A month had passed since Major General Paul von Moonblade had arrived, and the castle's repairs were almost finished. The increased manpower had greatly boosted repair time without the extra twenty thousand soldiers they doubt they would have completed in time. Most likely the castle would have been overrun by entities and the siege would have been for nothing.
Rain in the darklands was a common occurrence, making more days seem even more miserable than usual. Luicus was currently out walking around the castle grounds, he was by himself as Lenore had declined to come with him when he asked. Everyday he would walk around clearing his mind of problems and thoughts, taking solace in the night sky because it was one of his sources of power. He was never out for any particular reason but today was different, every few days when walking he would catch a glimpse of a hooded person. By the looks of the build, he guessed it was most likely a man they would cloak themselves in darkness and go somewhere. He had never bothered to follow the cloaked man but today was different, he hadn't heard any of the upper echelons of the armies stationed at Dragmere Castle mention anything about it. The cloaked man would always come from the main keep so the lack of talk made Lucius suspicious of the intent behind the man.
The rain covered their footsteps making it easier to follow the man, Lucius wore a similar robe to the man's which he had found in an open room. He took it on the premise he would eventually return it. Although he thought he was being sneaky, his crystal blue eyes stood out acting as beacon to his location. The man led Lucius on a long path eventually stopping at a simple looking house of a rustic exterior, it was located on the outskirts of the castle ground near the central gate which Ellis' unit smashed though previously. The man headed to the door and appeared to be unlocked, after ten minutes of waiting to see if anyone else would head into the house. Lucius entered the house and was met by an inconspicuous room, no sign of the man who just entered. The floor creaked on his arrival, he scoped out the room finding nothing suspicious but also no people in the room. Confused, he walked around and noticed that there was no back exit and no upper floor, only a loft which he doubted the man would be up there.
The house was spotless but there was also no evidence that anyone lived here, the single bedroom was done up perfectly. The kitchen had no sign of cooking or food within it, the house was too clean.
The house had a single bedroom, a kitchen, a living room and a small study. The study was filled with books of varying sizes, he picked up a book out of interest. Its title was "The Dark Lord and His Dragon", intrigued slightly when he opened the book but all the pages were blank, nothing, not even one word across the three hundred page book. He confirmed this with the rest which lined the bookcases, the story was the same for all. This puzzled the prince even more, he also noticed that the pen on the desk was completely dry, not a drop of ink left.
He backtracked the progress he had made throughout the house, looking for any indication where the man could be hiding. Flipping up rugs, practically destroying the interior to find any secret entrances which was the only explanation for where he the man could be. He was starting to think he went into the wrong house but banished those thoughts after the suspicious study. Finally after turning up the rest of the house, he found himself back in the study where a set of scuff marks lined the floor which were covered by a plain rug.
He pulled on the bookshelf but it wouldn't budge. It was apparently bolted to the wall or some magic spell was forbidding his entry, he guessed it was the former. He was about to blast the spell into pieces when he saw a slightly open book on the shelf in front of him with black ink lining its pages. He had checked all of the books but this one apparently, he tutted to himself at his lackluster perception skills when it came to solving mysteries. He was fine in the Darklands able to sense an entity from a mile away but this was supposedly one of his weaknesses.
The book clicked when pulled, refusing to be removed from the shelf, the mechanism behind the shelf whirled and whistled after a few seconds of sounds. The shelf loosened its grip on the wall, allowing for it to be opened fully. A long set of stairs cloaked in shadows, they were in a sorry state by endless use, one wrong step could mean whatever lurked down those stairs catching on to his presence. Carefully he walked down the stairs minding his step, he had no way of creating a strong enough light to cast out the darkness which stood before him.
A dim light showed itself after endless walking, at the end of the stairs was a cobblestone room of a dingy design. It was rather plain, many rats scurried across the floor. At the center of the room, was the person who he was following who turned out to be a heavyset woman. Her light brown hair followed down to her back, he couldn't see her face yet. In front of her was a magic circle of an intricate and advanced design, it almost filled the room. The magic circle encompassed a large mirror in its reflection was not the woman who was standing in front of it but an intelligent looking man of around 38 summers, he wore armor of the Legion of the Radiant Sun and by the way he presented himself, he guessed he was a commander. He gave a very distinguished and upstanding look, his silky light brown hair was slicked back like a nobleman's. The mirror didn't quite do the enemy imperial justice, he doubted he struggled to get female attention.
Lucius hid behind the small piece of the remaining wall of the staircase, cloaking himself in the shadows. Rats squealed and scurried around the room, covering up any stray noise coming off him luckily or else he would have been busted by the moment his feet left the stairs. His ragged breathing soon recovered, returning the room to silence apart from the two voices coming from the center of the room inside the magic circle. He was close enough to hear most of everything they were saying if he moved any closer he would be out of cover unfortunately.
"Report Lieutenant General" commanded the mysterious man in the mirror.
"Dragmere Castle repairs have been going smoothly, the castle will soon be fixed fully and back to its former glory. If you do not commence the assault soon, the opportunity will pass. There are still two faulty gates, they don't properly close. If we act before they are fixed we'll provide ourselves with the best possible offense against any the Lunas." declared the woman, Lucius eyes widened at this news that enemy forces were closing on the castle. No scouts had reported anything of the sort, if he didn't report this it would mean substantial losses on their side but he saw no way of leaving without making noise. He was effectively trapped in the room so chose to listen in more. (Luna is a common slur used by the Sunkissed Empire.)
"I shall open the central gate for the legion, none shall be the wiser but if I am exposed I'll simply dispose of the vermin." announced the woman, saluting the mirror holding the man.
"You do the Zodcroff name proud, my sister. With your help within the walls of Dragmere, our losses shall be minimal compared to a full out siege. We could have taken back the castle immediately, the Heaven's Hand may be strong but they shall be nothing compared to the Legion's full might and fury. My judgment was lacking at that moment, I see that now. Also, I have but one more question for you, my sister." announced the Zodcroff brother. Lucius' heart skipped a beat after hearing the last name of the siblings.
The Zodcroffs are one of four houses that control the military in the Empire. They are in control of the Legion of the Radiant Sun, he had heard tales of their great martial prowess. Many in the army would compare the Zodcroff siblings with Ellis and Paul, Lucius wasn't sure he would win in an all out battle between just one of them. If the whole legion was heading to Dragmere, he doubted they would stand a chance. Perhaps they would last a couple weeks with the castle in its former state but with how it was now, their doom was incoming.
"Tell me about the mages of the Heaven's Hand and the Lunar Knights. Are there to be any that would threaten us?" asked the Zodcroff brother, who Lucius guessed was General Barion Zodcroff. He also went by another name in the Empire, The Battle Titan. One of the three titans who call the Empire home.
"Mhm. I haven't seen these two fight before but from what I've seen they are the best of the best in the Moonlight Kingdom. Ellis von Snow and Paul von Moonblade. Also, there are the Heaven's Three apparently at their top is Lucius von Moonlight, a Lunar mage. His aide is supposedly meant to be powerful as well, her name is Lenore Valentine." announced the still unknown Zodcroff, Lucius had never heard her full name, only her surname.
"Yes, they will most definitely be a problem but I shall not step into this battle. Although, we are not helpless, there are many in the Legion whose power can rival those six. I shall commence the attack in most haste, I will take your advice and you are to reveal yourself and fight with us. As from today you are no longer Radia Ravenguarde, you are my sister. Rayna Zodcroff." declared Barion, Lucius wasn't particularly surprised about this revelation; he had his suspicions about the woman since day one. Her burn mark was a one of many clues to her true identity, fire is outlawed in the Moonlight Kingdom they harnessed the light of the moon. To cast out the darkness, fire is a symbol of the sun making it despised by the local populace. She could have gotten into battle but after inquiring about it with Paul, he said she had never had an encounter with a fire mage. The burn mark was a mystery to the man as well unfortunately. As thoughts were racing through his head, his eyes locked with the man in the mirror.
"Tskkk, you would allow someone to follow you. Especially one of those said powerful mages, you should do better. Dispose of him." declared Barion, pointing towards his direction. Moments later the image of the man disappeared turning back into a regular which displayed a rather sour expression of Rayna. Her neck snapped towards his direction at an inhuman speed, aversion practically spilling from her. He sensed the air constrict under her immense pressure she was now exerting. There was no escape, only one exit; it would take too long to reach the top of the staircase. From what he gathered he had two options, leave and be harmed or fight and be harmed. As a man of honor who carried his fallen soldiers on his back, he wouldn't run stepping forwards towards the woman.
"You would embarrass me in front of my brother, unforgivable you shall pay with your life." spat Rayna, her face twisting into one of pure unbridled hatred.
"Nightguarde or Zodcroff. You will meet your end at my spear, I hold no mercy in my heart for traitors. Sunkissed or Moonborn, they shall all meet the same fate." retorted Lucius, ignoring the woman's vile mouth focusing on clearing his mind for the clash ahead.
"Silence, lunar prince, you shall burn in the fire of the Zodcroffs. May you be reduced to ashes in my wake." shouted Rayna Zodcroff, two small storms of fire materialized in both of her palms.
"Fire Storms, Burn and collide, Merge into one." screamed Rayna.