I hate this part of my duty, was the first thought that crawled into Ferîan's head as he walked through the massive hallways of Lîxîlîa's magnificent palace. The male's palms were sweating as he passed the white walls that made up the northern wing of the great structure, the marble palisades embedded with beautiful stones and gems.
The familiar, warm breeze blowing into the hallway from nowhere in particular made his skin tingle. He sighed when his final destination finally entered his vision. Ferîan stopped in front of the tall dark croaîen door, his nerves a bundled mess.
Today, his usual neat, white hair was all over the place as if a snowstorm had blasted right through it and he felt breathless - which wasn't exactly normal for someone quite as athletic as himself. He was clothed in a light blue tunic, the symbolic colours of his region. Fur pelts made up the neck area of the long attire and the material felt snug against body. His trusted blade, Stormbearer, hung in its scabbard. The beautiful frost-made hilt gleamed in the evening light that shone through the high-built windowless frames of the palace.
It was finally time. And he wasn't exactly prepared for what had to happen today. His heart pumped against his ribs, much too fast for a normal Lespharian heartbeat. He did not significantly enjoy this part of his commitment to Angelus as his fellow guard and close comrade.
Although their Defender was powerful and fair, it did not make Ferîan's job any less stressful. Some choices had to be made and those decisions weren't exactly pleasant in the least. His hand closed around the door handle.
Well, here goes nothing.
The main hall of Angelus Duncan's palace was maybe one of the most beautifully crafted sovereign spaces amongst all the regions in the realm. It held a great presence, massive pillars of white stone supporting the main framework to emphasize its sheer virtue. Above them, floated the millions of stars that made up a dark void of galaxy that stretched across the entire room just as the night sky would. The stars moved slowly and sparkled like gems, some even with descriptions - the names of old Defenders and heroes from across the realm - imprinted above the twinkling lights.
Ferîan directed his attention to the sides of the room. Purple curtains hung from each pillar and created a comfortable, yet royal feel to the hall. The freezing winds of winter outside the frameless windows made no unhealthy impact on his body, but slightly cooled his skin. A comfortable temperature for someone who was born in the snow.
Huge statues were built into the very walls, each marble Lesphares armed with an ancient weapon, the blades made out of white stone and just as sharp as one would expect real ones to be.
Ferîan's footsteps echoed abnormally loud across the eery quiet room and it felt like an eternity before he finally reached the most important part of the hall. The great throne of the realm's Defender. A structure made out of complete darkness.
Angelus' throne was entirely different from anything else in the room and immediately caught one's attention. The dark matter was dangerous to control and move, but looked extremely beautiful in its own strange way. It had the shape of liquid, embedded with so many colours of darkness they all seemed to form one magnificent hue. Curtains hung down from the star ceiling and enfolded the throne in a slightly more remote area for discussion.
The floor was tinted so it could resemble that of a morning sky and lit the room with bright pinks, yellows and oranges. As if it wasn't entrancing enough, it slowly moved as the realm kept changing its seasons, making clouds look like they were floating past the very floor.
Ferîan immediately kneeled in front of the throne when he arrived and stared at the beautiful sky, a pinkish cloud slowly passing by right underneath his left kneecap.
"Rise Ferîan. I am glad you could join us."
The voice was as strong as the very stone that the hall was built from and had an authority that could bring even the most powerful to their knees. It vibrated across the room and hummed through the walls with sheer strength. Ferîan stood up to look their Defender in the eye.
Angelus Duncan was tall for Lespharian standards and was exceptionally well-built, the physique of a soldier that had fought on the frontlines for centuries. He wore a black metal chest plate with the insignia of an Ertheon - a very dangerous species of draîonî - on its front. A red cape that reminded Ferîan grimly of Alium blood, hung down Angelus' back. His magnificent well-known night wings were nowhere to be seen. At least good for the current situation, since it was said that those wings were the last sight of the realm one ever saw before facing him.
Dark trousers and boots completed the defender's onyx hued look, also complementing his dark onyx hair. Anyone could see why females went crazy for him. He was extremely handsome in a rugged, male way with a sharp jawline and dark brows that made him look mysterious and robust. Angelus' slightly curled hair framed his face like that of a starry sky - slightly windblown even though the room was wind-still. His red eyes stared at Ferîan in slight admiration. That made sense since Ferîan and Angelus were well-known comrades and had fought side by side in countless battles. The two soldiers had respect for one another, but Ferîan knew his place when it came to political circumstances such as the current one.
Dread filled Ferîan's chest as his gaze moved from the Defender to the other figure that also currently joined them in the hall. Sîrîus was well known for his horrible temper whose likes could shatter the very bones of his enemies. An emotion that drove him to remove the very heads of his nemesis with a single furious swing of his sword.
It was for this exact reason that Ferîan was ordered to the hall. He had to take part in the Sîrîus' trail for what he had done in Osseus.
Sîrîus' grey eyes - the trait all Mountaî shared - were directed at Angelus in a surprisingly malefic way. The Lesphares was obviously not happy to be interrogated and Ferîan took a deep breath in order to calm his nerves. It came as a true shock to him that Sîrîus killed one of the Aliums who had tried to escape the encampment in Osseus. Not only did the Lesphares display the corpse in front of all the Aliums assembled, but spoke words Angelus never instructed him ever to relay.
As Angelus' fellow advisor it was part of Ferîan's duty to oversee the punishment for matters such as these. He looked back at Angelus and found the Defender looking down at Sîrîus, giving him silent permission to start explaining himself. The latter glared at Ferîan before began speaking, Sîrîus' eyes a raging thunderstorm.
"I do not understand why Ferîan must be part of this Defender! What I did was completely necessary for our realm and for you as its leader. Why must I be questioned in such an idiotic manner?" The Lesphares growled, clearly not thrilled with Ferîan's involvement and making him regret his presence in the hall even more.
Angelus' crimson eyes held an unyielding solemnity as he inspected Sîrîus. "And what might that be?" The Defender retorted, his voice as steady as the very mountains, not at all how Ferîan would have reacted if being bawled out by the likes of Sîrîus.
The former was still not any less furious with his circumstances, fists clenched so tightly they were white with the strain.
"The Aliums are getting overconfident Defender. They are becoming more restless and wreak the very havoc they used to demolish their planet, here in our own realm. They could destroy everything we have worked so hard to rebuild and set fire to our history, our very inheritance!" He bellowed.
Ferîan, not liking how the conversation was going at all, glanced at the Defender to gage Angelus' reaction. It was true that the Aliums were much hated for the death and destruction they had inflicted on Earth, but Ferîan didn't think bloodshed was really necessarily needed in order to clarify that point - especially not by Sîrîus' maniacal hands. The Lesphares sighed inwardly. It wasn't easy to challenge such a strong opinion already shared by many other Lesphares regarding the Aliums' imprisonment. Some even believed the humans deserved a far worse fate than that of mere encampment. Challenging the masses Angelus had worked so hard to unite, was dangerous.
Even for someone as influential as him. The Defender of The Realm.
"Did you really believe what you did was for the good of our people?" Angelus suddenly asked, expression still unemotional. Ferîan glanced at Sîrîus. His grey eyes were burning, furious and uncontrollable.
"Yes." Came the simple answer.
The hall was filled with silence as they waited for Angelus' judgement. Ferîan was surprised by the slight sadness that filled the Defender's dark eyes after a few moments of tensed silence. It was a reaction honestly neither Ferîan nor Sîrîus expected.
"What is the edict of our realm, Sîrîus?"
The question caught everyone off guard.
Ferîan stared at Angelus. The edict of the Lesphares was established almost thousands of years ago when the time of great sorrow left the realm in a state of utter hopelessness. It was a code that was created in order to help future descendants of their kind protect the realm from the destruction it inflicted on itself as well as its people. Every Lesphares knew the edict, it was after all the foundation on which the realm was built on and truly, thrived. Ferîan was surprised that Angelus mentioned the edict, but realized what the Defender tried to achieve by mentioning it.
It was ultimately why he was known as the one who united the regions and gained the respect of almost every Lespharian soldier on the bloodied fields of battle. It was also why Ferîan himself respected him. Laid down his sword for him and sworn his life. Not just because of Angelus' mere strength, but the way he gained admiration without the use of bloodshed nor death.
He earned it by showing the realm a different path, a path that was harder to follow but resulted into something much greater than pure carnage. A world in which Lespharian kind could live out their own unique visions and ideas.
"Extera Nocterîa. We are all born to exist, to live for cause." Sîrîus said, his voice slightly softer.
Angelus nodded, his crimson eyes holding Sîrîus' own ones. "By killing one of their own, the Aliums now have more motive to hate our realm and people. That kind of hatred does not burn out easily. It lives on in the hearts of those that were wronged against and eventually transforms into fury that leads to insanity."
Ferîan kept his eyes trained on Angelus as the Defender spoke, noting Sîrîus' rigid form starting to relax. Only a little.
"I understand the reasons for your action, but if we only continue this cycle of hatred, it threatens not only the world around us but our very existence. You do well to bear that in mind before taking another life just for the mere pleasure of what power you think it gives you."
* * *
"Ferîan! How did it go man? How much trouble was Sîrîus in for his screwup this time?" A voice exclaimed excitedly as soon as Ferîan exited the throne room, his thoughts still wrapped around Angelus' last words before the Defender had dismissed them both - not punishing anyone.
When Ferîan realized who had yelled at him from across the hallway, he groaned as his very irritating ex-comrade walking towards him. Wîlco's orange hair was more ruffled than before and his armour, fastened onto his broad chest and legs in a seemingly rushed manner. The way he usually looked when he was done with his "visits" on the female's side of the palace.
Ferîan bit his lip and continued his path down the hall, trying hard not to hit Wîlco over the head with Stormbearer's scabbard. Wîlco was a strong - he guessed - Lespharian soldier with high cheek bones and dark eyes that seemed like they could take control of anything and... anyone. That and the absolute nonchalance of his attitude infuriated Ferîan, especially when the conversation in the throne room still mostly occupied his mind.
Absolutely not in the mood to speak to Wîlco, Ferîan quickened his pace, forcing his gaze forward. It was something that usually kept Wîlco's foolish questions at bay.
"What the hell Ferîanus?!" The Lesphares mocked in surprise. That did it. Ferîan loathed the usage of his full name, especially if it was someone like Wîlco who used it.
Ferîan spun around, frost dancing on his fingertips. "WHAT can I do for you?" He growled, his blue eyes cold with silent fury. The other Lespharian soldiers in the hallway directed their attention on the two of them and Ferîan wanted to kick Wîlco for drawing awareness to them. The latter looked intrigued by Ferîan's outburst and smirked.
"I just want to know why you needed to visit our Defender. Nothing to get so worked up about." He said in a mocking tone that made Ferîan's sword suddenly look very appealing to use.
"None of your concern." Ferîan replied coldly, realizing it was probably not the wisest choice to loose his patience in front of so many witnesses.
"Just... leave me be." He growled and escaped into another corridor that made him thankfully loose Wîlco. Unfortunately he wasn't fast enough to miss the Lesphares' last words that traveled across the space that continued to grow between them.
"I swear you seem different each time you exit that hall Ferîan!"
Ferîan couldn't deny that Wîlco - for once - was perhaps right.