History of the Realm

Chapter 2

Corinth knew the battle was desperate as soon as he saw the field. The seas that crashed against the Bight had been impassable for years by Thessalonike, the goddess who ruled the merpeople, in retaliation for Attican attacks upon her domain. This left battles entirely in the hands of the Aldans, who packed their side of the Bight with mithril-armed soldiers that were practically untouchable. However, the battle had already cleared the Bight, and the Aldan end of the isthmus swarmed with battle.

Corinth became puzzled. How could the Attican troops have broken through so easily? He summoned the shield of one of the dead troops. He struggled with the strangely heavy shield of iron.

Iron. The fact shocked Corinth. The veteran soldiers of Aldan, tasked with the kingdom’s front line of defense, had been given gear made of simple iron.

“Father, we have been betrayed! Look!” Corinth set the shield on the ground and summoned a simple fire spell. With the slightest bit of effort, Corinth left a gaping hole in the shield. “We have to attack now!”

Cassius snorted. “Have no fear, father. Our troops are far better; we shall surely win the day.”

Corinth flew off into the fray. Blasting whole columns of the Attican force, he dove straight into the midst of the battle.

Watching from afar, Cassius chuckled. “Perhaps the rash fool will finally receive his due.”

“Perhaps, my son.” Septavius nodded. Together, they watched as the Attican army converged on the Aldan prince like ants drawing to food. In a split second, Corinth was hidden from view. Still the army swarmed, crashing down even after it was obvious Corinth had died.

Suddenly, the ground quivered and pulsed, exploding around the Atticans. Bolts of intense lightning shot out into the crowd, lancing through the entire force in a split second, holding the entire assaulting army in the air for a long second before dropping their corpses to the ground. Silence fell with the bodies.

Corinth stood without a single scratch on him. Turning slowly, he stared hard at Septavius and Cassius, a stare that was filled with anger and mistrust. He flew off towards the palace.

~~~~

The palace was again in celebration. The Atticans had again been defeated in spite of treachery and intrigue. Again, Corinth was watching the festivities from the high point of the castle’s keep.

He heard a teleport arrive behind him. The familiar clink of the mithril armor of the Aldan royal guards mixed with the howling wind. He heard the door to the keep’s top open. His father walked out, flanked by two more guards. Small sprinklings of rain began to ride the gusts.

“Even for a festival in your honor, you are content to sit and watch from the keep.”

“Festivals ill-suit me, father. I am not Cassius, to see nobility in such self-destructive reveling.”

Septavius snorted derisively. “Still, my son, it shows a level of disrespect unbecoming an Aldan prince.”

“And where might the Crown Prince be, father?”

“If he is not among the revelers, it would be news for a year.”

Corinth set out a magical search across the castle. His brother was nowhere near the castle. He was a far distance away, he was riding, he was…

At the Bight.

Corinth turned to his father. “I must have word with my brother. I shall return,” he said, and then teleported to where his brother was. Immediately he wove a spell to conceal him from any means of detection.

He saw his brother dismount and walk onto the Bight. A group of men were already there. It was the same delegation from Attica that was present at Cassius’ would-be coronation that morning.