A Thorn Unplucked

Kystion was standing at the front of the gate of the palace to receive Kavana, who was arriving today. Kystion was very nervous as at this time his army is quite small to attack either Aliyah or Kavana, in case anyone attacks him upfront. Kystion looked at his watch and then looked at Maester Marcus who was standing near him. He said, "I don't want anything to go bad today. Kavana is going to be very angry today and I think we should be ready in case anything bad happens." Maester Marcus said, "Don't worry, my Lord. Everything is going to happen as planned. You just keep your absurd experiments away from Kavana's eyes. He may not like it." Kystion said, "Stay here and don't go anywhere. The presence of the Royal Maester is very important in these events." Maester Marcus nodded in approval.

Soon, the sound of hooves and heavy chariot wheels started to echo and soon, the large army of Kavana started to become visible. Kystion looked at them as thousands and thousands of young men came running in the palace, riding on horses. Soon, the royal chariot came into view and it stopped near Kystion. Kystion looked at the door opening and saw an old woman descending from the chariot. Kystion looked at her and said, "Libitina. You are alive? I thought the elves burned you alive in the First War." Libitina smiled, "What can I say, buddy? We dark spirits are very hard to kill." Kystion chuckled, "I can never be as dark as you, Libitina. I can never. Sacrificing your own children to gain dark powers is definitely not in my capacity." Libitina smiled, "Mock me all you want, Kystion. But, unlike you, my powers are effective. I heard rumours that you are developing some very "horrific" creatures for the war. Where are they? I want to see them." Kystion said, "You will see. But, where is Kavana?" Libitina said, "Kavana is running a little late. He is probably getting some gift for you and I think you deserve it for the hospitality and protection you gave to his father and brother." Kystion said, "Whatever happened had happen in my absence. If I was present, I would have definitely not let them die." Libitina said grimly, "Death is inevitable. But, the vengeance is even more inevitable. That's how it is and that's how it has always been. But, alas, I don't see any fire in your eyes, but only fear and cowardice." Kystion said, "Too much recklessness isn't the answer to everything, Libitina. It is better to wait and attack." Libitina smiled, "Fine. Whatever. Show me the palace you managed to snatch after five centuries." She walked towards the door and walked inside. Maester Marcus said, "I will accompany her." Kystion said, "No. You stay and welcome Kavana. Libitina has some secret messages for me." Kystion walked inside. Maester Marcus looked at him going and sighed.

Kavana entered the palace after two hours and asked, "Where is Kystion?" Maester Marcus said, "He went inside to show ma'am Libitina the palace. He has told me to give you this garland." Maester Marcus was about to put the garland around Kavana's neck when Kavana asked, "Where is my father?" Maester Marcus said, "Lord Kystion knows where he is. Old friends like to keep themselves busy with these childish pranks." Kavana said, "Show me my room. The journey was quite long and I got very tired." Maester Marcus showed him the way to his bedroom and said, "If you need anything, please contact me." Kavana smiled and slammed the door shut. Kavana perfectly knew that his father was dead, but didn't want to acknowledge it till Kystion told him. He opened his armour and then his vest and lay on the bed and sighed. He was very angry because things got very twisted after his father passed away. When Gregor died, Kavana was quite ecstatic because he always considered his elder brother as a tiresome burden and a gigantic goofus. He always feared that his father would make Gregor his successor and Kavana would have to serve him as a minister all his life. But, now with his father also being dead, all responsibilities along with the enemies fell on Kavana's shoulders. Kavana was not afraid of revolts or wars, but he perfectly knows that both of them cost a good amount of time, men and money to win. Even if he wins the small battles without significant harm, the big battles will surely do a big damage to his reign. He is not married nor has a promising martial alliance in hand right now, so even if he decides to marry someone the possibility of getting a beautiful bride as a wife and a powerful kingdom in dowry together will be very thin. Also, he was a little afraid regarding the outcome of the war. He was perfectly aware of the shortcomings the elves are currently suffering from, but he has no information about Alice who surprisingly killed Krymon and Tammy who were very powerful in comparison to them. He doesn't trust Kystion and therefore hired Libitina as a necessary back-up in case of any unexpected setback.

Kavana looked outside the window and saw two stray dogs fighting over a piece of bread. One was a little stronger, so he managed to tear a big piece of the bread, but the smaller dog was quick and he bit the bigger dog's leg and when the bigger dog opened his mouth to scream, the smaller dog took the bread piece and ran away. Kavana laughed and then went inside the bathroom and dipped himself inside the bath tub. He sat silently in the tub for almost half an hour and then slowly came outside of it and dried himself with a towel. He wore his clothes and then walked outside his room. He roamed here and there, till he saw a room with a lock on it. He asked a nearby guard, "Why is this room locked?" The guard looked at him and said, "You must be the mighty Kavana. It's an honour to finally meet you. I'm a big admirer of the military excellence you showed in the Battle of North Tyses. My brother served as an infantryman in the war and told me that you single-handedly defeated thirty soldiers." Kavana smiled, "Yeah. My tales of valor are renowned all over the kingdom. But, still why is the room locked?" The guard said, "The room got burned a couple of weeks ago and therefore the room is locked for renovation. The room is not in a good state right now and therefore I cannot let you in." Kavana smiled, "How did you know that I want to go inside?" The guard smiled, "I have been a guard for twenty years and I know what anyone wants when they inquire about a room." Kavana laughed, "I have no need for your permission, Mr. Twenty year old guard. I just want you to know what I did in the Battle of North Tyses." He took out his dagger and thrust it inside his neck. He then took the key from the guard's waist and opened the lock. The room was a little cleaner than before but still some burn marks were evident inside the room. Kavana carefully inspected all the crucial details of the room, but didn't find anything interesting. He was about to go outside when a familiar smell caught his attention. He sniffed a little hard, but couldn't guess the identity of the smell. The smell was not peculiar, but very pleasant like something princesses would wear. Kavana smelled himself to see if it was his smell or not. He mumbled, "I have smelled this scent earlier and I'm sure no ogre wears flower-based perfumes, so definitely some elf must have come here. Now, I want to know how much that fool Kystion knows about the incident." He walked outside and walked towards the dining room.

Kystion and Libitina were already in the dining room, chatting and giggling. Kavana came and sat on the chair and said, "Looks like I have made a mistake by inviting Libitina to come with me. You are barely giving me any attention, Sir Kystion." Kystion smiled, "No, it's not like that. Libitina and I are old friends and are trying to catch up with some old memories. But, from now on, you have my undivided attention." Kavana smiled, "No worries, Sir Kystion. I was just pulling your leg. The more solitude I get, the more merrier." Kystion asked, "How was your trip? It must have been quite tiresome to travel so hastily through the rough roads and wild areas of Sicilla." Kavana said, "There was no haste, Lord Kystion. We took our own sweet time to come here. The rough roads and wild areas of Sicilla were no match to the raging hearts of my soldiers. But, I see that your army has become quite lazy and fat. Why aren't you doing anything about it?" Kystion said, "We are also taking our own sweet time to make tactics and act on good strategies and perfect results. The elves are also not doing anything to give us any clues to attack or do anything battle wise." Kavana smiled, "So, you lost my brother and father for nothing. How can you even do that?" Kavana said the last sentence with controlled rage. Libitina said, "I told Kavana about the incident regarding his father's death. But, things are beyond anger and blaming. So, let's act a little more mature." Kavana said, "Dead people and dead ends will not provide us victory. We need to be more agile if we want to avenge our ancestors and take back the whole kingdom and restore the lost glory of the ogres. We can't wait for the enemies to make mistakes for us to prey on. We have to attack upfront." Kystion asked, "What is your plan, Kavana?" Kavana said, "The elves are not idiots to be not ready for an upfront attack, especially after they murdered my brother and father. I don't remember the main leaders of the elves as it has been a long time since we faced each other. I remember Vexana and a thin and pale guy in being in charge of the army. I probably know one or two more, but most probably they died in the previous war. I also remember a young girl." Kystion said, "The pale and thin guy is Elgin and the girl was Aliyah. Aliyah died in the previous war, but many believe her to be alive in some form as her involvement in the previous war was doubted by many. Hilda's murder is entirely on Aliyah." Kavana said, "Aliyah, Aliyah....Aliyah. Oh, yes. I remember now. She was the daughter of King Alapaca and as I remember she was very beautiful and a very valiant warrior." Libitina said, "I also feel a ghostly sensation in this kingdom. Maybe, Aliyah is not alive physically, but connected with a body that is alive physically."

Kavana said, "That does make some sense, but let's not go into so much depth right now. We should focus on the strategies to attack the elves." Kystion said, "I have many creatures that can create chaos in their land, once we find where they are hidden." Kavana smiled, "We won't have to search for them. We just have to lure them out." Kystion asked, "How?" Kavana took a bite from the chicken leg piece and said with a mouth full of meat, "Just like this delicious chicken. We will put some of our captive elves, particularly the females and young ones on show and torture them mercilessly. There will be blood and gore and soon those sneaky bastards will come to rescue them and we will capture them or kill them if we get the chance." Libitina asked, "Why would they risk coming for a handful of elves? Aren't they smart enough as you mentioned earlier?" Kavana smiled, "They are indeed very smart. But, once you throw the emotional element, they become more dumb as a doorknob. Unlike us, they consider their people as an asset and will do everything in their capacity to save them." Libitina said, "But, are we ready enough to fight them right now?" Kavana said, "I have a way. Just wait and see. With Sir Kystion's army and mine we can easily subdue their puny army of rebels." Kystion and Libitina looked at each other and shrugged....