"I'm so excited." Pock clapped his hands together. "Isn't this awesome, Captain?"
Laerton's lips formed into a thin line, and she didn't say anything as she stepped forward and entered the portal Pock made for her. The junkyard vanished, replaced with a new sight. A massive circular room stood before her now.
The room was dark, with only floating candles providing any light through their flickering flames. In the center of the room was a round table, filled with a variety of food, including steaks, lobster, bread, cake, and other items. It was enough to fill an army, and Laerton found herself eyeing a delicious-looking catfish, but her stomach twisted in knots, and she pictured the various poisons or curses she could get from eating any of this food.
Her luck had already been awful. She was on the toilet for most of the day because the milk she bought yesterday had spoiled, and while on her morning jog, a drone had fallen out of the sky and rammed into her and then exploded, so it was best not to test fate right now.
Besides the large table with the food upon it, there were also eight stone thrones, each sporting its own banner upon it. Seven people sat on the thrones, leaving one empty for her, and six people stood next to the thrones.
The thrones and table weren't the most notable things about this particular room. That honor went to a set of large stone stairs, which was near the back. The stairs lifted off the ground and went up into a void of darkness.
A chilling mist seeped from the darkness, which blocked all sight from being seen, and none of the candles dared to approach either. Within the darkness, the outline of a much bigger throne could be made out, one that hummed with power and made Laerton's knees want to yield and bend as a desire to prostrate herself before this chair bubbled up inside of her. Something that happened to all when they stood before the king's throne.
That darkness would be where he was. The king of the Esteria. The son of Haru. The father of the five noble branch families.
Laerton shook her head and forced her attention back on the other eight thrones, specifically the one that she knew belonged to her.
The empty throne sported the image of a fiery bird. Laerton approached it slowly, followed by Pock, who stumbled out of his portal, nearly tripping when he saw the mountain of food that awaited him. As Laer got closer, she saw the seven other people, and her ire only grew.
The throne next to her, going clockwise, had the symbol of a bull's skull on it. Myth, leader of the Pantheon guild, was seated along with his vice captain, Whisper, who stood next to him.
After the dark-skinned man was Gorgon, Captain of the Wandering Coin, along with her Vice Captain, Briefcase. The symbol on her throne was a golden coin being swarmed by snakes.
The next throne had a banner that was a mishmash of hundreds of shapes and colors, making it impossible to make out its proper shape. Dye was crouched on his throne, already painting, and the Hydra Storm guild still lacked a vice captain. The young man was already tuning out the rest of the world, not paying attention to anything.
Past him were the Oak Watchers and a throne with the symbol of a large and powerful tree on it, featuring an eyeball at its center, which bled a river of blood down the base of the tree. Grampa Green's head was tilted to the side, and his eyes were closed. More of his flesh was missing, leaving him more like a wooden skeleton than ever before, and Paragon remained at his side, channeling various healing spells over and over again.
Dark Star was already chowing down on the food, the old lady using her teeth to tear into a turkey leg. Her symbol, a large, jagged hammer that seemed to be made of ice, hung above her, and Stone Bull stood, his arms folded in his full, rocky armor, a cape of lava dripping down his back.
Smoke rose out of Crow's cigarette, sending puffs of smoke into the air. Next to him, Mermaid held up his flag, making sure his smoke wouldn't touch it. The symbol on the flag was of a curved moon that was bright silver and jagged.
Finally, on Laerton's other side was Mister Perfect himself. Father looked fabulous and had his arms folded at his side while the Lance of Victory held a plate of food up, an annoyed look on the blonde's face as she fed her captain. The symbol of a golden sun was etched on the banner that hung from his throne.
"How good of you to join us," Father said, not bothering to look at Laerton as she took a seat. "You're late."
"Traffic was slow."
"You teleported in." Myth said flatly.
"Bite me."
Gorgon snorted. "You know, you should be acting a little more like your station." The woman casually flipped her long red locks. "After all, people will remember you as the captain of Phoenix Flight when you're gone, won't they? Oh yeah, how much longer do you have left?"
Pock's eyes flashed with rage, and he took a step toward Gorgon. Instantly, Briefcase's hands were at the longsword that rested at his side, about to draw it, but Laerton reached out and caught Pock's wrist.
She shook her head and forced him to remain in place. Then she stared past Myth and Gorgon to where Dye was. "How are you doing, Riku?" Laerton asked, suddenly speaking in a calm tone.
Dye stopped painting, and a frown appeared on the young boy's face as he heard his name being said. Not his Knight name, but his actual name. Riku Helios was a name he hadn't heard in quite some time. In fact, the only one who ever called him Riku was Laerton, who seemed to do it every time they met, which wasn't very often. She hadn't even called him that last month during the entrance exam, since she had been quite distracted.
"Good?" Dye said, a little confused.
Laerton smiled. "I'm glad."
Grampa Green then broke out into a coughing fit, causing Paragon to heal him again quickly. "Can we hurry this meeting up?" The healer asked, letting out a wince. "He really should be out in the sun and not in this dark room."
"It must be rough having someone like that as your captain." Whisper chuckled. "I guess it could be worse, though."
"That's right." Briefcase finally let go of his sword once it was clear Pock wasn't going to attack. "After all, you could be the vice captain of the Phoenix Flight guild."
The other vice captains all laughed, which made Pock's frown grow harsher. The happy look that had been in his eyes earlier was entirely gone now.
The only other vice captains who didn't laugh were the Lance of Victory and Stone Bull. "Don't belittle a teammate." Stone Bull's voice got the vice captains to fall silent. "We're all on the same side. Act like it. Even slightly."
Mermaid shrugged. "We're just having a bit of fun."
"Whatever the case, I'd like to also start this meeting." The Lance of Victory spoke up and looked down toward her captain. "We have important business back in our base after all."
Father nodded and casually gestured at his mouth. Tori's eye twitched slightly, but she set the plate down, picked up a napkin, and wiped his mouth clean. "My vice captain is right." He spoke up and casually looked down at his nails. "Let us begin this meeting."
Crow put his cigarette out and nodded. "Alright, if we're all ready, then yeah, let's start. It's been one month since we've gotten our new recruits. Like we do every year, we're going to use this time to discuss what's been happening over the course of that one month and what we've noticed from our recruits, and if any of them are even worthy of staying or not."
"Saying the king made a mistake is quite bold when he's right up there." Dark Star laughed and pointed her thumb toward the set of stairs that led up into the shadows. "You don't want to anger him, do you?"
"Actually," a calm voice announced from the darkness, causing everyone, even the captains, to all freeze up. "The king is currently away, so in his place, I'll be watching over this meeting."
There was a flash of silver, and above, a mirror of moonlight glowed, sending its shimmering light down upon the orb of darkness. The shadows and void faded away under the pale light, allowing them all to see the woman who lazily rested on the king's throne.
She wore short, white robes that showed off her shoulders, along with tall boots. Various silver flowers adorned her gown, along with ribbons, and she wore a long, pointed hat. Floating next to her was a glass-like staff, with the symbol of a flower curving into its top, and she had long, silver hair and a pair of eyes that each looked like the moon.
Evelyn Lunar. Also known as the Dragon Slayer.
Laerton frowned as she saw the woman. The other captains were all caught off guard as well. "She was the captain of Hydra Storm, right?"
"That's right." Father nodded, and whatever beef he had with Laer was fully gone; now all his anger and hate were focused on the witch. "The Witch of White, Evelyn Lunar. Of course, she's no longer part of any guild. She ascended past that."
"What do you mean?" Laerton sometimes hated being out of the loop. She was always the last to find things out. It likely didn't help that she usually didn't care enough to ask until it was too late.
"The Black Hand." Myth spoke now. He also looked uneasy, his eyes darting around the room. "The Arcane Knights technically don't work for the king. We aren't actually under him. It's more like a treaty we forged through words. Our group can go anywhere and do anything for the most part, so long as we protect the kingdom, and that's the thing—it's the kingdom we protect. We serve the people first and foremost. That's what makes us different from the military. It's also what makes the Black Hand different from us."
Gorgon nodded her head, seeming a little uncomfortable. "The Black Hand are sort of like Arcane Knights, but instead of serving the kingdom, they serve the king directly. They're sort of an open secret, but the public just assumes they don't exist, as they're never seen. The Black Hand is made up of the elite mages from the military. Usually, mages who join the military are weak ones who didn't have what it takes to become a Knight, but every now and then, one appears that is beyond strong, and the king will eagerly snatch them up for himself. Additionally, he sometimes offers Knights the opportunity to join the Black Hand directly. Captains who wish to pass on their mantle typically do so. The Witch of White is one such person who made this deal. She sided with the king and left us all behind."
"It's a little hurtful to hear you all talk about me as if I'm not here." Evelyn laughed and shook her head. "Last year we were all friends, weren't we?"
None of the captains responded. Hydra Storm was one of the newer guilds. It was less than two years old, in fact, and had been created by Evelyn and Dye. Evelyn had technically been the one to make it. She had been an insane prodigy.
A member of Umbra Mortis for only a year before the king declared that she was worthy enough to have her own guild. She was only the captain of that guild for two years before she joined the Black Hand.
In just three years, she went from a random branch noble member no one had ever heard of before to one of the king's most trusted weapons. He even gifted her with the title of Dragon Slayer, and there was a rumor that the Knight's Gear she wielded was one that was once owned by Haru herself.
That was the kind of monster Evelyn was.
A beast fated to reach the top.
"Anyway." Evelyn clicked her tongue. "I'll be here to listen to your reports, so go ahead."
The other captains and the vice captains all shifted slightly. Eventually, though, the captains got to work. These meetings were held annually after the first month of the test, allowing them to discuss the new recruits and share details. This was also the point at which they would decide whether to drop members or not. Squires or even higher-ranking Knights could be dropped at any time, but it was usually the first month that they'd be booted out of the guild.
The first month was typically used to test the new recruits, acclimate them to the Arcane Knight lifestyle, and assess their readiness for it.
Gorgon was the first to speak, and she went over her four new recruits. Nick Ale, Fate Williams, Brave Larison, and Kale Blue. She only had positive things to say about them and talked about how she had sent the four on a low-level dungeon quest that they had all managed to solve quite easily.
The star of her speech was, of course, Brave Larison, daughter of Jack Larison—a very famous Knight who might soon be transferred to Dye's guild as his vice captain.
Shockingly, after Gorgon, it was Dye who talked of his group. He had made a painting of his members, showing three girls and one boy. Astrid Gold, Kevin Dyrt, Moa Zedon, and Lucy Case were the four members he got. His talk was mostly distracted, and he seemed more focused on his painting, but it sounded like everything was going well for the most part.
Unsurprisingly, Grampa Green didn't speak of his members, and instead, it was Paragon who did all the talking. She talked about Triston Dow, Oliver Tol, Kuro Dark, and Lupin Uscle and how they slew a powerful monster that was attacking a village.
All three of these captains only gave praise to their four new recruits, and it was Myth who was the first one to have something negative to say.
"Two members have shown a lot of progress." Myth hummed and stroked his chin. "Ashley Dyrt and Sera Grow have shown a lot of progress. The other two members on my team, however, are Ash Anderson and Max Power. Ash might show progress later, but he isn't progressing very far. Max, on the other hand, is… Well, for the most part, I'm thinking about dropping them both. Especially Max."
"Are you?" Dark Star asked, raising an eyebrow.
Myth shook his head. "I'll give them a bit longer. Just a bit."
Dark Star let out a laugh. "Honestly, I'm the same way."
"You are?" Crow asked in shock. Being one of the big three guilds, only branch nobles should have been in Dark Star's guild, so for her to claim she was wanting to drop any was quite shocking.
"The others are fine." Dark Star hummed. "That Ruby girl, though." She trailed off and shook her head. "Her spirit is shattered. I guess the fear test broke her more than it did anyone else. Wonder why. I'll try to slap some sense into her, but if I can't, then I'll have to drop her."
Crow gave a soft nod and folded his arms. "I'm pretty happy with mine. Shockingly, Rowan Zyne is doing the best, with Cain Lunar right behind him. It's the first time a regular noble made it into my guild. I wonder if that boy is normal or if there is something more about him." Crow then smirked. "Speaking of weird people joining guilds that they shouldn't."
All eyes turned to Father, and the man sighed. "Yes, the commoner that joined my ranks. Bruno Moore."
"You're dropping him, right?" Dark Star snickered.
"No." That caused everyone to stare at him in shock. Father clasped his hands together and almost seemed to make a prayer-like motion. "When I first got him, it was my plan to kick him out, yet something about him made me change my mind. Not only will he remain in my guild, but I also declare here and now that he will marry into the Helios family."
This time, all the captains did a spit take, and Crow even slipped out of his chair. "Are you serious?" Crow demanded. Father nodded again. "Why?"
"Personal reasons." Father unclasped his hands. "Worry not, I'll explain more in private." His eyes twinkled a bit. "Now, what of you, Eman?" He turned his head slightly and shot a look toward the captain of the Phoenix Flight guild. "What of your four members?"
"Two of them haven't shown up yet," Laerton responded flatly. "I heard you guys were keeping them held up."
"Well, they aren't normal members after all." Father laughed. "Give it another month, though. I'm sure you'll get them. Maybe. What of your other two?" His eyes narrowed. "That boy?"
"The other two don't matter." Laer shook her head. "One is almost dead and still recovering, and the other is useless."
No one looked shocked, and they would have let Laer's conversation end there, but there was one person who was curious. "Davi Hawker," Tori spoke up, and she stared down at the seated Laerton. "Is he the one who is almost dead?"
Laerton looked away. "That's not important. I'm getting rid of them."
"What happened?" Tori demanded, and the woman raised her voice. Her captain gave her an odd look, but he didn't say anything.
"I'm curious as well." Myth grunted.
Laerton rolled her eyes. "If you all must know, I was going to bring it up toward the end of the meeting, but I'll go ahead and tell you now. We were attacked."
"Attacked?" Paragon was the one who spoke now. "You mean someone actually came and attacked your guild?"
Laerton shook her head. "Not my guild. My member. It's why I even bothered showing up to this stupid meeting. Some monsters attacked one of my new recruits and nearly killed him."
"So it was Davi." Tori frowned. "What do you mean, monsters? Like they weren't in a dungeon."
"That's right." Laerton nodded and folded her arms. "That's not all. They were led by a Magical Mutant. One with blood magic."
Dark Star let out a laugh. "Someone with blood magic nearly beat one of your members? Haru, I knew your group fucking sucked, but I didn't think it was this bad."
"You wouldn't say the same shit if you saw that fucker." Laerton growled, and she considered drawing her sword and attacking Dark Star, but she kept her cool. "Whatever. It doesn't matter. I told you all. Just be on the lookout for a mutant that can swap its head and can seemingly command monsters. One was a Lung and the other was a Kitsune. I don't know what they wanted fully, but I'm sure whatever it is, it isn't good. Now, if that's all, I'm ready to end this stupid get-together."
"Not quite." Evelyn shook her head, and all eyes were on her again. "We still have a lot to discuss. Namely, the fact that not all the guilds here are doing the work they should." Her eyes trailed over each one. "Missions are important. I expect you all to be going on them. Now, this next part is just for the captains. Vice Captains, you can all leave."
Some looked like they wanted to argue, but most knew better than to challenge Evelyn. If she were sitting on the throne, then that meant the king fully trusted her. Going against even a single order of hers would be the same as going against the king himself.
Tori was the first to leave the room. The castle's halls were dark, and she sauntered, a small trail of blood dripping down her lip from where she bit it. The image of Davi Hawker was burned into her mind. That Ebony Armor he wore.
"I need him to be stronger." She practically panted and licked her lips. "I need him to be my enemy. The only one who can kill him is me. But how do I make him perfect? Just how do I break that man?"
Then a new image came into her mind.
One of a girl with snow-white hair and blood-red eyes.
"Oh." Tori smiled. "I have an idea."
It really was simple.