Soft chatter filled the streets of Jiron on the next bright and sunny morning. In the center of the city stood the royal palace where a Valquen king once ruled. After the rebels took it, it turned into their headquarters and war room.

"Pirates? Are we seriously recruiting pirates?" a fierce voice echoed throughout the war room. A small chamber with a table in the center, displaying a map of Oryn and carved wooden pions resembling war assets. Wall torches colored the walls and ceiling in an orange hue.

"We need every asset we can use. As you can see, we might have this city, but we're still surrounded by enemies." Marlock answered, as usual, his voice sounded warm and calm. He wore his full polished steel armor with his usual red cloak.

"Pirates are not an asset. They're a burden. Why do you think they would follow us? They follow no one."

"This time it's different. The leader of that fleet isn't just a pirate."

The person on the other side of the table furrowed his eyebrows and closed his eyes. "He's a Valquen, Marlock. He's carrying the name of the people we fight. This is madness."

"Why do you think he's become a pirate? Because he doesn't give a sword's end about his family anymore. He is the first pirate captain in history to unite a thousand pirates. I already made my decision, and my decision is final. The letter was sent two days ago." with a firm hand, Marlock picked up three ship pions at once and placed them at Jiron on the map.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I got some more work to do," he said before heading to the door and opening it.

"Why am I even in this war council if I have nothing to say here?" the other man asked.

Marlock sighed and looked back as he stood in the open doorway. "It's good to have a second opinion, Edward. But sometimes I'm certain of what's right. And no other opinion will stop me from doing that." he said as he closed the door behind him to the throne room.

It was empty. No guards, no one to sit on the throne. A thin layer of dust covered the marble floor as visible rays of sunlight shone through the open arched windows. Only now he noticed someone standing beside the throne. A girl, it seemed. When she turned around, he recognized her.

"Ah, Yira, isn't it? Already recovered from your wounds?" he asked, slowly approaching her with his footsteps echoing through the hall.

She wore a green robe, wrapped tightly around her hip with a belt. Her auburn hair was neatly braided into one long ponytail. It made her amber eyes stand out more.

"I wasn't a big deal, but most of the others are. And it's Kiera, by the way," she said in a soft and gentle voice.

"I see." Marlock said, changing his gaze to the throne, "Beautiful throne, isn't it?" Stone carved vines and flowers decorated the throne.

"It is. It makes you wonder why the Valquens could do such horrible things." Kiera said.

"We will put an end to this, Kiera. Maybe not too soon, but we will." Marlock reassured her and then paused to think about something. "Why are you here? I suppose you only came here for answers."

Kiera nodded and cleared her throat. "I am actually. I'll cut to the chase. I'm asking you to save my family back in Etheon. They're still slaves. And I'm here with the possibility to drink wine and sleep all day. I can't do that. It doesn't feel right."

Marlock sighed and observed Kiera's stressed expression. Sharp eyes and frowned eyebrows. "Archhealer Ayska told me about it. She told me you were scared. But what makes your family have more priority than everyone else's family?"

Kiera blinked a few times rapidly before gazing away from Marlock and taking a deep sigh. "I get it. You cannot risk your men for three people. But you can risk me, can't you?"

For a short moment, Marlock didn't quite understand what she meant by that and paused. He rubbed his firm beard and shook his head softly when he realized.

"Kiera, you're not going out there alone. The reason why I'm not sending my men down there is that they will never make it back with or without your family. Not even my best men."

Kiera followed up his message immediately with a more firm tone. Her eyes hinted a sudden determination.

"Then give me a ship, and I'll find my own crew to save them."

Marlock sighed and took a glimpse at the golden doors that lead outside the palace. "I can't Kiera. I still have a lot of work to do. We will save your parents, but right now we don't have the men or time to do so. As the leader of this rebellion, I am very sorry."

He turned around and started walking towards the exit. His cloak partially dragged across the floor. But then Kiera clenched her teeth, and her face started flushing red as she raised her voice, echoing throughout the room.

"My parents can die at any moment! You can't expect me just to stay here and do nothing, let alone take orders from you just because you stole me from those slavers!-" Suddenly, Marlock turned around aggressively and raised his voice above Kiera's.

"Then do as you wish, Kiera! But if you ever yell to me this way again, you will be banished from this rebellion and walking the Silent Waste all by yourself! That is not an order, that's a threat! The choice is up to you! You should be grateful damn it!"

He didn't give Kiera a chance to answer as he continued his walk towards the exit, disappearing behind the golden doors. It turned silent in the throne room. Kiera stood there all by herself beside the throne. She was muted and didn't expect Marlock, to react in such a way. "Why does he not understand my frustration?" She thought to herself. It didn't take long for her to shed some tears before sliding down on the ground with her back against the throne.

She felt so helpless and miserable. She literally couldn't do anything to help her loved ones. Sometimes, even the thought of them already being dead crossed her mind and she couldn't bear that.

Unintelligible chatter filled the throne room high on top of the royal White Tower of the Citadel. Long and elegant tables of white spruce wood displayed rows of food and wine, and everyone wore dresses, tunics, and doublets in all sorts of colors. Candles and chandeliers lit up the hall as the dark skies were pouring down rain outside the windows. A band of violin players kept everyone's mood up during the feast.

"Sir Graham, I didn't expect to meet you here on this royal feast."

A man in a light brown leather suit, adorned with gold chains along his flank approached a knight leaning against a pillar. With a scar diagonally across his entire face, the knight turned his head towards the man.

"And I didn't expect to see your ball-shaped head in here, Lord Omen." his voice sounded rather hoarse and deep. The balding man laughed in response, nudging the knight's shoulder.

"Always a funny one, you. Did you see any fine ladies around here, hm?" The man asked, watching over the people with a wide smirk. Graham rolled his eyes.

"Knights have a vow, imbecile. Is all that gold making you dumber, or is it just you?"

Still trying his best to keep smiling, the rich lord's smile faded away. "Right."

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna have to try this wine. Considering the emperor is taking his bloody time to get here, I'm gonna have all the time in the fucking world." the knight groaned before pushing himself from the pillar and walking away.

He reached towards a big can of wine, but got interrupted by a young and fine lady, wearing a green elegant gown, adorned with sewn jewels. Her red curly hair was neatly packed into a knot.

"Sir Graham...I heard lots about you." she smiled seductively. Graham couldn't deny her blue eyes were gorgeous, but the knight returned a cold expression. "Not interested." But right when Graham wanted to reach for the can of wine again, a raised voice coming from the throne grabbed everyone's attention. It was the emperor's advisor, standing on the elevated plateau where the throne rested on. The violin band stopped playing, and the room turned silent.

"Welcome, lords and ladies to this very special feast, in honor and celebration of our emperor's conquest of our realm. I hope you all enjoy the top vintage wine coming all the way from Vraleth, and the dishes made by the greatest chefs in Erye. But what is this feast without the emperor himself? Speaking of which, here is Lord Areyn Valquen, Emperor of the Oryn Realm, Sentinel of the Great Kingdoms and King of the Citadel of Whitehollow."

Everyone started clapping and smiling when the emperor entered the chamber, guarded by seven heavily armored men who wore white cloaks and a big golden gryphon engraved on their chest armor.

The emperor himself was quite heavily built, a golden crown rested on his long and black curly hair. His firm beard and white iris eyes made him look fierce, and he wore a long under-tunic made of silk and embroidered with gold thread. His outfit was topped off with a small gryphon pendant placed on his heart area. They stopped clapping when he stepped on the throne steps and turned around, facing his people as the royal guards spread around the throne.

"My lords. My ladies. Today is a day that writes history. For years, Great Houses have fought for this very throne. For years, they brought unbalance to the realm, raiding, pillaging, reaving, spilling blood in front of the Three Deities. No more. With my House being guilty of those things as well, our goal was always and always will be to bring peace and prosperity to all the Great Kingdoms. Today is a toast to the victory of House Valquen, her alliances, and the ongoing build of my brand new city I will call 'Blackhall'"

He raised a goblet, and everyone followed. They drank their wines and continued chatting and laughing. But suddenly, someone fell on the ground, creating a few gasps and brewing commotion. The emperor only continued his speech.

"House Blackbear, House Bladesong, .."

More and more people started dropping to the ground. Goblets clanked on the marble floor, spilling red wine as if it was blood.

"..House Omen, House Redclaw.."

Sir Graham didn't know what was happening, noticing everyone was dropping down lifeless to the ground around him. His eyes widened, and his breath quickened.

"..I thank you all for your great services to my family.."

They grabbed at their throats, choking and clinging on to tables and chairs, but no avail. Not long after, only a few people were left. The red-haired woman that was with Graham, Graham himself, the maidens and the guards. The entire room was filled with bodies, and the emperor stepped down the throne steps, stepping over some bodies as he left the room with all his guards following him. The silence that loomed around was so eerie that even a fearsome knight as Graham felt cold chills running down his spine.