The moon shone brightly through the destroyed ceiling of the once grand hall. Rainwater had collected over the years, forming a small island at the center of the hall. At the center, petals fell from the sakura tree at the center of the ruined grand hall, planted by a past traveler to honor those who had passed during the Blood Moon Banquet. The whistling winds that seemed to ensnare the United Global Coalition’s ruins sounded like a cacophony of screams, the screams of those who had lost their lives over a decade ago.

  CLOP CLOP CLOP.

  Morgan strode in on Amara, the steed that had joined them on their journey on that night. Every year, the pair performed a sort of pilgrimage to the ruins, not to honor those who had fallen, but to remember their goal. According to almost all sources, the first creatures from the Grimdeep had first emerged at these ruins on that night.

  Their goal was to find a passage into the Grimdeep, rescue Morgan’s daughter, who could have possibly survived, and avenge Jesse, Jameston, and Amara’s mother, Graclyn.

  Unity City’s grounds were still littered from the Blood Moon Banquet, as nobody dared to live here and clean the streets besides those desperate enough for housing. The only time anyone was here was on the anniversary to honor the fallen, as there was a common fear that those creatures would return should anyone linger around too long.

  For the past ten years, there were often many others who made the pilgrimage to the site, but this year, almost nobody was going to be at the ruined grand hall, nor the abandoned remains of Unity City. This was due to the festival occurring at Dragonheart City, celebrating the victory that was achieved during a joint operation between the Gearspring and Dragonspear kingdoms, after they had led a campaign to bomb a village of the Kamakarut Empire.

  However, many were concerned, as there had been over two and a half years of zero violence between the kingdoms besides small skirmishes, most near nation borders. This could possibly mean that the war had a chance of being reignited tenfold, dragging nations that previously weren’t even involved into the mix.

  None of this concerned Morgan at the moment, however, and it never would, or so they thought. Mounting the steed, Morgan and Amara set off into the night, riding to the capital city of the Dragonspear Kingdom.

  * * *

  In the Capitol building, Alaric Draco was seated at his bedside desk within his chambers, reading the Everstar Times, the international newsletter.

  “DRAGONHEART CITY AND FORGEKEEP TO THROW FESTIVAL IN ONE WEEK’S TIME, CELEBRATING THE GEARSPRING AND DRAGONSPEAR KINGDOMS’ JOINT VENTURE TO DELIVER JUSTICE TO KAMAKARUT’S DOORSTEP.” was the title of this month’s edition of the paper; however, a portion of the text left a rather sour taste in the king’s mouth.

  “Critics advise that this endeavor could have dire consequences, as the war had not been fought in almost three years. ‘Perhaps Kamakarut was preparing a permanent ceasefire proposal?’ says war analyst Joyce Maywort.”

  “What do they know?” Alaric muttered to himself, crumpling the paper and throwing it into the nearby bin, “They don’t know how hard it is to make these choices, to bomb a village that hasn’t even been confirmed to house weapons.”

  “Then why’d you do it?” Nienna questioned him, emerging from the open window.

  “I thought I told you to use the front entrance,” Alaric muttered as he cleaned off his desk. Strewn across the table were documents detailing defense plans in the case that Kamakarut and Ironspire launched a counter-attack. “Besides, what other choice did we have? If they truly did have that sort of weapon, then we all would have kneeled before Cassian.”

  “And if they didn’t have those weapons, then you and Queen Nyx ordered the deaths of a hundred innocent civilians.” Nienna countered, her tone becoming darker with her continuation, “And if you’ve committed any injustices, then it’s my duty to-”

  “Yes, I know, but it doesn’t matter now, we’ll never know, and it’s been almost three months since,” Alaric took off his crown, laying it on the desk as he pulled out a feather and ink.

  “Three months isn’t that long,” She said as she leaned on a chair, attempting to balance the Whisperfang blade on her fingertips.

  “It’s been long enough for them to launch an attack; if they haven’t yet, then it means that they don’t plan to,” Alaric said as he began to sign off on documents requesting his permission to expand the city’s sewer tunnels.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  “You’re the king of Dragonspear, and a man who’s proven himself to be a capable commander time and time again,” Nienna said, finally balancing the knife on her middle and index tips, “Yet you have such a naive way of thinking.”

  “Nienna Godric, would you be so kind as to explain just what you mean by that?” Alaric sneered.

  “What if they’re preparing for an attack so large that it’ll claim hundreds of lives?” she questioned him.

  “Then we’ll show them the full force of the Dragonspear Kingdom,” he answered, “And with the new cannons that we’ll be unveiling tomorrow, nobody, not even our own allies, will question our authority.”

  “You talk as though our allies will turn against us,”

  “They might, it’s best to assert dominance in ALL of our relationships,”

  Nienna sighed as she stared at Alaric, his black hair, which now had wisps of grey, despite the fact that he was only twenty-nine years old. Not too long ago, he was a very trusting and kind man, but after the Blood Moon Banquet eleven years ago, he had begun to isolate himself. He was still kind to others, but deep down, he never trusted anyone besides Nienna Godric, the last Whisperfang Assassin. Perhaps it was because of the bond that the two had formed since they were childhood friends, something akin to siblinghood. Or maybe it was because they were both the last in their lineage, but most likely, it was both of the above.

  “Nienna, if you have nothing else to add, then ple-”

  SKREEEEE!

  Alaric was caught off guard as the loud screech of Haragorth pierced the air. Chills crept along the spines of the king and assassin as they immediately got up. Haragorth’s roar could only mean one thing, which was that Anaika Caelan was at Dragonheart City. But if Anaika was here, then that also meant that so were the other three Horsemen.

  Rushing to grab the Demonslayer from his bedside, Alaric donned his crown as he rushed out of the room, Nienna following close behind. The entire building was in chaos, as the newly invented electric lights fizzled to life. Soldiers were running through the halls, weapons in hand. At the back of the Capitol building was a direct passage into the western walls of Dragonheart City, which was where the rest of the soldiers were amassing.

  Steven Choase and Alexander Zhou, the top generals of Dragonspear, were already in their positions, as rows of soldiers lined the walls. Cannons were aimed at the line where the swamps began.

  Overhead, a large mass wove in and out of the clouds, obscured by the darkness of the night sky. But Alaric’s attention was focused on something else, as standing at the edge of the swamp, hidden in the shadows, four figures stood menacingly.

  The smell of rot was overpowering, as the undead dragon finally landed in the fields to the right of the standing battalion. At last, the four figures emerged, causing the nearby flowers to wilt in the presence of Eden Galora, the forsaken queen of the Elves. Godric Winslow’s crow mask reflected the lights emitting from the walls, and Anaika Caelan’s dual battle axes dragged in the mud behind her. Finally, the leader of the four horsemen, Griffin Thorne, walked behind them, the banner of Kamakarut flying from the back of his horse.

  “Citizens of Dragonspear, we bring you a message from your emperor, Cassian Wanless.” Thorne’s voice boomed as he unfurled a scroll, causing everyone’s arms to erupt with goosebumps. He had an aura of death around him, and that wasn’t metaphorical. Surrounding Griffin was a red and black mist, a fog that only surrounded those responsible for personally ending the lives of over five hundred people. Not even the other four horsemen had achieved such a feat, despite being decades, or even in Anaika and Eden’s cases, centuries older than him.

  “We bring a message to not just you, but your king as well,” The godless Vassal continued, “Your king, Alaric Draco, has committed a grave crime, not just against Kamakarut, but against humanity, Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, and Vampires.”

  Nienna and Alaric exchanged a look as Griffin continued, “That village that you burned down without mercy, housed no weapons, and no soldiers besides those who had retired. You executed innocent civilians, who simply desired to serve their nation, a nation that accepted them when they had nowhere else to go, a nation that promised to protect them, that you broke in their stead. That promise was not yours to break.”

  Nienna and Alaric once again exchanged glances, but this time, Nienna was looking at Alaric with judgment. Alaric himself only had regret in his eyes after realizing he had robbed innocents of their lives.

  “I-I didn’t know, tell Cassian we deeply apologize, and that we will repay in any way we can.” Alaric pleaded, but he knew what was coming next regardless.

  Setting the scroll down, Thorne continued, showing no emotion like always, “The price has already been decided, that being the complete and utter annihilation of the Star Alliance.”

  “What?”

  As the four Horsemen turned to leave, Anaika mounting Haragorth, Alexander yelled out one simple command.

  “FIRE AT WILL!”

  Cannon fire, musket shots, and mechanical crossbows firing filled the air as the army attempted to obliterate the four Horsemen, yet they were unsuccessful. Haragorth shielded Anaika, whilst vines erupted from the ground behind the other three. After roughly three minutes of non-stop firing, Alaric ordered his soldiers to cease their wastage of ammo.

  He had let his hate for Cassian blind his judgment, and due to this, the war was now going to be reignited.