Blood of the Merciless

Chapter Twenty-Nine

29.

Ashe was awoken by a voice that appeared inside her head.

People of Adhu Aqua. My people. I, Great Lord Jerial, have returned to take my place as the ruler of these lands.

Ashe jumped out of the bed at the sound of his name. She opened the door to see that it was guarded by two soldiers. Ashe tried to struggle past them but they stopped her.

"Let go of me!" She yelled.

"We have orders to escort you to the Great Lord after he is done with his announcement. Please wait in your room." One of the guards said.

Ashe stopped struggling and returned to her bed.

Do not be alarmed. You thought me dead but my death was just a ruse. King Godric attempted to assassinate me but I was much smarter you see. For on my deathbed I created a new cast. Giving up my physical body and transferring it into my son. Now, here I live in Alaric Burchard's body. I may be in his body but I have kept my strength. This is because my son and I are of one mind, we both have the same goal. To bring glory and honour to Adhu Aqua. We have spent sixteen years training our body and with the advice of Ivo, we have returned. Now rejoice, my Aquians for I have returned.

Ashe could hear people yelling in praise throughout the castle. It caused an uneasy feeling to appear in her gut. She was certain that the voice she heard in her head was lying.

Do not be alarmed by the barrier that our talented Phen casters are putting up around the city. This is just to protect us against the wrath of the Meinspir army that are surely going to try and invade. You have no reason to fear because I will protect each and every one of you. Our city will not be ravaged by those savages.

More cheers rang through the castle.

The speech in her head went on for a while before the voice inside her head cut out. The door opened and one of the guards entered.

"The Great Lord will see you now."

Ashe went to grab her spear when the guard spoke again.

"No weapons."

Ashe reluctantly let go of her spear and allowed the two guards to escort her. They led her to the highest floor. There were barely any guards on this floor. She found herself looking at the paintings on the wall. Most of them were of a chiselled man that looked quite similar to Alaric, perhaps just more hardened. Instead of Alaric's blue eyes, he had light brown eyes. He was dressed in thin black armour. He kept a black robe under his armour that shot out the bottom of his chest piece. The paintings were portraying him to look like a hero. One painting caught her eye. It was of the same Alaric looking man but next to him stood a beautiful woman in a white dress that contrasted the black armour the man wore. Her eyes were painted blue and she held a baby in her arms.

She was dragged in front of a large door. Col stood in front of the door glaring at her. He did not say anything. A few moments later, two guards escorting Florian arrived. At his arrival, Col opened the door. It revealed an empty throne that sat against the wall opposite the door. The throne was made of some sort of blackened metal. The rest of the room was bare except for a table that was oddly placed on the right side of the room. There was a balcony on the left side of the room and it forced light into the darkroom. Col walked into the centre of the room, Ashe and Florian followed. The guards stayed outside. A figure emerged from the balcony. A familiar figure. Dressed in the black armour she had seen in the painting. The only difference was the crimson blade that was strapped to his back. He was damp from the rain. His short hair stuck to his forehead and his armour had been shining in a metallic gleam. It was Alaric, it looked just like him except for the eyes. His eyes shone a bright purple instead of the usual blue. Alaric had been smiling at him. A devilish smile that she had never seen on his face before.