Chapter 1: The Scarlet Wedding

A cold winter breeze rolls through the streets. The cobblestone pathway is covered in a layer of slushed snow. The people, who are bundled up in heavy clothes, are red-faced and drunk on excitement. The citizens are migrating towards the center of the city of Norkfell. The reason for the rush of people to the center of the city and the excitement are the same- a royal wedding.

A man with a dark cloaked hood pushes through the drunks outside of the local tavern. Bumping into a larger man and ignoring him, a fight would surely ensue.

“Oy. What do ya think yer doin’?”

The large man, who’s nose is red from either the cold weather or the liquor, called out. The cloaked man continued walking toward the center of the city while weaving through the bustling crowd. Upon being ignored, the drunk man was about to chase after the offender when he was stopped.

“Forget about him, Arnold. After all, today is a day for celebration, not fighting!”

“Yeah, he’s right! Let’s get one more swig before heading over.”

As the man called Arnold’s friends beckoned him to forget about the rude person, Arnold stared at the obstructed view of his back through the crowd. The winter breeze blew through the city once more, and the body of the cloak lifted with the breeze. The flash of a shining item on the man’s hip caused Arnold to narrow his eyes. Apparently in some kind of deep thought, he remained staring.

“Arnold?”

His friends called once more. Arnold, as if awoken from a trance, widened his eyes. He turned back towards his friends who were poking their heads outside of the tavern door while waiting. They looked at him with curious eyes. Arnold looked at his friends and exhaled loudly while looking down. He darted his eyes up while looking down, and flashed a mischievous grin towards his buddies. Bringing his hand up to his mouth, he gulped down the imaginary cup while walking towards his friends.

“You bastards know I’m always up for another!”

Arnold and his friends returned to the tavern to drink once more.

The weather was beginning to brew. Looking at the clouds, it didn’t take a weatherman to surmise a snowstorm was approaching. The people, however, held no concern for this notion. Everyone was too excited over the wedding of the Empire’s Prince Noel. He was to marry a woman from a neighboring kingdom. This was arranged in order to quell rising tensions. The winter breeze rolled through the enormous courtyard, where thousands of people had gathered to witness the event. Above the courtyard on the front, on a stone balcony stood a woman. With her black hair being the only splash of color in her all-white attire, it was clear that this was the princess from the neighboring Kingdom of Badland. This was the bride fated to marry Prince Noel. She looked among the crowd of people.

“This is more people than I’ve ever seen in my life… Sheesh, as if I wasn’t nervous enough.”

The woman looked through her veil at the people that continuously trickled in the two entrances at the back. The courtyard was designed with two entrances for an incredibly basic reason- symmetry. Due to the castle being in the center of the city, the architects felt no need to account for anything other than appearance and durability. All dangers would, ideally, be delt with at the entrance to the walls that surrounded the city. These walls were roughly three miles away in any direction from the castle. On the balcony, the woman could see these walls that surrounded the city she was destined to live in for the rest of her life.

“No need to be nervous, Your Highness. This is an important day for the kingdom to be sure- but it is an important day for you as a woman as well.”

The speaker was a short woman that stood toward the edge of the balcony. Matilda was the head maid of the princess from Badland. She appeared to be middle-aged with bags under her eyes that reflected exhaustion.

“Maddy, I am happy to do this for my kingdom. Even if I did not hand select this man, this is what my people need me to do. However, as a woman…”

The princess’s voice strayed off. Upon seeing this, a grin creeped onto Matilda’s face.

“Your Highness… I hear that Prince Noel is rather popular among his people. He is heralded as a caring man whom is adored by both his family and the citizens.”

The bride continued to look out toward the influx of people while deep in thought about her future. Looking at the people that would soon become her own, she felt both excited and homesick. The people that entered were dressed in warm clothes that were either pelts of animals or rags. The wealthier wore extravagant robes made from a mix of fur and cloth. The people that filed in were, more or less, dressed in the same clothes. Warm and comfy, yet also presentable. The woman suddenly noticed somebody that was dressed slightly different. From such a far distance it was hard to make him out- but the man was clearly dressed in a hooded, dark cloak.

He walked past the knights guarding the entrance without being questioned by shading behind a large, burly man. His nimble and quick movements combined with the rush of the crowd provided adequate cover from the knight’s eyes. Of course, the bride could not see this from so far away. All that she could discern was that a man with an odd choice of clothing for a wedding attendant had arrived. After a few moments, she lost sight of him in the crowd. Her eyes wandered up towards the guard towers on the opposite side of the courtyard. The stone walls were a different color than from her country; the ones in this Kingdom of Stormfell were grey, while those in Badland were closer to black. However, despite the change in scenery, she began to feel like this could become a place called home as she looked to the horizon and heard the cheers of the citizens.

“Prince Noel! Prince Noel! Prince Noel! Long live the Royal Family!”

The chant ‘Long Live the Royal Family’ were words that every citizen in the entire country of Stormfell had heard. Even those that lived out in the farmlands knew that these words were customary.

“It appears Prince Noel is rather popular…” The woman whispered to herself.

The cold wind rolled through the courtyard once more. The black cloak lifted slightly before settling back into place. The man, who was weaving through the crowd to get closer to the guard tower. The man walked over to 10 feet away from the wooden ladder. There was a single guard standing by the ladder to ensure drunks don’t make a scene. Other than this iron-armor guard, the rest of the soldiers were either guarding the entrances, guardtowers, or near the royal balcony. The amount of guards near where the wedding ceremony would take place was nothing short of ridiculous- ten guards below the balcony with two on it. In addition to the guards near the entrance and ladder, there were 18 guards in total. Considering the current popularity of the Royal Family, especially Prince Noel, the people acted as guards as well if so required. The economy for the city had improved drastically since Prince Noel’s appointment as ruler over the area. In command of the city and 100 miles in every direction, Prince Noel held the fourth most land in the Kingdom. Knowing that this economic improvement was due to Noel’s policies, the people in attendance adore him- and would defend him loyally.

The people finally stopped trickling in, and the priest approached the balcony. The Prince was escorted out of the castle to the balcony at this time. Walking onto the stone balcony, while staring at the woman veiled in white, Prince Noel’s pink hair waved in the breeze. The pink hair was the defining trait of the Royal Family. The man, dressed in incredibly extravagant and furry clothes with jewelry, behind the priest and looked outward. The priest raised his hands to settle the cheering crowd down. Just before he began speaking to the crowd, Prince Noel walked to the edge of the balcony and spoke.

“Welcome, people of Stormfell! I appreciate each of you coming in support of myself. Without your support, I would not be here today! I have already arranged for mead to be provided, and it is already paid for. Please- drink and celebrate to your heart’s content.”

Upon hearing this, two guards rolled barrels out to the crowd and opened them up. The people cheered once more, and salivated at the thought of the high-quality alcohol.

A publicity stunt. A simple one, at that. And it was working.

“I will now begin the Royal Wedding Ceremony.”

The priest began speaking once the prince stepped back into place. The priest was an extremely old man in gaudy garments. He began to speak about the royal family and their history.

It was at this time that the cloaked man, who was on the opposite side of the courtyard to the balcony, began to walk toward the lone guard beside the ladder. The guard, caught off guard but not lacking presence of mind, spoke in a hushed voice as to not be heard by others and cause a ruckus during the ceremony.

“You there! What do you think you’re doing? Fall back to your area!”

The guard gripped his iron sword strapped to his waist. His eyes, despite fatigue from the preparations for today, showed determination.

The cloaked man looked into these tired eyes and spoke.

“You will let me through.”

As he said this, the hood shifted to reveal his eyes. His irises were the color of blood, and his pupils were a shade of lavender. These ominous eyes locked with the guard.

A cold breeze rolled through the courtyard once more. From the perspective of the guard, it felt like a hand had grasped his heart. It slowly began to squeeze, and the man panicked. However, just before calling out to the other guards, his eyes lost their sparkle. The guard returned the hooded man’s frightening glare with dazed eyes.

“Of course.”

The guard stepped back to the side of the ladder and allowed the man passage. Passing by the man, he reached a hand to touch his shoulder. After looking at him once more, the cloaked man stepped onto the ladder. The hooded man climbed the ladder while hearing the priest’s rambling continue. By the time he had reached the top, the priest had finished speaking. The two were exchanging their vows- which had been written for the sake of show. The people were in a state of silence. The women cried tears of joy while the men watched with admiration.

Hanging on the last stand of the ladder, he heard two guards speaking.

“This is a pretty special day, huh? It makes me wonder about my future.”

“Don’t lose focus. Nightfallen may attack at any moment.”

“Ha. Those dogs? Other than their boss’s Lightning Style, I hear they’re nothing special.”

“Special enough to kill you in a heartbeat. Stay focused. You never know when-”

It was at this moment that the guard speaking noticed that he was talking to a headless body. The corpse fell to the ground with blood gushing out of the top. The guard’s face turned ashen as he looked at his deceased friend. All of the memories that they had made together ended in a moment. Unable to process this turn of events quickly, the guard finally looked towards the man dressed in black that stood in front of him.

The man looked into the face underneath the hood and spoke.

“A… Are you with... Nightfallen?” His voice was shaking.

The cloaked man’s mouth bit his lip at these words. Blood began to run down the corner of his mouth.

“Nightfallen? Those bunch of phonies? No, I’ll kill them as well.” This voice quivered with rage.

The man began to cry at the bloodlust that radiated off of the death god in front of him.

“Then… Then you must be The Dreamer?!”

The hooded man approached the guard without speaking anymore and grasped his throat. Squeezing, squeezing, squeezing. The guard clawed at the fingers crushing his throat. Tighter, tighter, tighter. The life left his body as his hands drooped down to his sides. The man died while being engulfed in the ominous nature of the cloaked man. He quickly walked to the overlook of the courtyard.

A cold breeze rolled through the courtyard once more. The bride’s face was beet red as her veil waved in the wind. She kept taking glances at Noel as Matilda’s words resounded in her head. She had no experience with men- and Prince Noel was simply too flashy for her heart. When she was in his presence, she lost her generally sweet, motherly personality and turned into an inexperienced schoolgirl. The priest’s words echoed throughout the courtyard.

“… and with the ceremony now finished, I now declare Prince Noel Cornelius Armstrong and Princess Emily Pierre Stripe man and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”

Her face flushed once more as she looked at the feminine yet charming prince. He caught her nervous glances and gave an innocent smile to calm her nerves.

Badump. Badump. Badump.

Her heartrate accelerated and she could hear her own heartbeat. ‘So, he really is a sweet guy like they say…’ were her thoughts. His hand grabbed her veil and removed it from her face. He smiled again while looking into her eyes. Grabbing her chin with one hand, he begun to move in to seal the marriage with the kiss. The princess’s eyes closed as she was completely overwhelmed by the charismatic presence. The crowd was silent in anticipation of such a royally romantic moment. It was due to this silence that a whirling in the air could be heard. The people looked above their heads at the sound of slicing wind and saw a silver flash above them.

A cold breeze rolled through the courtyard once more. The prince, with his pink hair dancing in the wind, approached the Princess of Badland’s lips. His eyes began to close. A sudden flash in the corner of his eye caught him completely off guard. He move his hand to the woman’s shoulder and yanked her in front of him. A steel bolt pierced the woman’s chest and was poking mere centimeters away from the Prince’s neck. Blood flowed down the bolt and dropped onto the stone balcony. Scarlet stained the white dress and grew darker every moment.

The bride looked down at her chest and coughed up blood. With it flowing down the corners of her mouth, she looked at the prince again. Her eyes looked at the man that shielded himself with her body and it was unknown what her thoughts were as she died.

The hooded man stood on top of the guard tower with a silver crossbow planted on the railing. The onlookers were screaming and crying. The guards were in an uproar while shouting out commands.

“He’s on the guard tower!”

The guards began to charge in his direction. The prince looked at the hooded man with mocking eyes. Despite his bride being killed, he knew that this person would be tortured for years until he finally croaked. This thought calmed the prince.

“Keh.”

The hooded man cracked a small laugh. At this moment, the body of the bolt that was centimeters away from the Prince exploded. The flames roared 10 feet high and engulfed the bride’s corpse and the prince. An arm flew into the citizens area. The people observed the arm that was lying on the cobblestone. Underneath the black scorch and the bloodstains, the cloth was a white sleeve with an intricate floral pattern on it. The people’s already shocked minds could only let out more cries of terror. The guards, at this point, had reached the tower and were getting ready to climb up. One guard put his hand on the ladder as he began to climb. Another of the soldiers noticed the guard standing beside the ladder and called out.

“Hey! Why aren’t you doing anything?! You could have-”

In this moment, the guard beside the ladder drew his sword. Before anybody had time to react, his iron blade was cutting through the air toward the ladder. The blade sliced the shoulder of the man climbing the ladder. Falling to the ground while flailing and screaming, the guard’s arm was barely still attached to his body. The other guards drew their swords as they looked at the lifeless eyes of the attacker. The flames had finally died down and the Prince was somehow still standing. His body, however, was covered in char and burns. The once charming face had skin that looked as if it would never return to normal. His bloody eyes looked toward the commotion below and then toward the cloak.

A cold breeze rolled through the courtyard once more. The hooded man laughed as he brought a hand to his chest. His voice bellowed out.

“You royal pigs. You’ll sacrifice both legs for your head, but that leaves you unable to walk.”

The crowd of citizens began to outcry terror. The people hollered with shaking voices.

“It’s Nightfallen! Nightfallen finally made a move on the Royal family!”

“You fool, Nightfallen wears black iron. This man is clearly the Caster of Sundown… The Dreamer!”

“It’s The Dreamer?!”

“Kill him! He is the evil of the capital!”

“How dare he touch the kind Family?! Disgusting!”

“Death is too easy! Torture him to death!”

The crowd of people directed their malice toward The Dreamer in front of them. The guards began to encircle the savage soldier and prepared to attack. Just before launching their attack, the hooded man that had been overlooking the chaos beneath him turned his back. His voice rolled through the courtyard with an incredibly malevolent force.

“You capital dogs are no better. I sentence you all to death.”

The savage guard with lifeless eyes darted past the distracted guards and ran into the crowd of citizens. Blood flew through the air as screams of both women and men echoed. The guard approached the front of the courtyard, where the Nobles and wealthy were shaking with fear. The man raised his sword again and beheaded a rather fat man dressed in expensive clothes. The nobles scattered while the guard continued killing them from slashing their backs. Three of the guards chased the offender and finally cut him down from behind. Three nobles had already been killed. The bloody and burnt prince was surrounded by five guards, with the charred corpse of the bride at their feet. The guards that had ignored the savage guard and continued chase of The Dreamer had finally reached the top of the ladder. Looking around, they realized that the man had escaped down the other side of the guard tower. One of the men called out to the guards near the prince.

“Notify the City Brigade! The Dreamer is somewhere in the city! If he gets away, we’ll be executed for incompetence!”

The guards went down the tower and pursued ran towards the main street where they believed the man had escaped on. A cold breeze rolled through the courtyard once more.

The hooded man ran through the street at full speed. The street was completely empty besides the snow and occasional horse-drawn carriage. He realized that the guards would be swarming the main street as it was the fastest way to exit the city, so he dived into an alley that led him through the slums of the city. With his cloak waving in the wind, he disappeared into the shadows of the city.