COF 3: The Fallen Dynasty

5 | General (II)

A man wearing purple armor beside Canelis slapped the table while wiping his eyes as laughter shook his shoulders. "That's the most ridiculous jest I've heard in all my years in the Riogener's Court," he straightened and looked Xanthy up and down. "Where'd you get the courage, girl? We all need it."

Xanthy crossed her arms. What's their deal? Earlier they were asking if she was qualified and now they were laughing because she revealed that she's the Virtakios. She removed her trailcloaker and cleared her throat. "Look again," she growled. "Tell me what you see."

The entire Council went silent. Canelis's jaw dropped. Xanthy savored their reactions as she slipped the pendant around her neck once more. Good. "I'm going to Lanteglos to argue your case before the Death Knight and probably serve the Heiress justice."

"Are you sure it's really the Death Knight?" a woman wearing golden armor seated to Canelis's right asked with her deep yet scratchy voice.

"It's not," June stepped forward. "I know the Death Knight's tactics. This isn't him. He wouldn't voice his existence to the whole world. He'd rather stay hidden than let the whole island know he hadn't faded over the years."

"Who's this half-blood?" The nearest man with blue armor turned from his chair to get a good look at them. "Why do you know so much about the Death Knight? Are you an idealist?"

June smiled and scratched his head. "You could say that."

Xanthy filed another item in her list—June knows too much about the Death Knight because he's an idealist.

"The Virtakios," Gold Armor perked up by raising a finger. "What does the Death Knight want from you and where does Peltra's destruction come into play? Who is responsible for this? You said it's someone called the Heiress."

Xanthy sighed. Sooner or later, territories should be aware of the conspiracy brewing beneath their feet. She met Gold Armor's leveled gaze. "The Heiress is a woman who controls this huge empire under our noses," Xanthy spread her arms slightly. "She's after me and the thrones."

A collective gasp. All eyes turned to the sword that Canelis propped on the table. The Crown General's own face resembled a grim statue. "You mean this Heiress destroyed my kingdom, killed my people, and shamed our legacy for this cursed sword?"

It's a rhetorical question. Still, Xanthy knitted her eyebrows. "Cursed?"

"That is the Lifecatcher," Red Armor coughed into his fist. "It is a sword that never dulls and gives its owner superior abilities. As a price, it sucks the life out of its wielder and absorbs every soul it kills. These trapped souls howl and the wielder has to carry them towards the end of their lives."

"It can never part with me," Canelis's voice was almost a gust of wind that blows one moment only to be gone the next. "I tried throwing it to the river, burning it with soltare fire, but it will always come back to me. This is my curse, my privilege, and my death. It's a duty I have to carry as the next Renagener."

"Don't go ahead of yourself, Crown General," Purple Armor cocked his head to one side. "The Coronation won't happen until you pass both the Temple of Light and the Temple of Dark's tests."

"I know, General," Canelis nodded in the General's direction before turning to Xanthy once again. She gripped the sword's sheath with white knuckles. "So this sword is what she wants? She will have to kill me to get it."

"Or the Heiress is waiting for you to ally yourself to Cardovia," Xanthy's eyes widened. Perhaps that's why Cardovia attacked Peltra. "She'd strip you of everything so you'd be forced to see her strength and finally acknowledge her as your ruler. She knew the Pixies wouldn't bow to anyone so she made sure she's someone in your eyes."