There has been peace in Arishamal since the defeat of the Ürgod and the Scarlet Brotherhood. The Wizard, Robbia Veritus has been tasked by the Mother-Goddess Arisha, the Golden Spider, to find magically gifted beasts to fill the vacant seats of the...
It took an hour for Acheron Euras to recover fully from the assault he had authored. As was always the case after using his considerable power, he felt completely drained. His head throbbed, his stomach churned, and every muscle in his body was sore.
He stood up gingerly and peered over the balcony in the direction where the Fool's Pride tavern had stood. The evening sky was alight with the glow of fire. Flames still rose above the rooftops and the conflagration had spread beyond the confines of the original target encompassing several nearby buildings.
A feeling of guilt briefly intruded on the fox and he turned away from his handy-work. He stumbled back into the interior of the palace and weakly made his way to the door wanting nothing more than to return to his own quarters two stories below.
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The palace was abuzz with activity owing to the threat of a spreading disaster from the fire. Squads were being organized to head to the docks to help fight the blaze and keep it from spreading to the more well-to-do sections of town. Acheron passed Hymir, who had returned to the palace after posting the forged proclamation near the scene of the crime.
Hymir smiled and nodded in Euras' direction. The enchanter ignored him and headed down the marble stairway. He arrived at his quarters and entered. Elidure sat waiting for him. He looked accusingly at his father.
"Is this your doing?" he asked.
Euras was short-tempered after his exertion. He looked dismissively at his son. "You can't understand until you are grown. These are complicated matters."
Elidure became increasingly angrier. "I am grown...I'm not a child anymore. I am old enough to wed or to fight in the army...if," he stared deeply into his father's eyes, "...if I were human. As it is now, I can do neither without permission and I could never raise any higher than cook in the army."
It was Euras' turn to become angry. "I'm doing this for your sake. As long as I am useful to the king we are safe and will live well."
"As long as what? As long as you murder man and beast for this cruel tyrant. I know you plan to help him conquer the Wild. How many beasts will you murder then?"
The enchanter became furious. "As many as it takes. These are not our people, our beasts...," he lowered his voice, "how do you know of the king's plans for the Wild?"
"Agnar told me...he is as disturbed as I am."
"It would serve him well to be silent. His father is already disgusted with him!" Euras spat out. "The way you are disgusted with me?" Elidure said sadly.
Euras became suddenly sympathetic. "No, no, no...I love you, my son. You are like your mother, a dreamer. Neither of you see...or saw...the world for what it truly is, a violent cruel place where you must fight to survive."
"Mother would be ashamed of you!" Elidure said bitterly as he exited the room.
Acheron sat silently for a moment. He found himself wishing he could still cry. My son will understand, he told himself, when he is older he will understand. He repeated this to himself many times as though the mere repetition would make it true.
