I rose early the next morning, eager to head on. I woke Adrianus as I moved around the car, which was surprisingly small for a luxury vehicle. I finally got all of my stuff together, with a small amount of food for the cat and a small portion of leftover fried rice for me. I changed into my halloween costume, if I was going to take back my throne, I might as well take it back in the costume of my forefathers. I was feeling very happy as we turned onto the highway, which was just as deserted as the day before, not a car in sight, making it the most eerie drive I had ever been on, and when you have had to driven out of hostile territory, you know what eerie is like.
I reached to border at 10am, crossing through where there had been a tollgate, but there was nothing but rubble where the ancient building would have stood. I was in a hurry so I didn't stop, but I was almost 100 percent sure that I saw movement in there, and much more human than anything. I drove faster out of there than anything I had in my life, so fortunately it was a straight road otherwise I probably would have crashed my car into the shrubbery. Adrianus sat shotgun to me, mewing whenever he wanted me to change the music, which was helpful, he was like my own miniature health checker, telling me that it was too loud, or that it didn't help me focus properly.
Sandros wasn't very far from the border, less than 250 kilometres. It's walls were made of orichalcum, which shone red in the sunlight. It stood on a mountain, towering down on all other areas, as the rest of the kingdom was plains and flat. The city had the palace at it's summit, with building coming down the sides, with manmade structures to make them level. The city was so large that outlying areas spread to a distance of 25 kilometres from the base of the mountain in radius, and meant that there was little to no way to strategically attack the capital, meaning that the city could never fall by force. The famous five springs gushed down the mountain at irregular intervals, passing by man-made gardens, making the capital self-sufficient. In fact, this was the very reason that 90% of the population was inside the walls of the city, with the other 10% being nomadic, mostly made up of the well-known riders, known because of the fact that they would ride with the herds of the wild horses across the plains. The entire kingdom of Sloce originally were like this, and that is why the royal insignia is a stallion, as the leader of the particular tribe would always ride the stallion, ever changing depending on both fights between horses and men. The tribes had eventually united and settled down, originally forming villages and later forming the city of Sandros for protection, although some people returned to the ways of their ancestors. The army of Sloce was the most powerful and feared in the entire world, but it was only there as defense against the other kingdoms, should they choose to attack Sloce. The attacks on Gambrene were unprovoked and cruel, and by the look on everyone's faces, they knew, even if they were too scared to do anything about it. Sloce's monarchs were considered by the fighter who one the fight to the death, although it was normally passed from parent to child, as the child would win the fight to the death if the parent died. When a king is usurped in Sloce, that is a crime, as the ruler should have first said that he would challenge for the right to rule. This meant that there were a lot of people in Sandros and indeed Sloce that would like to see him fall, but when the ruler is set in place, there is only a fight to the death that can take away the power from a ruler, as well as a clear reason behind why they should, such as myself. This meant that for the past twelve years this ruler had been making laws and decisions in the seat where I should be sitting, and therefore have the right to challenge the ruler for the right to rule Sloce.
I approached the gates, which were also made of orichalcum, slowing down as the guards in their uniform approached. Each wore a black military uniform, with the symbol of a blue bull on it, where it should have been a red stallion. there pants were blue as well, and their shoes were black, making them look like dark clothed businessmen, rather than the soldiers that they were.
"Excuse me sir," said the first soldier, peering into my window. "but I don't remember seeing you registration before, may I take your name?" This was perfect, I could see if they remembered my family first hand, which could mean that I would be able to get an audience with the king a lot more easily than I had been planning on, but then again, he might not, and maybe even block me access to Sandros itself, which would mean that the journey is over.
"Braedon, Braedon Astor, son of King Soul and Queen Angel" I replied in my most compelling voice possible, which was quite powerful if I do say so myself.
Instantly the first soldier's mouth fell open, he quickly turned and whispered to his partner, gesturing frantically in my direction, which filled me with hope that I would be able to enter the city, which would be like Christmas coming early yet again.
The man returned and said in a shaky voice, obviously rattled by the power of the person he was talking to. "Well, sir, you are allowed entrance into the city of Sandros, provided your first visit is to King Dragor," a gleeful look crossed his face. "who will be most surprised to meet you."
"I'm sure he will be, thank you, Sam." I said, reading his chestplate, but still leaving him amazed that I knew his name.
My ascent to the palace was slow, this was because of a few contributing factors. One was because of the sheer size of the mountain, and how steep the roads were, where most people walked, not trying vehicles up the mountain, which would have no doubt left them with a massive fuel bill. The other factor was the guard escort, which was obviously for my protection, but all it did was spread rumors through the crowds that a foreign diplomat had come to talk to their ruler, which most of them did not want, as it meant that there would be even less money for the population, and even more money invested into the military strength of Sloce, even though in reality there was no need to fear, as the truth was the complete opposite to the rumor, to the point where I stopped the procession and got out of the car to address the people of Sandros.
"My people, do not be alarmed, for I am Braedon Astor, son of King Soul and Queen Angel, I come before you as a friend, not an enemy, a comrade, not a villain. The man that sits atop his seat above us is the enemy. He has turned you on your allies, has taken away your freedom, and has left you in such a state you believe that anyone is your enemy. That is nothing short of villainy, and he should be brought to justice for such a crime, his body destroyed and fed to the wolves." This punishment was the worst crime that can be given to a person in Sloce, for we believe that a dead person should be let free to roam the plains, not be confined in the body of a wolf. Because of this, many people became scared of me, but that quickly faded. Soon everyone was cheering, wishing to hold my hand, giving me food from their homes, even though I had not yet provided any evidence that I was Braedon Astor. This fact filled me with sadness, these people were so desperate for change that anyone who claimed to have the right to take over the throne was immediately welcomed with open arms. This just fueled my anger against Dragor, meaning that I would be even more formidable in battle.
I hopped back into my car and we continued up the road, gaining followers as we went. When we reached the top, gold gates blocked our entrance, but the were quickly opened by the guards and we all were allowed to pass through, letting in almost all of the population, which was about 2 million people, which sounds like a lot until you realized how tall the mountain was and more importantly, how much land the city took up on flat ground, it spilled out over the land, forming apartment blocks and other shared accommodation down below, which just added to the fact that these people were forced to live in small spaces, just so they could be protected from the enemies that their king had made, which had nothing to do with them, they never wanted it, all they wanted to do was live a nice and peaceful life like Sloce originally offered them, but now Sloce was more a prison than a home, it offered protection, but there was no money, no freedom, no jobs, no work, basically, people only stayed because outside of the walls that surrounded Sandros, they would be attacked, and they wouldn't be able defend themselves from anything or anyone out there.
I got out of the car and walked up the stairs, still flanked by guards, I walked up until I reached a landing. This landing overlooked all of the lands of Sloce, with a full 360 degree balcony around the beautiful palace, but I wasn't here for views. I marched up to the massive double oak doors and pushed with all my might, which was a lot. The doors swung open so fast that entire room went quiet. Apparently there had been a ball going on, for everyone looked at me with such shock as I stood there, looking like their old king, who had just climbed up 200 stairs to gatecrash a party, which was meant to be fun for them, but all they get for their troubles is someone with a serious issue with the guy in charge, who happened to be sitting on his throne, looking more scared than anyone I have met before in my life, crouched down, frantically asking his men to shield him, and I don't even have a weapon drawn, oh how I love power when I wield it, when not even the king can stand in my way while I take back what is rightfully mine.
"Sorry to break up the party ladies and gentlemen, but I do believe that I shall not be taking all that long, or at least I hope not. You see, I am Braedon Astor, son of King Soul and Queen Angel, meaning that I should actually be the one on that throne not Dragor, so you see, I am at a crossroads, the king above is clearly too incompetent to challenge me, as he hides behind his own men, who would die valiantly for a worthless cause. I only wish to be at least able to speak to our king, if only to hear his voice, for fire shall never be beaten by fire, it requires water to dampen it. I stand before you as the rightful heir to the throne, with a usurper who sits above me, thinking that he is more powerful than me just because of the fact that he has guards protecting him, but you see, ladies and gentlemen," as I said this, I raised my hand and clicked my fingers, and as I did to, the guards parted leaving the king exposed to any attack from me. "I have more control over these people than he could ever have, which means that no matter what, I have won."
At this, Dragor stood, straightened and stared at me, focusing his eyes so strongly at me that he reminded me of Adrianus, who had stayed with the guards and the crowd below, making him my symbol of resistance against the usurper that now stood before me, thinking of me as nothing more than a child who should simply get lost and let his part continue, but I held his gaze, for never yet have I turned away from such a stare, and I most certainly wasn't about to now, as there was no way that this idiot was getting one up on me, as it was a simple rule that if one beats their opponent mentally, there was no way you could lose physically. This meant that no matter how much I wanted to turn and kill him, I held his gaze, looking into his eyes of pain, anger and cruelty that made him who he was, a good for nothing rat that deserved to be exterminated like the pest he was. I took a step forward and peeled off my gauntlet, I then tossed it to the floor in front of Dragor, a symbol of insult, an issue for a one on one battle to the death. The idiot of a man picked it up and held it out.
"I will destroy you." That was his only words, how sorry he was going to be.