Songs of War: The Truth

Chapter Four: The Faceless Prophet

(3 years after Liani's return. For a refresher of the timeline, Ingressus was 10 in chapters one & two, 12 in chapter three, and is now 15 in chapter four, his markings still yellow. The timeline is also processed by how the Ardoni as a species perceive time, so obviously, to them, due to the fact they age incredibly slowly, the time break between the first and second great war won't be 154 years like most humans know.)

    "Why are we doing this again?" Ingressus asked, sword in his hand while he and Achillean circled each other like hawks. "Do you think this world will be safe forever, brother?" Achillean swung his sword but was quickly met by Ingressus clashing them together to stop his blow. "War could spike at any moment," Achillean swung again only to hear the sound of iron slamming together. "Who would want to go to war with us?" Ingressus asked as they continued to spar. "The Nether," clash. "Sendaria, those pesky bastards," clash. "The human Asians, the list goes on." Ingressus paused to regain his stamina. "I thought you liked the Sendarians," he said. "No. They're sneaky and secretive. Who knows what goes on over there?" Ingressus scoffed. "The same things that go on over here," he picked up his sword. "Nothing," Achillean let out a chuckle. "It won't be nothing soon," he said causing Ingressus to furrow his brows. "What do you mean?"

"Haven't you heard? All of Lord Anarius' daughters are finally of age to marry." Lord Anarius was a nobleman in Nestoria, a political figure, and had three beautiful daughters, Lilith (17), Lithsuriéa (15), and Lily (13). "Which means?" Ingressus asked. "Which means we get to choose between them," Ingressus rolled his eyes before they continued to spar. "Oh, please, you know good and well Queen Liani is going to choose for you. And plus, she'd never let me marry a Nestoris," Ingressus finally bested Achillean, his sword digging into the ground behind him. "At least you get to customize," Ingressus punched his brother in the shoulder to silence him. "I'm only kidding, I'm kidding," Achillean laughed, holding his shoulder dramatically.

    "You understand how boring you're life will be if she chooses a wife for you?" Ingressus was not very enthusiastic about Lord Anarius' daughter coming to the palace, and he made sure Achillean knew that. "That's just the life of a royal, brother." when Ingressus shook his head and turned to his left he paused. He was staring into a small, but dark cave with a Voltarian man facing the back of the cave, sitting like he was about to pray, but never did. Ingressus tapped Achillean to get his attention. "What?" he asked, turning to Ingressus. When he saw what made Ingressus freeze, he was shocked as well. How could any Voltarian besides Ingressus, make it into Nestoria? Was he another survivor from that fateful night? Achillean and Ingressus shared a glance before stepping into the cave, swords in hand, ready for anything to happen. "There you two are," the man said making them stop. His voice was menacing and had a slight rasp to it. When it echoed off the walls, it sounded nearly ethereal. Ingressus tried stepping closer, but Achillean grabbed him and pulled him back. "Don't be cautious. If anything was here to hurt you it wouldn't be me." hesitantly, Achillean released Ingressus and they both stepped forward. "Who are you?" Achillean asked, grabbing his sword tighter. "Some call me a prophet. Some call me a devil. But I prefer to see myself as the thing Junoo created to fix his mistakes." Achillean and Ingressus stared at each other in disbelief. This man was one of Junoo's direct creations. Something they were told was evil. Ingressus' mind went back to that horrid night. The night that had taken his family away from him. The Sendarians were dumb enough to believe that he and this man were one and the same. "Why are you here?" Ingressus asked. "To warn you," the man stood, causing the boys to jolt back and draw their swords. "About what you two will become."

    "I'm not interested in anything you have to say," Achillean said, starting to back away. "Achillean, wait," Ingressus called out. "What are you talking about?" the man never turned around. "Brothers with relations strong as yours will fall quicker than a plea when the only thing one can think of is women and glory. A singer's voice shall mean nothing when power's involved. Shockingly, the rut shall win and bear a one-eyed corpse. Bastards many, yours or not, will be the ones to spark the fire. And your names shall be engraved on the cliff soldiers fall." Ingressus had fallen silent. Achillean stared, still pissed off at the man claiming to be an immortal. "I don't understand,"

    "You will." When Ingressus turned to look at his brother, the man had completely disappeared. "What the hell?" Ingressus whispered. Achillean scoffed and grabbed Ingressus' arm, dragging him back home.

~~~

"We have to go back and find him!" Ingressus argued, finally pulling away when they got inside. "Why?" Achillean asked, putting both of their swords away. "You know all they do is lie." Ingressus turned to his brother, irate. "Who the hell is 'they'?" it only took a few years for Achillean to be like Caleb. Suddenly, Aegus called out to them. "Boys," their annoyed faces softened as they turned to their father. "The ladies are here," Achillean's lips curled into a smile. "Finally," Ingressus lowered his eyebrows at his brother's excitement. "Typical," he retorted.

Because Ingressus wasn't arranged to marry any of them, he spent his evening in the palace library searching for the silafor e apymus to try and find who the prophet was. Just then, he heard a voice. Voices seemed to enjoy popping up behind him that day. "Young prince?" startled, Ingressus jolted up, hitting his head on the top of one of the shelves, and nearly falling off of the ladder before catching his balance in the same moment. "Oh, dear. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." Ingressus turned his head to see Lily, the youngest daughter. "It's quite alright, m'lady," he replied turning back around to rummage through the shelves. "What are you looking for?" Lily asked, taking a step forward. Before Ingressus could respond, he found a copy of the book that started the death of his people. "There it is!" he exclaimed before hopping down. "I've seen strange things today, m'lady." he opened the book and aggressively flipped through the pages, trying to find detailed information about the first-ever Voltarians to exist. Lily watched, intrigued, as Ingressus focused on the religion. "There. Lord Arnau Voltaris, The Faceless Prophet."

"What are you doing?" Ingressus let out a soft chuckle, satisfied with his finds. "Successfully finding the secrets of our people." Ingressus and Lily stared at each other. Such a peculiar man. She thought. Little did they know, this would start a friendship that lasted for the rest of her life.