The Grand Palace of the Zhion Empire stood at the northernmost point of its walled capital city, Sinsiel. This place was the economic centre of the Zhion Empire and all of its associated territories, which included several islands to the east as well as some small countries and developed areas around the mainland.

Guess I better take in the sights and smells, V thought to himself as he walked out across the palace grounds on that rainy night, Since I won’t be back here for a while…

V wasn’t one to have strong sentiments about home, and didn’t feel affiliated with any particular country over any others, but he had spent a lot of time here in Zhion lately, so it was the closest thing to a home he’d had in a very long time.

Some home it is, he scolded himself for thinking like that, In what kind of home would someone be treated like a tool at some crazy old bat’s beck and call?

V didn’t know any real reason why he had lied to the Queen about Hai being lost to the Dungeon along with his Blade of Eishin. Hell, he didn’t even know why he had decided to spare Hai in the first place- He had simply decided on a whim that saving the swordsman from his fate might turn out to be amusing.

The guy seemed nice- He doesn’t deserve to die like that… Plus, it’d really bite old Queenie in the ass if he showed up later. It’d be her just desserts for all the shady shit she does… Heh, maybe he’d even avenge the old man…

V silently cursed himself once again for troubling himself with these thoughts. No matter what happened, things were going to turn out sour, and chaos and war were on the verge of erupting, which was what he had wanted and the very reason he’d been hanging around the Queen so long.

Yeah, that’s right, V. You’ve used her enough, even though she thinks she was the one using you…

He was about to head through the palace’s huge black and gold iron gates, letting the rain cascade down on him, when he was stopped in his tracks by a familiar voice.

“Going somewhere, V? At this late hour?”

Oh, brother.

He turned to see a man in a red and yellow kimono approaching him. This man had auburn hair, tied up in a long ponytail, and brown eyes. He was in his mid-twenties but had no facial hair apart from some light stubble on his chin. The expression on his face was fierce and he looked at V pointedly, silently demanding an explanation.

Of all people to be out here, it had to be this self-righteous brat…

“Ah, My Prince, what can I do for you?”

The man in front of him was Keihin Zhion, one of the princes of the Zhion Empire and the oldest of the former Emperor and current Queen’s children, making him the closest would-be successor to the throne.

“You can answer my question,” Keihin said, hostility in his tone, “Just where are you going? You have your orders from the Queen- You are to remain here until your next mission is decided, although I heard you failed your mission to return the Blade of Eishin to the Empire.”

“Yeah, I did,” V shrugged, “But hey, at least the traitor is dead, right?”

Keihin moved closer to V, and the magic user eyed him suspiciously. The prince stared him down, as if sizing him up.

“Are you trying to threaten me, kid?” V asked, “I know you wield the power of two Ancients, but I really don’t think fighting me would work out for you.”

“Silence,” the prince scowled, “You’re going to tell me where you’re going, you slippery vermin, and you’re going to do it now.”

“Fine, fine,” V smiled, “Since you’ve got the stones not to back down from me, I’ll tell you. I’m taking a little sabbatical. Call it an extended vacation, away from the Empire.”

“Without informing the Queen?” Keihin grabbed V by his dark coat, “You know how crucial you are for this nation!”

V pushed Keihin, and the prince lost his grip and stumbled slightly but retained his footing.

“I don’t belong to Queenie, kid, and I sure as hell don’t belong to you. You may think you’re hot shit because you conquered a couple of Dungeons, but you’re nowhere near as powerful as I am, and you know it. Hell, you’re not even as strong as your old man was.”

“Don’t you dare speak about my father! He was a great man, and his power is not to be spoken of, especially not by a serpent like you!”

“If he’s so important, then why do you let your mother tarnish his honour by conspiring with those seedy magic freaks in Airenthal? Hell, if the rumours are true, she’s the one who did him in as well…”

No weapon in hand, the prince did the only thing he could, and took a swing at V with his right fist. The magic user caught the punch in his palm and held it there, gripping tightly. Keihin groaned with discomfort as V twisted his arm.

“R-Rumours are just that, rumours…”

“Yeah? Well, you’d better get to proving that or you’ll have yourselves a full-blown coup on your hands. Meanwhile, I’ll be off somewhere else, and you won’t have old V to help you see off the disgruntled masses… But I suppose big, bad Keihin will be enough to protect mommy dearest, won’t he?”

He let go of the prince and turned his back on him.

“I won’t! I won’t let you go and abandon this country! Not when we’ve done so much for you!”

V laughed sardonically, “All you people have done for me is cause a damn lot of headaches. Don’t fret, I’ll be back before you know it- Just try not to miss me too much until then. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

He clicked his fingers and a portal of darkness formed. With a final look at the protesting prince, he walked through it, leaving Keihin to break the news about his abrupt departure…

For a moment, Kydan just sat there silently. His friends looked at him, their faces a mix of shock and sorrow for what their companion had just been told.

Kydan, sweetie… I’m so sorry.

Sakhtras didn’t get a response- The boy just sat on the bar stool, eyes full of pain and fear of what his best friend had become.

Auros put a hand to the teenager’s shoulder, “I-I’m sorry lad.”

“I won’t believe this…” Kydan spat bitterly, “I just can’t! I mean, of all people…”

“His name is certainly one we’ve been hearing a lot, lad,” Auros said softly, “Unsavoury as they are, I think this might confirm what Lendras told you.”

“Do… Do you people know Taryn?”

“Kydan here does,” Hai explained, “They grew up together back in a town called Hayvren.”

“Aye, I know Hayvren. It was an awful thing that happened there- Explains why Taryn hated Lendras so much.”

Kydan fought back tears. He wouldn’t cry- Up until now, he had shed tears for the people of Hayvren, but he had to be strong now, for his own sake and for Taryn’s.

“…I’m going to talk to him,” was the first thing to come out of the Dungeon conqueror’s mouth. He spoke with resolve and looked to his companions, “None of you have to come with me if you don’t want to- It’ll probably be dangerous, if the rumours are true.”

“What? Kydan, you can’t just walk up to this supposedly dangerous man, even if it’s an old friend-“ Auros tried to protest.

“I can and I will,” Kydan interrupted sharply, “I’m going to get the truth from him- There must be some reasoning behind all that he’s done. I can’t say it’s a good one.”

You do realise that if Kydan is now the man all the evidence says he is, there’s a good chance things will come to blows, right?

Then so be it, Kydan told the Ancient resolutely, If I have to beat sense back into him, it’s my duty as his friend. I can’t let him go down this dark path… He’s definitely not the type to do these things.

Kydan turned to the barman, “Where is it? Their hideout, I mean.”

“Look, I know he’s your friend, but listen to your companions-“

“Where is it?!” Kydan spoke with an edge to his voice that surprised even himself.

“Kydan!” Eswyrene shouted, “It’s late, we’ve been travelling all day-“

“I need to do this, Es,” Kydan’s voice grew softer as he looked at her, but there was still grim determination in his eyes, “It has to be tonight. If he’s near here, I don’t want to waste a second.”

He turned back to the barman, “I’m sorry… But can you please tell me where they would be right now?”

The barman seemed to think about it for a moment, worry in his eyes, “Ah… Fine. They’re holed up in a cave, past the northern exit of Deirnes. I warn you, though, it’s not a place you want to go… The Raven Guard aren’t the kind of people you discuss things with. It’s a fool’s errand, but… I don’t control you. Just remember I warned you.”

“I will,” Kydan nodded his thanks to the barman, and turned to his friends, “I’m telling you again, none of you have to come with me. I’ll go alone if I have to.”

It was Auros who spoke first, “Don’t be silly, lad. We’re your friends- We need to have your back at a time like this.”

Eswyrene met his eyes and nodded, “He’s right, Kydan. I can tell you’re hurting right now, as anyone would be, so I don’t want you running in alone and getting hurt or worse because of it.”

“Agreed,” Hai said, “If you’re going, we all are.”

Kydan laughed mirthlessly, “I guess we’re all fools then.”

“I suppose so,” Auros smiled wryly, “So, shall we go off and see this friend of yours, then?”

Kydan got up from the bar stool and looked towards the door, “…Yes, we will.”

Taryn… Just what are you thinking?

Cheers and singing filled the cave the Raven Guard had made their main base of operations. The night was still young, and there was much to celebrate.

Taryn drank from his mug of ale as he watched some of his compatriots dancing around like lunatics.

There’ll be a lot more to celebrate once I’m done… he told himself as he scanned the room, amused by his revelling companions.

“How come you never dance?”

He turned to see Malra coming to sit next to him. The red haired girl had become his closest confidant ever since she’d joined the Guard. She’d been a slave of Lendras’, but had escaped thanks to a coordinated attack by the Raven Guard on one of Lendras’ other strongholds in Alreese. Now she served as one of Taryn’s two generals, and she was extremely capable at her job. She was ruthless, and a cunning tactician, which came in handy when planning guerrilla attacks.

“I’ll dance once Alreese is free, how about that?” Taryn smiled.

“Always so serious,” Malra teased, squeezing in slightly closer to him on the bench and touching his arm, “Do you ever lighten up?”

Taryn edged off to maintain distance between them, and Malra looked annoyed, “I can’t lighten up just yet. Not when I still haven’t made things right…”

There was sympathy in Malra’s eyes now, “Of course, you’re still guilty about… Well, about that.”

Taryn scowled, “I’m guilty about everything, Malra, but that isn’t going to stop me from following this through. We’re close now- Closer than we’ve ever been.”

“I know, but look around, Taryn!” The girl pointed to a stumbling drunken Raven, “Don’t you wanna get like that every once in a while? At the end of the day, we’re still young!”

“That’s the difference between us and them, Malra,” Taryn said, “The rest of the Guard can unwind and have fun, but people like us? We can’t rest, because we’re haunted. You can talk all about me, but I don’t exactly see you dancing on tabletops.”

“Yeah, I guess you have a point,” she said, “I guess we’re birds of a feather in that regard. We both have the weight of some bad deeds on our shoulders…”

“Leader!” A voice shouted.

Taryn and Malra were brought back from their dark conversation by Rendt, who had called out to them. He was slightly red in the face from drunkenness, but his eyes were full of panic.

The room slowly went silent as Raven Guard members turned from their conversations and looked to see what the sudden shout had been about.

“What is it?” Taryn asked, eyes flickering with concern.

“We have a situation… Intruders!”

He got up, along with Malra, “What? Are they Lendras’?”

“No!” Rendt shook his head, “Some guy claiming to know you, and some super strong chick, and a guy with a sword, and some weirdo with white hair!”

“Hold up,” Taryn said, “Someone who knows me?!”

His ale sat forgotten on the table, and Malra moved towards Rendt before turning him, “What’s our play, Taryn?”

“All of you!” Taryn roared to the Ravens, and it was as if all of them automatically sobered up. They looked around and stood to attention.

“It would seem we have guests,” Taryn said, “Ready your weapons… They may be hostile.”

Now, of all times?! Taryn’s heart sank as he wondered who from his past life had finally caught up to him, “Rendt, tell them to stop trying to fight our guests and bring them in here!”

Rendt hurried to the front of the cave to relay the message, and Taryn stood there, mind swimming with anxiety. Malra probably saw how shaken he was, so she moved closer to him. He didn’t move away this time.

“You all right?” She asked, “I’ve never seen you look surprised before.”

“I… I’m fine,” Taryn’s voice betrayed him as it shook slightly.

“It’ll be fine- No matter who this is, we outnumber them,” Malra told him.

“Yeah, but that’s not what I’m worried abou-“

He trailed off as soon as he saw who had entered the far room of the cavern. Leading the group who had interrupted the celebrations was a familiar face- How could Taryn forget that face?

There, alongside three others whom he didn’t recognise, was his best friend, Kydan. He had changed slightly. Taryn sensed an extremely powerful energy radiating from him, and also his eyes didn’t have the gentle, timid look they once had- Right now, Kydan looked confused and angry.

And rightly so…

Taryn tried to regain his composure, “Kydan!” he met his friend’s eyes reluctantly, “It’s… It’s nice to see you again.”

“Who is this kid?” Malra asked him, but he didn’t answer.

“Taryn…” Kydan spoke sternly, and the next words he uttered cut through Taryn like a knife through butter, “What the hell happened to you?”