The Heart of Telluris - Huntillius Royen: The Broken Talon

Prologue

The place where love and fear meet is a dream, but the place where that love is taken away... is a nightmare.

Deep within the snow-laden heart of Crayden Plains, Aedon Castle claws into the sky, gray and weathered in solitude. Its firelight, all but blown away by the raging blizzard, signifies its usage once again. The land lies cold and barren for the winter, but inside the castle brews an unusual kind of heat.

Within a sacred hall built in the time of the First Ancestors, a fire sizzles quietly under the hot breath of the heads of the Great Families along with their trusted advisors. Talk of trade, commerce, and land masked greater problems and suspicions as deadly glares are shot across the room.

The head of the Royen clan proposed a trade agreement to the Zaelyn. The room fell silent for a brief moment. A calm face began to twitch and distort with anger. Castor Zaelyn erupted and pounded a fist onto the stone table, "The Royen have only caused trouble within Kraiden'tal, and you know that, Quintus! Your people continuously trespass onto our land, steal our game, and curse our fields."

"You puffed up, ignorant..." Growled Hroki Tyke, "Our watchmen are the finest in the land. We would know if any of the Royen made it past the border and into your land. We-"

"I do not want to hear that from you, you heathenish brute." Orden Oblyn cast his gaze down on the muscled Tyke. "It isn't well hidden that the Tyke and Royen have some special relationship that extends behind the backs of this council. Treachery is what it is." He sneered.

The Tyke and Royen advisors glanced at each other in a shared hatred for the other two families. Quintus narrowed his eyes, "You only shift the blame onto us in order to protect yourselves. Castor, Orden, we are all well aware of the stark division between the families since the war. Stop playing these games and tell us all what it is you called us here for."

The fire cracked under the heat of the powerful men but simmered down in respect for their words. Castor's piercing green eyes rose to meet those of Septimus then Quintus quickly after, "We know your secret, Royen. You cannot act the fool any longer." Faces became gruff as they took on a more hardened expression.

From his downward stare, Orden added, "We know you plan to stage a coup against us, and your savage... companion is just as culpable."

"We only wish for peace and prosperity. You have no proof of this." Quintus growled.

"Oh, we don't have any, now do we?" Castor grinned as he retrieved a pouch from his waist. "I'm sure it's been quite some time since you've seen these, so I shall evoke your mind." He poured the pouch out into his hand to reveal a grainy powder. "These are Zaelyn mind salts. They're a byproduct of our memory scanning techniques and allow others to view what the reader saw as they peered into the memories of another being."

He hurled the salts into the pyre causing a massive uproar. A trio of flames danced over the ashes, spiraling into each other as they coalesced into blazing figures. The incandescent forms settled with the bright, clear features of Hroki, Quintus, and the eldest Royen. From the inferno, the two spoke of ancient, forbidden magics with the power to call long lost ancestors back to the realm of the living.

"Don't you see, Quintus and Hroki? Your plan is forfeit now. Surrender yourselves and your titles and we may consider letting you live." Orden sneered.

"This is madness!" Hroki rose to his feet, knocking his chair across the floor. "You fools know nothing of peace and only wish gain for yourselves while the rest of the country is left to starve and wither away!"

"Hoho, I advise you to not let your anger get the best of you right now, you bellowing behemoth. Lest it only further prove your efforts to have us silenced."