Chapter 3: Betrayal
There was a quiet in the throne room that was palpable and available to all the senses. The air itself was weighted, like it would be in a mythril mine, heavy with the toxic, pregnant fumes.
His Royal Highness, King Agerthorn Narunia, stood away from his chair, looking outward as if watching a ghost. His eyes, which had been radiant once, were now small and dim for lack of hope. The white hair of his beard and eyebrows wrapped over his face but did little to conceal any sign of fear or discouragement. He had never needed to mask his thoughts with any forms of deception before this day. After all that had happened, he now was certain this had been his greatest weakness.
The throne room had not lost any of its quality or ambiance, and yet now the décor did little to please the eye. The mood of the place itself removed all color, light and joy that might be experienced within. It had been changed into a crypt.
To his right stood Feltus of the Farorian Knights, the highest-ranking commander of the King’s secret guard. He was armor-less, only wearing the green tunic that was customary for his order. At his back was a sword and shield, sturdy but not of any remarkable quality. Feltus believed it was the one who wielded the weapon, not the weapon itself, which truly won the battle.
“Your highness, I wonder…” he began to say, his voice stern yet heavy with compassion.
“I know what you would say, Feltus,” the King interrupted softly, “I was a fool. He drained me of my secrets and now he comes for her.” He turned to Feltus, tears in his eyes. “He comes to end my daughter’s life and I can’t stop him.”
Feltus had known his King to be strong, willful, and benevolent, but he knew there was more to his sadness than just the death of his daughter. What that could possibly be was beyond him. The secrets of the royal family had, at least within the last 100 years, been entrusted only to the King himself and the royal Hylian sage. No one else was allowed to know the truths of the Hylian royal bloodline. That was until Aganhim entered the King’s council.
He had ended a devastating plague with one spell, and had been revered as a wizard blessed with powers by the goddesses themselves. The kingdom had thrived for 12 long years under the advisory of the wizard Aganhim, and his loyalties were never questioned. He was charismatic, charming, inviting and kind to all who knew him. Even Feltus, who had never before been unable to properly judge a man, could see no fault in him or reason to distrust him.
Feltus had questioned his origins on one occasion, mostly out of curiosity, but the King refused to answer and went on to forbid future questioning. He was protected by the King, and considered a friend to the royal bloodline. Enemies of the kingdom were sent away in a daze by the wizard, and it seemed like there was no power that could undo him. Even a Gerudo priestess who wielded powerful magic of her own was useless against his might. He only raised his palm to the heavens and the clouds she had summoned broke and she burnt up in the blinding light that burst forth.
It was on the Princess Zelda’s 14th birthday that Aganhim had come to the king and used his clever tongue to drain the last secrets from his mind. Within the last 100 years the sages had become complacent and free of worry, and the secrets they kept were told to the royal family as a way of creating insurance should their line be broken and the mysteries they kept secret lost. They did not count on the royal family to betray themselves.
All that Feltus could gather was that the king had revealed a truth to Aganhim that would grant him great wealth, and the key was Zelda’s life. He knew nothing beyond that as it pertained to the royal family.
