Age of Heroes (Age of Heroes Chronicles)

Chapter 485: The king to rule them all i

ASTEROS

There in the great vastness of the East lays a continent famed for their steel and their brilliant architecture, so much so, that the Imperial Family of Eden imitates most of their architectural design in creating many of the grand building in Eden. 

The Asterosian.

Their people are known to be knowledgeable, refined but at the same time also embodies the savagery of humanity. 

Slavery is not prohibited in the land of Asteros. 

And as such it is viewed as unhonourable to deal with them at least this is so in the matter of the Human Continent.

But while the Human Continent did not engage in slavery, they do like Asterosi steel. It is well know that Asterosi steel is the next best thing other than Enochian Steel.

Warfare is a common occurrence in Asteros, war between Leagues and the border between the states is redrawn every month, mercenaries roam the land, seeking for employment in war. 

Asteros lack the stability of the Human Continent or the vast fertile land of the Ming Continent and lack the strong hard bodies of the people of the North.

But what they lack in all these qualities, they compensate with their ingenuity and cunning mind.

And in this vast land of Asteros, there is a great city, Atheniss and lead the League of Atheniss.

Theseus is the King of Atheniss. 

In the cold night of the first month, after the feast thanking the Gods for the great victory against his enemies, he sleeps in a good mood and full with aspirations of tomorrow.

But Gods, like Gods always do, has another plan for the domineering King. 

For it is foretold in the dreams of the Oracles, on the sea of stars in the sky and the Old Ancient Trees that guided the Elves, that as there are Great Conqueror in Human Continent, so shall Asteros bathe in blood, as another Conqueror awaken, to end the chaotic times and unite the world.

He is sleeping soundly in his castle until he was awoken with dread in his heart, his sweat could not stop and his hand trembles in fear, shivering because of an unknown cold.

His maidservant came upon him and help him to enter the bath, the strong and charismatic King is nowhere to be found, only fear and dread fill his face, shivering and trembling in utmost horror. 

He had dreamed of a great inundation, of terrible disaster befalling his kingdom and the world.

The world he refers to of course means the Asteros continent. 

Ming Empire before they came into contact with other continent they believed that they are the center of the world.

So when Theseus says the world he means the continent of Asteros. He sees fire, iron, and blood.

He sees fire from the cities he ruled, burned to ashes, sees the iron sword pierced the heart of his soldiers, killing anyone who dares fight this terrifying force, and sees the blood of the royalty flow endlessly like a river that will not stop flowing.

Asteros was familiar with warfare. Their city states warred against each other, like it was the norm.

There would have been nothing extraordinary or alarming in the king's imagination being haunted, during his sleep, by the image of such a calamity, were it not that, in this case, the fire which produced such disastrous results seemed to be, in some mysterious way, connected with an elven woman, so that the dream appeared to portend some great calamity which was to originate in her. 

Theseus thinks of this dream of his and he called his oracle and seers. So, they were summoned with great urgency.

That night, his army escorted the oracles and Seers, rushing to them on horseback as fast as they can to fulfill the King orders.

The moment the Oracles arrive, The King with his face still full of fear recounted his dreams and asks for counsel.

Hearing the story of the King the oracle believes that the source of this disaster originates from the elves community in Atheniss that is began to thrive.

The Oracles consults the Gods. The Seer looks through the Veil. And both agree. The Elves is involved in the King dream.

Theseus of course knows which elves the oracle is talking about. Matriarch Velamina of the Great Forest.

She is a high Elven with magic from the Words of Old. But in his dream it was not the lady that fans the flames, or swings the irons, and shed the blood.

It was a man, with white hair and blue eyes. The white hair is like a first snow of winter. The blue eyes were cold and calm like the clouds before the storm.

He thought it perhaps indicated that Velamina should have a son who would rebel against him and seize the supreme power, thus overwhelming his kingdom as the inundation had done which he had seen in his dream.

Reaching this conclusion, King Theseus grew wary. To kill the High Elven son, he would also be presented with a hard choice.

Killing the High Elven would be tantamount to kill the elves. Even though the elves are not many in Atheniss and have no political power, a lot of them have migrated here for the past couple of years.

One of the reasons is because of the Matriarch. She has created her own great forest and the Elves under her all possess magic again and began to control the slums. 

To them, a High Elven is divine, akin to the children of the Gods. Killing a High Elven son would be tantamount to ask the whole slum to rise against him.

Theseus knows that with his army he could obviously killed the whole elven population inside his city wall but then what if Arakath got wind of this?

Arakath is a large power in many of the continents. If they heard a high Elven was killed, they surely would retaliate.

A High Elven positions in the administration of Arakath is indispensible. With their magic they could act as the Kingdom secret weapon.

High Elven could call upon mana infinitely. They are blessed by nature and earth. As the night grew he called his soothsayers again and relates his dream again.

They decided that it meant that the elven lady would have a son who would one day become a king...to rule them all.

'Rule them all' the King whispered in his mind and his heart become even more fearful.

Theseus was now seriously alarmed, and quickly he decided. This child must not see tomorrow or his life and his family life might as well be forfeited.

Asteros is still strong in magic. It is a place where the Old Gods still retains their power, where magic still has a price and prophecies still has meanings.

He takes the words of his soothsayer as the revelation from the Gods to save himself from this calamity that is about to befell him.

That night he sent assassins to the slums, to kill the Elven child.

He called his most trusted officer, Orpheus, an unscrupulous and hardened man, who possessed, as he supposed, enough of depraved and reckless resolution for the commission of any crime, and addressed him as follows

"I have sent for you, Orpheus to commit to your charge a business of very great importance. I confide fully in your principles of obedience and fidelity, and depend upon your doing, yourself, with your own hands, the work that I require. If you fail to do it, or if you attempt to evade it by putting it off upon others, you will suffer severely. I wish you to take the Matriarch Velamina child and put him to death. You may accomplish the object in any mode you please, and you may arrange the circumstances of the burial of the body, or the disposal of it in any other way, as you think best; the essential thing is, that you see to it, yourself, that the child is killed."

The King coldly said. He has decided. Even if Arakath heard of his conduct Atheniss could still call upon the League to help him.

Not to mention their distance is far with each other. He will take this risk. He would rather offend a great Kingdom far away rather than letting his city fall to an Elves

Orpheus then replied.

'Whatever the king command it is my duty to do, and that, as my master had never hitherto had occasion to censure my conduct, my liege should not find me wanting now'

That night Orpheus in his black cloak and sharp dagger came to the slum with great stealth and caution, his every steps is carefully calculated, his movement was as agile as a cat.

Not even one of the Elves that guarded the High Elven house even realizes he was there.

He enters the room of the child. The mother is on the slums healing people. That was his intelligence from his spies. The boy was sleeping.

And Orpheus look at the boy that he was supposed to kill and his heart jolted.