, his anger simmering like molten lava underneath a calm exterior. He clenched his gloved fists, the black fabric wrinkling with his tension, and his mind churned with malevolent thoughts. How had these interlopers managed to evade his grasp? The very notion that they might interfere with his meticulously crafted plans was a threat he could not ignore. King Sinestros was no stranger to manipulation and deceit, having ascended to the throne through treacherous schemes and dark alliances. His lust for power had driven him to uncover the long-forgotten secrets of Celestia, and now, he could almost taste the unimaginable riches and dominion it promised. His eyes, a piercing shade of obsidian, gleamed with a dangerous intensity as he brooded over the news of Aric's escape.

"What do you mean they just vanished!" the king yelled, not actually looking for an answer.

"As I - I - I said my lord, it just happened. Some mentally impaired man jumped the platform and shouted some strange words like, let Celestia have a gaze or something like that and allow Grimhaven to rise and..." the judge said as he was cut off by the king.

"Wait, repeat that."

"What my lord? Let Grimhaven rise?"

"No! yelled the king with a monstrous boom, the other part."

"Oh, let Celestia or whatever he called it have a gaze, I can't quite remember what it was, I was preoccupied with executing the farmer and his wife as you told me to." said the judge.

"Celestia! You let them take the boy to Celestia!" the king angrily said until he started laughing.

Harder and harder, the king's laughter echoed through the grand chamber, a chilling sound that reverberated off the ornate walls. The judge, thoroughly confused and almost certain that the king was mentally unhinged, finally found his voice. "You laugh, my lord? I thought you were angry for a moment there. Heck, I even thought you were going to kill me."

King Sinestros, his laughter subsiding but his eyes still gleaming with madness, replied as he regained his composure, "Oh, no, I am angry, but for reasons you would never understand. And yes, I am going to kill you, just not now. Right now, I need you to bear witness to this event for my scribes to create a written record, and then I'm going to kill you." With a subtle gesture, the king signaled his royal guards, who promptly seized the judge.

The judge's cries for mercy filled the chamber, a desperate plea for his life as he had made countless times with unsatisfied clients unable to settle their debts. But his screams fell on deaf ears, as the king simply turned around, his long black hair obscuring his face, and the chamber door sealed shut behind him.

King Sinestros picked up a key, an ancient relic gifted to him by his father many years ago, and went to stand at the head of the room when his second in command, General Ulrich walked into the room.

Standing over his desk, the king examined the key with his long, slender fingers. "You know, Ulrich," he said, addressing his most favored general, "my father gave me this key, yet he never disclosed what it unlocks. What a fool he was! He believed he could keep secrets from me, just as that farmer did. The farmer thought he could hide secrets about Celestia just as my father did. My father learned, as others have, that I do not tolerate deceit. A bit of bribery here, some blackmail there, a pinch of assassination, and now I sit on his very throne." The king reached into his desk, opened an ornate drawer, and retrieved a substantial stack of documents, maps, and journals. "Fortunately, he left everything I needed to know right here."

Turning to his loyal companion, he inquired, "Have you ever heard of Celestia, Ulrich?"

"No, my lord, I have not," replied the general, "but please, enlighten me."