The Crimson King

4

☝☝ That's how I imagine Theobar, but feel free to imagine him how you would like him

The ghosts of the past have been surrounding us as we chatted, their silent presence palpable. I was too occupied admiring him that I didn't notice. I was so enchanted by his eyes that I failed to notice how he was invoking this invisible specters that were made fully of his regrets, their dark presence was now suffocating and painful.

My mouth grew dry as I struggled to accept what I had just heard. I started at him looking for something that would tell me that I misunderstood his words, that I just didn't hear him right... but there was nothing but regret in his eyes, nothing but a cold truth.

I clenched the fabric of my dress in a desperate attempt to steady my trembling hands. Even the wind seemed to still now, and the sun had abandoned us, leaving only the flickering light of the candles scattered around the room to illuminate our surroundings. The encroaching darkness only heightened my anxiety.

"Allow me to explain myself, please," he implored, waiting for a response. But I remained frozen in my seat, too terrified by the implications of his revelation to reply. He took a deep breath, as if trying to expel the turmoil gnawing at him from within.

"I never intended for this to happen," his words fell on deaf ears, what he wanted ain't important right now. "As you know, Mirenna has been at war with Cremoria for over a year now."

Of course, I was well aware. I had been there when news reached my father of Cremoria's brutal assault on Mirenna's borders. Their attack had been fast and merciless, overwpowering Mirenna's army easily. Cremoria's reputation preceded them-Cremoria's army is the most feared among the while of Calethis. It is rumored that their troops are made up of cursed and empty armours, since no human could fight with the ferocity that a Cremorian fights. It was said that no mortal could match the ferocity of a Cremorian warrior, for they did not fear death; they welcomed it as the ultimate honor.

"It has been a hard time. We have suffered great losses-families torn apart by the ravages of war. Fathers, brothers, sons... even the daughters of Mirenna have not been spared from the grasp of these beasts,"his voice became lower as he spoke, the rage that this situation caused him was evident " The Crimson King is bloodthirsty, as soon as he slaughtered the poor Kingdom he was in war before us, he turned his sights on us. He doesn't want something in particular, he just wants to conquer everything he can lay his eyes on."

The disdain in his voice was palpable, his hatred for the Crimson King burning bright. There was a reason he had earned that nickname, and it was not due to the crimson emblem of his kingdom. Tales of his brutal conquests spanned continents, each victory leaving his black armor drenched in the crimson lifeblood of his enemies.

"We struggled to anticipate their next move, for they strike without warning, leaving death and destruction wherever the set their feet on before retreating to their wretched lands. I shouldn't be saying this to you, but weeks ago, I managed to infiltrate their ranks with informants," his voice wavered slightly, reluctance clear in his voice

Throughout this whole time, his gaze never wavered from mine, his resolve to explain to me what happened was firm as stone. Yet, as he averted his eyes to the window, I sensed a flicker of doubt. "With their aid, we were able to prevent several attacks, but then... then came the letter."

My chest hurted all of the sudden, only then I realized that I've been holding my breath.

"It warned of rumors of an attack on Desternia, it came two days before the attack. But it didn't provide no specific information, no timeline or any location where ir could happen... initially, we didn't believe it. It made no sense to any of my counselors or even my commanders. They had no reason to attack you" he paused, as if there was some heavy weight on the tip of his tongue that restricted his ability to talk freely" we tought that since we prevented every movement of Cremoria there was a possibility that the Crimson King had figured out about our informants and was trying to confuse us