World's End Sorceress

Chapter 2: The Queen's Murder

Dranna's mother was Queen until Dranna herself was three. The Queen was murdered by a stranger. He wore the Cloak of the Shadow Men of Densmere, appeared as an Elf of Alsmor, armed with a Dwarven sword forged in the city of Frendou, and the legendary Bow of Awris. He was present in the capitol for a tournament the King had called to celebrate his wife's birthday. The monster entered the lists under the name Rider. He entered the melee, archery, and race events. He won all three, silent, cloaked Rider. The King crowned him Champion, gave him the rewards and offered him a chamber in the castle. The Rider said nothing, merely took his reward and walked toward the castle, to his chambers. None knew this but in his room he laid out his weapons. Taking inventory, he pulled from a concealed pocket in his cloak the Shadow Dagger. A magical artifact from the Age of Darkness, thought to be lost to time. The Dagger instills the knowledge of the darkest, most powerful Dark Magics. The darker the mind the more powerful the magic.

Returning the Dagger to its sheath, he placed his weapons on the table. They would click and clang, too loud for the mission at hand. He walked to the mirror all castle rooms have. Pulling down the hood reveals not the face of a monster, but the face of a man. Four scars on his cheeks, two on the left in the shape of an x, the other side identical. His eyes were unique, one a bright blue, the other a dark green. The King came to Rider's chambers, asking permission to enter. Rider opened the door, not speaking. His hood removed the King saw his face. None who see his face remember it for long, but when he affects their lives in a drastic way they never forget him.

The King entered, walking to the desk where Rider had laid his weapons. "These are rare weapons, let alone to have all of these. You must be an adventurer," the King said picking up Rider's sword. He pulled it from it's scabbard, examining the blade. The Dwarven runes are unreadable by most non-Dwarves, however a few, such as the King, have learned the ancient art of Runes. Rider's weapon has the words "Death is a Kindness" written upon the blade. The King laid the blade back on the table.

"You know, I used to be an adventurer, until I formed this kingdom to protect mankind from evil forces," the King stated looking intently at Rider. Rider merely shrugged, went to the desk and started counting his reward in gold.

The King bid Rider stay as long as he wishes. The festivities would continue for another week or so and he was welcome to stay and compete in the other competitions.

That night, as the Capitol slept, the man called Rider would murder the Queen. He sat on his bed, contemplating his route. He believed he could walk the grounds freely, however the King's Tower would be well guarded. He decided on using his bow as a zip line to slide into an open window.

Walking to the table he picked up his bow and quiver, along with a large length of rope. Though the night was dark and cold Rider was not afraid, nor was he nervous. He left his room with both the bow and quiver strapped to his back. He walked down the hallway towards the Tower of the Just. The part of the castle where the judges and executioners lived.

Though he was unaware of the guard patterns in this castle he was unafraid. The day's events have left many men drunk or otherwise preoccupied. The guards were scarce, even those who walked the grounds merely nodded to him as they saw him walking. He was correct in assuming he was given free roam of the castle. He approached the tower quickly, though the guard outside stopped him.

"Your business, sir," the guard asked casually, his spear crossed in front of the door. Rider knew this was going to be a problem, as no one knew it but he was unable to speak without magical assistance. He removed his hood and gestured, trying to indicate he was just exploring. The guard looked at him quizzically, realization dawning on his face. "You are a mute. Ah, that would explain it. Sorry to disturb your walk, Rider, please go on in. The Judges at the top should have parchment and ink you can have," the guard would say. Rider simply nodded as the guard opened the door and gestured for him to enter.

Inside the main floor there was a set of spiral steps leading around the inside of the tower, to allow easy travel between floors. The top floor was where he needed to go. He approached the guard at the stairs, gesturing that he wished to go up. The guard merely nodded and moved his spear. Rider bowed slightly in thanks. Walking up the tower was easy, though took far longer than he had expected.

When he reached the top floor he looked around to the many desks around the room. Only one was occupied, but the Judge paid him no heed as he removed a quill and ink from a nearby drawer and pulled out a piece of parchment and began to write.

"To those of this Kingdom. I apologize. I have lied to your people and called myself Rider. This was a lie. I am from the Dark Lands of Grandis, the shadow lands, ruled by demons, worked by orcs and goblins. I was the only human in the population. I am the son of the Demon King Aurelius. My birth name is Firenzor. I am the most powerful of Mages in this world. I leave this letter because I must tell you how sorry I am for this. I am not going to stay beyond this night, and I shall do my best to not return. If I do, the daughter of Blood and Gold shall wash the sins of the Dark in a fury of Light, a new age shall dawn, an age of Light and prosperity. Should she fail, the world shall enter the age of Darkness. Chaos will descend and the world will be overrun by demons. This is my only warning. This night I have commited treason, and should be sentenced to death. However you have not the power to condemn me. I am sorry for this."

With that Firenzor folded the parchment, put it in an envelope, sealed it, and began walking towards the Judge. "Make sure the seal remains unbroken, and that this letter reaches the king at first light," Firenzor told the Judge. He nodded, sat it on a stack of papers and returned to his work.

With that the man went to the window, checking to see if the Judge was still watching. He seemed absorbed into his work, so Firenzor took his bow and shot an arrow perfectly out the window through the slit at the other tower. No one heard anything, no one saw anything, and suddenly there was no Rider in the window.