Welcome to Gaia! ::

The news of the King's death traveled like wildfire throughout the kingdom and its neighboring lands, striking chords of both despair and quiet triumph from its people. Inside the royal complex a frightened sort of chaos ensued while members of the service and peerage tried desperately to handle this tragedy with some sort of grace in tact. It is a sad and cruel thing when a good King is slain in cold blood. To make matters worse, there was no apparent suspect for the deed. The King's personal guardsman himself swore by the royal crest that there was not a single sign from inside that would have caused him to worry for the Majesty's safety.

And amidst the bedlam lied together a poor grieving Queen and her only son the Crown Prince. He had only just reached his thirtieth year to now be bequeathed by an heir's obligation a disturbingly early Kingship. He now had to take part in a sacred royal coronation that would solidify and amend his position as the new King. Also as an extra precaution the Queen and Arch Bishop insisted that he be assigned the best guard the Kingdom had to offer to ensure his safety until that day. It was only natural that the deceased King's previous personal guard be given such an important duty.

There was a special knighting ceremony held just for the invocation of this man's new duties. One in which the Crown Prince himself would accept the knight as his trusted protector.

"It is before this Royal Court and Crest and by the blessing of the Gods that you, Sir Nero Thanatosis, are given the honor of becoming the personal guard of the Crown Prince, Gen Lornah of Catania," the Arch Bishop crowed above the knight's head.

"Do you sir knight, accept all of the responsibilities that your duty will call for? And do you swear by the Royal Crest that you will serve to protect the Crown Prince at any cost, including your very life?" The Bishop continued, his old haggard eyes bearing into the knight's back while the Prince decidedly stared off into the distance somewhere off to his left side.

The knighting ceremony had come to an end and in the days that followed the Prince kept himself closed up within his chambers. None were allowed to enter and he made that point very clear before he turned to that solitude. He couldn't bear to be around the superficial rats that were the royal peerage. They were nothing but a group of obsequious leeches that called themselves the court. The Prince hated them, he'd always hated them. None of them really cared about the affairs or state of kingdom until the time came that it might make them look better in the eyes of the King or Queen.

None of that mattered now. As soon as the coronation ended and he was named King, all of them would be gone.

Sure the matters of the court were an annoyance to the Prince, but the issue that really ate at him was the circumstance of his father's death. None of it made sense. He'd spent the better part of the last fortnight trying to make sense of it all while scouring all the reports and records he'd been given, but nothing was coming to light.

With a growl of frustration, the Prince slammed his fist onto the hard wood of his desk and flung all the many scrolls and papers that littered it to the floor. He strung his fingers into his bangs and sat back heavily into his chair. There was nothing here; not a clue that might lead him to anything that might help him solve the mystery of his father's death. It was frustrating knowing that no one inside the castle could find anything that might lead him in the right direction.

Though suddenly it hit him! If he could not find the answers he needed within the castle's walls, then he would go outside and find them. He'd settled on his decision and now the only obstacle he had to go through was getting the permission to leave.

Just as the Prince had finally resolved to leave his chamber, the door opened and his guard Nero entered with a bow. Aside from being annoyed by his entrance at all, Gen wasn't at all impressed by the dry tone of voice the knight was addressing him with. Gen closed his black eyes and his brow twitched in aggravation. "First of all Sir Nero, if you insist on checking in on me, please at least try and sound concerned next time," he commented. "And a scholar will be of no use to me at this time. I have decided however to go outside of the castle and into the village to speak with the sheriff. Have my horse prepared immediately," he ordered as he walked past the knight and disappeared down the hallway.

The Prince traveled the halls of the palace dutifully. He was going to leave this place whether his mother and the Archbishops wanted him to or not. The truth of matter was that the King had been murdered nearly a month ago and nothing had been done about it in that time. It was unforgivable. Having his servants gather his cloak, he pulled it around himself and headed outside towards the stables. The servants as they watched him go, called out to him in concern, only to be met with a look of disdain at which they immediately withdrew from the area.

Marching towards Nero and their horses, he quickly mounted and gave order. "We are going into the village and I am to meet with the Sheriff," he dictated and struck his horse who reared and took off at a run.

As the two rode towards the kingdom's court village, Gen listened idly to what his guard was trying to tell him. After a moment, however, he held up his hand to silence the other. "I know very well what the sheriff has all ready reported to me," snapped the Prince. "But I know as well as anyone that if the Cult truly is involved then no commoner or court member in their right mind would really do anything to go against them. I am no fool, I know they are dangerous and are controlling a lot of people from within the shadows of this Kingdom!"

The Prince spoke the truth, he knew all of that because his father had spent years trying to uncover and bring the Cult to its knees. Gen knew as well as anyone else that was smart that the Cult wouldn't think twice before getting rid of someone so troublesome. King or not. If only he knew the true reasons...