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DECAN LANCASTER

It took our host four weeks to march from Harkhall to the Capital.

I, along with Ser Castell, Patch, knights sworn to me, and a Lancaster flag-bearer rode at the front of the army with the lords and their courts riding behind. Behind them were the footsoldiers of each house lined in rows of four in the same order. Outside of the rows, drummers controlled the pace of the march.

The quickest way to the Capital was down the LaFleur Highway, which led straight to the city. If this were any other war, going down this path was a fool's decision. However, we could not afford to get there any other way.

There were three towns along the LaFleur Highway between Harkhall and the Capital.

By the end of our first week's march, we managed to make it all the way to Tarrin—which was the closest town to Harkhall. Our forces set up camp just outside of town while the lords spent the night in its various inns.

During the middle of the night, some of our men got drunk and began assaulting the townsfolk. Come by morning, all of the troublemakers were seized and left behind, leaving the Tarrinians to pass judgment however they saw fit.

We passed by no towns during our march on the second and third weeks except for a few settlements and farms here and there. Camp was set up just outside of forests and, except for a few instances where soldiers would yell out in their drunkenness, the nights went on peacefully as if a slumbering babe.

On the final day of the fourth week, we arrived at Rikaris—the second town—and set up camp just on the outskirts of its community. Even though we still had two hours before sunset, we agreed that since we would be arriving at the Capital the next day, it would be best if we got just a bit more rest.

The soldiers were more behaved tonight as opposed to our stay at Tarrin. Either because they were trying to get as much rest before tomorrow's inevitable confrontation or they knew I would hold no mercy against anyone who assaulted the townsfolk this time around.

My instincts told me that it was a mixture of both. No news of trouble arose when morning came.

We continued our march on the next day and, by midday, passed by Wesellia—the third village. From Wesellia, we were close enough to see plumes of smoke rising from the city.

By mid-afternoon, our host was on the outskirts of the Capital.

A lone messenger from Minerva rode to us carrying a banner of House Mobley's blue feather. "Good to see you, my lord."

"News of the battle?"

"We've made it into the entertainment district but there's been no progress on the siege since then. We were delighted when Lord Salazar arrived, but King Diablo had summoned for reinforcements and Lord Nelbrandt is trying to flank us. Lord Salazar had to take his forces to intercept them. Lord Minerva needs more help."

"Let him know that we've arrived and we'll be making them fight a battle on two fronts. We're going to attack from the Sludge Gate so make sure he is ready when my father's forces break formation."

"Yes, my lord," the messenger bowed before racing back to his liege.

My forces made their way to the Sludge Gate, crossing a bridge and quietly trekking on an ascending hill.

The Sludge Gate was the weakest part of the city's outer wall as the foundations it was built on were always sinking.

Unlike the other portcullises in the city that were made of cold-rolled steel, the one that guarded the Sludge Gate was made of copper. Copper was malleable, allowing it to change shape with the walls it was bound to.

It wasn't hard to tell that a good many men were keeping guard of this gate on the inside of the city walls. We would be walking into a slaughter if we decided to breach it now.

Our forces waited until the same Mobley messenger climbed to meet with me.

"My lord, Lord Minerva will advance to draw the city's soldiers to him. He will give a signal on when to begin your breach," the messenger relayed before taking his leave.

This was it. If we didn't succeed, everyone in this city would suffer from my father's ritual. We had to win. The king was a vengeful man. If we lost, he'd make sure everyone we cared about suffered.

I had accepted my mortality the moment I started this war but...

Even in death, I'll regret dragging her into this.

I asked Ser Castell and Patch to meet with me away from the others.

"You two are who I trust the most," I said. "I need you to do something very important for me."

"Lord Decan," Ser Castell retorted. "I have been your loyal guard ever since you were a boy. I swore an oath to your father to stay by your side and offer you protection. Even though you took up arms against him, I still intend to keep that promise. I will never forgive myself if something happens to you. I am a sworn knight. Only death shall relieve me of my anointment."

"Patch?"

The squire took a moment to think of his answer. "I will follow you to wherever."

"Many thanks, you two, for valuing my life over your own. However, there is one life I value over mine and if something happens to me, I trust the two of you to protect her."

"You want us to protect Lady Joy?"

"Ser Castell, Patch, you are the only ones other than Salazar and Minerva I can trust with this. Split up from us and lay low somewhere nearby pretending to be lowborn. If something happens, ride back to Harkhall and keep Joy safe. Take her and go into hiding. There is a tower in a nearby canyon that is hidden from all but the ones who know where to go."

Ser Castell nodded. "I served you as your personal guard as a boy. It was a delight watching you grow into a man."

"I relieve you of your duty, ser."

The knight swiftly turned and began walking back down the hill.

"Patch," I said. "You were a jestful companion that took care of my every need. I toyed with you a lot and I apologize, but there was never a dull moment when you were by my side. Goodbye."

I went to offer my hand but Patch hugged me instead. "Thank you for letting me serve you. But I hope you forgive me for not saying goodbye, my lord."

I chuckled. "I do."

Only when Patch disappeared down the hill, did I realize that my two most trusted followers were gone.

Stay safe, you two.

A ball of fire from within the city shot up to the sky, exploding into a thousand sparks.

"That's the signal." I unsheathed my sword, Thorn, holding it with my left while a soldier armed my right with a shield. "Begin the breaching and do not stop until the enemy has fallen back. I want no civilians harmed, not unless you want to know why they call me the Sword Devil."

Men raised ladders that reached atop the walls. I climbed the steps, holding my shield above my head when enemy forces began throwing down rocks.

The soldier climbing the ladder beside me let his shield hang to his side for just a moment. That moment was all it took for a rock to crash into his head.

He stood there, gripping onto the ladder's steps as blood squirted out of his head. Half his brain was gone as the other half must've stuck itself onto the rock that tumbled into the water below. His eyes rolled back before he lost his grip, dust stirring in the area where he landed.

"Shield your heads!" I ordered.

When I arrived at the top, my sword hand held onto the ladder. An enemy took this moment to bring up his sword and strike me. I used my shield to block and, using its edge, struck the soldier in the chest, knocking the wind out of him as he crashed against the opposite side of the battlement. I hopped over the parapet, parrying his attack as I kicked him over the walls.

A squad of my soldiers joined me atop the battlements. With the Sword Devil leading the breach, we easily made our way down the stairs, carving a path through the incoming enemy forces before raising the copper portcullis from the inside.

With my host successfully in the city and attacking from the East while Minerva and his forces put pressure from the South, the Capital would be ours before midnight.

By nightfall, we had taken control of the city, forcing the enemy to lock themselves inside the Iron Keep. I had my men keep watch of the central castle to make sure my father wasn't planning to attack under the cover of darkness.

The rest of us made our way to our allies, who were occupying the central square of the southern part of the city. The place was littered with Quates and Mobley colours and the banners sworn to their side.

"Salazar!" I grinned as I approached him. The brown hair he liked to keep short had grown long. His green eyes which I always thought were strange were a delight to see. "I take this as news that you have won against Lord Nelbrandt?"

"I drove them back for now, but they will sacrifice everything to get into the city tomorrow."

"Either way, everyone did a good job. Let's prepare the tents."

"There will be no need," Salazar pointed out. "Every home five blocks from here is empty. The citizens fled from us."

"We can't invade people's homes."

"We can and we need to. The eclipse is at noon tomorrow and our men need every bit of rest they can grab. They can't be wasting time putting up tents."

"Fine. But make sure—"

"That nothing is stolen. I know and have made it clear."

"Where's Minerva? I want to thank him for volunteering to be the frontline."

"Many lives were sacrificed to get us where we're at now."

"Don't tell me—"

Salazar stared at the ground. "It's what you're thinking of. I'm sorry."

I stood there for a moment, taking in the news. "Where is he?"

"We laid him to rest in one of the houses."

"I want to see him."

Salazar took me to a residence near a spurting fountain. Outside the master bedroom were men who wore the blue feather guarding a body wrapped in a Mobley banner. I pulled down the cloth just enough to see Minerva's resting face.

He looks as if he were only sleeping.

Just like Salazar and I, Minerva grew up as a ward under Lord Arryn. While Salazar and I arrived at the Arynn Temple at roughly the same time, Minerva had already called the castle his home five years prior. He had been an older brother to us before he was called back by his father.

And now our big brother lay lifeless in front of us.

"How did he die?"

Salazar kept quiet.

One of the Mobley guards answered, "He charged into the city to give you a chance to breach the Sludge Gate, my lord. Unfortunately, it worked too well. Every single enemy soldier came to attack us. He met his end when Isaac the Torcher blasted a hole through his chest."

"I never did like that man," Salazar said. "He calls himself a jynxist yet all he does is shoot flames. Because of jynxists like him, everyone in the realm thinks jynx can only bring forth destruction. I will drown his destructive fire."

"Did Minerva suffer?" I asked.

"No, my lord," the guard answered. "He died painlessly."

Salazar put a hand on my shoulder. "It was his choice to join our rebellion. He'd kill you if he ever found out that you were regretting his decision for him."

Can you at least mourn? I was about to scream at Salazar, but when I turned to face him, he seemed as if he was having a harder time trying to keep it together.

"Yeah, he made the decision to join us and now he is dead," I said.

"We've pushed all enemy soldiers into the Iron Keep and it looks as if none of them plan on leaving its walls. When this rebellion succeeds on the morrow, we will save the innocents of this realm. Minerva and everyone else who died will make their peace. The bards will sing of their sacrifice."

"But the dead won't hear their songs." I turned to Salazar. "Are you afraid for tomorrow?"

"Of course, I am. I'd be a fool if I wasn't. Your father is the strongest jynxist in the realm."

I poked my elbow into his gut. "We've got the runner-up right here."

"We've also got the Sword Devil. Your nickname alone inspires fear."

"It does," I chuckled. "But behind my back, people call me the Thornless Rose and that name has the opposite effect."

The Lancaster sigil was a lone rose growing atop a hill.

"Does it bother you when people call you that?"

"Not at all. I love that name—the Thornless Rose. While my enemies are focusing on the thorns I lack, it'll be far too late when they notice that they are being strangled by the roots they so carelessly dismissed."

Salazar cleared his throat. "Report has come back that only about three hundred people are hiding within the Iron Keep. Only around two hundred or so are fighters."

"I brought three thousand from the West. How many men do we have now?"

"Nine thousand strong. We'd have eleven, but two thousand of the Mobley men will ride back to High Hearth with Minerva's body tonight."

"What of his bannermen?"

"They'll be staying here under my command."

"And Lord Nelbrandt?"

"We fought two thousand of his soldiers in the field today. It was a trick to separate our forces and I fell for it. If you hadn't come, we would've been driven out of the city completely. His forces are fifteen thousand strong. Excluding the two thousand that were sent to their graves."

"That's that then. We've been given a troublesome hand but if we play our cards properly, we'll win this. Most of our forces must be on the battlements on the city walls keeping Lord Nelbrandt from getting in," I explained. "The two of us will take five hundred of our strongest fighters and storm the castle. Enemy soldiers will be of no problem with our elite warriors."

"Once we take over the Iron Keep, what happens when Lord Nelbrandt decides to head for Harkhall and hold Lady Joy captive?"

"We'll send out every pigeon we have to warn everyone back at Harkhall. They can't shoot all of them down."

"And we'll head there after them? Our nine thousand against their fifteen out in the field is suicide."

"Valentine Valois is back at Harkhall as my ward. I don't think her father would sit back and allow her daughter to receive threats. Lord Vargo has the strongest army of all the elves. Ten thousand if I remember correctly. And he has allies that would join his cause. We'll sweep them."

"Tomorrow, what do you plan on doing when you come face to face with your father?"

"He is my father. But if I have to, I'll do what I must."

"Fight him, weaken him. But if you must, let me deal the killing blow."

"I never had a good relationship with my father. Maybe in my next life, I won't have one either. But I started this rebellion. It has to be me who ends it."

"It's not that, Decan. A rebellion to overthrow your father is already staining your image and it'll be very difficult to wash out. What do you think will happen when news breaks out that you committed patricide? You won't be called Decan the Jynxless nor Decan the Sword Devil. Not even Decan the Thornless Rose. You'll be Decan the Kingslayer; Decan the Father-Murderer. The realm already hates you enough. Don't give them a reason to hate you even more."

"Fine, if it comes to that. But I've never seen my father do anything except sit his arse on that quartz chair. I doubt it'll be difficult to put him in irons."

"There's a reason why he's feared. Don't underestimate him or it'll be the last time you do. When you're fighting, do you think he'll see you as his son or just another man holding a sword that's trying to kill him? You put the citizens of this country over your own. I admire you for that. But once this rebellion is over, you'll be seen as scum. Soon enough the truth will reveal itself and you'll be regarded as a hero. But for that to happen, you mustn't take your father's life. The water is already muddy as it is."

"I'll heed your advice," I said. "Why must it be so hard to convince everyone of the truth? Of course, the anecdote my father spread of me wanting to seize the throne is easier to believe. But when taken into account all the evidence we have compiled, they have to know that we speak the truth and nothing but."

"It's just as you said. It's easier to believe. People would rather believe a comforting lie knowing it is so, than confronting an unpleasant truth."

"They'll thank us when we save the city."

"Save the city?" Salazar scoffed. "To them, we are pillagers killing the innocent, sacking homes, and slaughtering children. Aye, we're heroes saving the city. But to them, we are nothing more than monsters attacking it."

"Monsters? Take me to them."

Salazar led me behind a church where twenty men guarded a wagon with a barred cell. Behind the locked bars were forty Quates, Mobley, and Lancaster soldiers. One, which I could only assume to be the leader, was separated from the rest and chained to a tree.

"I take it that these are the pillagers you spoke of?"

"Our men are known to obey orders. It pains me that these criminals come from our ranks."

"That's their leader?" I asked rhetorically. "Take him to that stump over there."

The Quates guard obeyed my command.

"Take the rest out of their cells and hang them in the gallows."

"Mercy, m'lord! I didn't do anything! They forced me to!" one with a nose ring begged. "I only watched so the others won't be seen."

"I understand" I turned to the guards. "He only watched. Hang him last so he can watch the others die."

I approached the leader, who had his torso pressed on the stump and his head sticking out from the edge.

He met my gaze. "I wanted to help you and Lord Salazar save the city. I wanted to serve you when you have won."

"You wanted to save the city? Tell me how sacking and murdering the city is saving it?"

"The lives we took were against you. They called you names, they prayed for your defeat, and they hated you."

"Of course they do. When kings clash the whole land trembles and the commoners are the ones who feel the full fury of its wrath. You have my thanks for trying to keep the people from tarnishing my name, but it has now rusted beyond recognition like silverware thrown into the sea. There's nothing saving you now."

"I don't want to be saved. If this is how you treat your loyal subjects, then you'll be alone till the end of your days. Kill me and be done with it, Decan. You're no lord of mine!"

I brought up Thorn and, with one swing, the leader was headless. A few minutes later, a guard came to report that the others were hung dead.

"Bury them" Salazar ordered.

I shook my head. "These monsters don't deserve to be buried. Throw them outside the city walls. The animals have to eat as well."