Dawn Of A New Era

-Alexis Lycan, 18 Years Old-

Alexis sits upon his trusty horse, cautiously watching as the peasants approach his position. He doesn't feel especially threatened, as he has Ryan and his soldiers with him. The peasants wear expressions of unease and uncertainty. They had just slaughtered a noble and his men and are now gifting the severed head to another noble. They are understandably anxious.

Alexis has no strong feelings on the matter. Though he is indeed grateful to be spared from further fighting that could have cost him precious lives. But it also leaves a bad taste in his mouth, that of witnessing a blatant betrayal. It does not sit particularly well with him.

As he is thinking about this, the men finally reached him. They kneel before him in the mud, with rain and blood soaking their clothes.

"My- My Lord. We-we offer a gi-gift." The man holding the spear stutters out, his teeth audibly chattering. As he says this, he roughly thrusts out the spear towards Alexis.

Alexis eyes the head that was hammered on the spike. It was a pitiful end for an even more pitiful man.

Alexis signals with his hand. Ryan nods and steps forward to take the spear from the shaken man.

Alexis looks at Ryan, who was holding the spear, and speaks softly.

"Collect the body as well. Have it buried with respect."

Ryan nods again and begins to ride away.

"As you wish, my Lord."

Alexis looks back at the men before him and frowns slightly. He opens his mouth, addressing the men.

"..."

-

Alexis rides forward with his men towards the main town of the Anstrada domain, Nightlear. The Baronet should still be in the dark about his army's total defeat. This is a huge advantage as it gives Alexis the opportunity to capture the man without too much hassle. If he has the Baronet in custody, he would be able to bring a swift end to the war.

There should also be no soldiers left in the town of Nightlear. They had all been slaughtered in the last battle. Alexis stops his soldiers before they cross the final hill before the town. He splits his force in half and sends them to approach the town from behind. He wants to surround the Baronet so he would have nowhere to flee and therefore force a surrender. As he waits for the signal telling them to advance, he sits beneath a large tree. He enjoys the shade, and the shadows it provides. Lately, he seems to feel more comfortable at night, or in darkened areas. This is unsurprising given the nature of his magic.

After about roughly thirty have minutes passed, one of his soldiers catches the glint from a loosed arrow. This is the signal that they were all waiting for. Alexis pulls himself up and straps on his sword. This would hopefully be the last act of this short war.

-

Alexis rides down the central road that divided Nightlear in half. The streets are currently deserted as the citizens had understandably run inside their homes at their approach. No matter how much they want their current Lord ousted, an invading force is still a viable threat.

Empty stalls and abandoned mats are haphazardly littered about, evidence of the haste the villagers had in scattering. Every once in a while, Alexis would spot curious children poking their heads out of windows to see what the commotion is about. They were always quickly pulled back inside with a quiet yelp.

He smiles wryly to himself as he finally approaches the largest manor in the town. This is the home of Baronet Anstrada. As he draws closer, he sees the soldiers he sent to the rear of the town are now surrounding the target building. They had beaten him here it seemed.

When they see him, one of them breaks away and trots over.

"My Lord." He said, bowing slightly. "We have already captured the Baronet. He was fleeing the town with as much wealth as he could carry."

Alexis stares at the man with wide eyes for a few moments before breaking out into laughter. This is excellent news.

"Hahaha!" Alexis laughs, smiling widely. "I see, well done. That saved us the trouble of having to hunt him down."

The soldier smiles at the Duke, clearly amused as well. He allows his Liege to laugh a bit longer before continuing.

"If you would follow me, My Lord?" The soldier asks, gesturing towards the manor.

Alexis looks towards Ryan and gestures for him to follow.

"Of course, lead the way." Alexis says, still smiling.

-

Alexis strides inside of the gaudily decorated manor and is immediately met with the sight of Baronet Anstrada bound and sat roughly on the floor. He is wearing commoner clothing and a large hat, clearly an attempt to hide his identity. It is a comical sight, considering this is the nobleman's own home. When the Baronet sees Alexis, he turns his head away, scowling. Shame and anger are written plainly on his face.

"Come now. Don't be like that my Lord, for you invaded my lands first." Alexis says playfully, mockery evident in his voice.

"Fucking Dog!" The Baronet yells back, getting riled up all too easily. "You son of a raped whore! The wealth you have belongs to us 'proper' nobles!"

Alexis' demeanor changes swiftly at the insult to his mother. His face grows cold and full of barely contained wrath. He swiftly draws his sword, his eyes are pinpoints, focused only on the bound man. His own soldiers are slightly uneasy at the sudden change. By the time the Baronet realized the mistake of his hastily spat words, it is too late.

"Drag him to the village square." Alexis says icily, clutching his sword so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

The Baronet grows deathly pale and apologizes profusely whilst begging for mercy. All his words fall on deaf ears.

-Arabella, ??? Years Old-

Arabella views the actions of her mate through the crystal in her domain. She wears a truly beautiful smile as she watches over him. From the moment of their contract, she has watched him grow. As she is getting further comfortable in the shadows, she feels an ominous energy steadily rising in the air.

It is the energy of a great many Gods and their divine magic. It is gradually rising to a crescendo, intertwining gracefully as it does so. She knows what this heralds, for she had felt this same feeling many times before. The Hero summoning is almost upon them.

Admittedly, she is slightly concerned. Alexis is nowhere near strong enough to go toe to toe with a Hero. This even goes for when they are first summoned and still disorientated. They are simply imbued with too much raw Divine energy from the start. They are extremely dangerous from the get-go.

Arabella watches her mate and smiles softly. She decides to send him a helpful vision in his sleep. It is regrettably all she can do at the moment. Almost all of her Divine energy had been further sealed by the Gods after she performed the forbidden art of Resurrection. This small vision would have to be enough.