CYRDEL SONASSON IS AFRAID. When cannons and flintlocks open-fired on the pacifist territory, Alkara, signaling an invasion by Synketros, he is left with no choice but to watch destruction grip more than he is ready to let go. With his fiance and her...
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The world spun when his father grabbed his arm and whirled him towards a wall. His shoulder slapped the polished surface, the velvety tapestry hanging over it muffling most of the impact. Red-faced and nostrils flaring, the King towered over Cyrdel.
"First—why did you choose violence?" the King hissed, spit flying from his lips in a fit of anger. "Our people are not violent."
Cyrdel scoffed. "And you think the Sovereign isn't a mad woman because she talks well?" he said. "All of us will die if we do not turn to the same methods they're using against us. Against everyone."
Before the King could continue, Cyrdel stomped a foot on the floor, addressing the Council along with his father. "Look around you," he said. "The thief who attacked us and stole our people's shadows is affiliated with the Heiress who controls Cardovia. And now, an organization like them is visiting us, threatening us with sweet words and empty promises."
He met Master Philine's eyes. It's unclear whether the advisor was infuriated at him or at the entire drama unfolding inside the sacred council room. "The only word the Sovereign makes good of is destruction."
"Who are you to say such things?" the King demanded, wrestling the attention back to him. "You talk like you and that witch are best of friends."
Maybe they were, with how the Sovereign seemed to know everything going on in his head and all he lived through. He wouldn't put it past her to know what the Heiress and her agents have done to the Brownies prompting him to go on a journey towards the Temple of Souls. And when he was battling magical waterfalls and getting mixed up in an age-old war for this thing called the Virtakios, the Sovereign sent her invitation for cooperation to the Court of Varis.
It's like she knew when to strike, and the best time for it was when the Brownies were reeling from the loss of so many of its citizens that they'd bite the first chance a savior presented itself. Synketros aimed to be that savior, and because of that, it didn't count on its future subjects to reject their offer. Of course, she'd consider it an insult to her genuine civility. The Sovereign was a simpler creature than Cyrdel realized.
"I've been researching," he admitted to the King and Queen, as well as the Court of Varis. He couldn't hide it anymore now that the thing he feared the most was near their doorstep. "Since my encounter with the prophesied Virtakios, I've been exposed to the reality of the island beyond our territory. I took it upon myself to learn more to prepare us for the inevitable."
But none of them listened to him, even as he went as far as to feign anger just to get their attention. And as if knowing it's another perfect time to strike, the Sovereign appeared and smoothed out the flaws of their government for them.
"The Virtakios has a varichria helping her," Cyrdel continued. "You might have heard of Rikavien Torlin? Together with her brother, Rhys, they have been looking for ways to defeat these two organizations who have been underneath our noses all these decades and centuries. Cardovia and Synketros—I know of them because the former is responsible for the Shadow Crisis, with the aim to force Alkara's hand and help them in the siege against the Temple of Souls."
