Aturs, Year of Severus, 15, I.R., the 75th day of Fall, Arenfall

It was a peculiar sight to behold seeing Lord Prestonheim as dumbfounded and confused as he was today. With his tenure as a military commander and with the recent experiences he had, he thought that not one person could get him flustered—except someone did. 

What was supposed to be just a routine visit at the docks turned into chaos when the watcher shouted a boat approaching the dock with, the Imperatur's banners on the sail. The old Commander quickly went to the top of the lighthouse and checked it for himself. 

After identifying the banner to be that of the Imperatur's, he immediately commanded some of his men to look for the best bridge they had for the Imperatur to walk across while the rest of them waited for him to officially dock on the isle. 

Lord Prestonheim fumbled inside the lighthouse to look for a clean banner and pole to present while welcoming the Imperatur. After finding what he needed, he called his men and commanded them to do their standard line formation while they waited for the ship to finally dock.

The silver-haired commander still couldn't believe that they got a surprise visit from the Imperatur and was worried what he would say or do if he saw the condition of the lighthouse. Since, he took over the place from the Bieroffs, he still hasn't fixed the crumbling walls of the fort. 

He hadn't had the time to get things fixed especially because he was so focused with defending the Isle and his godson. He did the best that he could to fix what they could fix but there was still a huge portion of the lighthouse that could get him in trouble for neglecting repairs.

At that point, he knew it couldn't be helped. With everything that's going on, he could only rely on the Imperatur's benevolence. The ship was now nearing the docks. The massive transport looked like it contained more than two hundred soldiers. Surprisingly, it didn't come with an escort which had always been the protocol when the Imperatur travels. Either way, Lord Prestonheim led his men to the formation and waited for the ship to dock.

A few moments later, the ship finally dropped its anchor signaling its stoppage. Not long after, the door finally opened revealing the visitor or at this case, visitors. The knights lifted the heavy bridge and tried to connect it with the ship's door, but one of the men aboard was too eager for dry land. Just before they could connect the bridge, a young man donned in gold Principalian armor and cape jumped from the door. He landed on his knee at the drier part of the port and unfortunately broke some wooden floors along the way. 

"Fair Greetings, Commander Prestonheim!" The man rose up. "I am here for my brother." He grinned.

"Fair Greetings, Prince Veritus! If it isn't a surprise!" Lord Prestonheim exclaimed. "I will call him right away, but first please come inside the wind's too strong out here." 

"There?" The prince raised his eyebrow. "Pardon my…hesistance, but I think I would rather set up a small tent right here, rather than going inside that…dilapidated…tower."

Lord Prestonheim could feel from the tone of the prince's voice how he wasn't pleased with his place of reception. He could've insisted him inside, but Veritus was far different from his older brother. Unlike Arterius, this younger one lived in privilege and did whatever he wanted as long as he kept in his father's good side. He experienced quite a different life, showered with praises and slathered with gifts from the Imperatur. 

"As you wish, Prince Arterius." He begrudgingly bowed. "My men will take—"

"There is no need for that. I brought my own!" He puckered his lips and whistled. 

A huge line of beastmen came descending from the ship. Lord Prestonheim took note of their kind, it wasn't the same as the beastman they had. These people were a foot shorter than that of their beastman. They have wolf like ears and had tattoo patterns on their faces that made them looked feral. They also had sharper teeth and judging from their body physique, they looked more agile. Their skin was fair, and their hair had either a shade of blue or grey. 

"Where did they come from?" He looked at the strange beastmen unloading the prince's things from the ship. 

"Far North." The Prince smiled. "At the land of ice mountains. It was hard to find these invaders! I had to convince my father that the campaign would be a fruitful one. Of course, it didn't took long for me to get his approval!" The prince bragged.

Lord Prestonheim nodded as he tried to fake his reaction, "And you made him proud by capturing the tribe! Amazing!" He lied once again.

"Tribe? What tribe?" Prince Veritus guffawed. "I took their entire continent, take a look again!" He pointed at the bridge.

Descending from the bridge were beastmen of different variety lined up and chained. There was a huge smile on the prince's face. Lord Prestonheim could see in his eyes a lack of empathy and care towards the poor captives. He saw how the prince and his men brutalized their prisoners. Some of the beastmen limped or dragged their foot, while others had welts and bruises on their faces. There were even some whose ears, were either flayed or cut. 

Lord Prestonheim had to look away as he caught a glance at a poor rabbit girl dragged by the neck in chains. Her eyes called out for help, but there was only so much that he was able to do. He should not trifle with the affairs of the state. This also include the harboring of prisoners to be used as slaves in the different parts of the Principalia. 

"D-do you really have to chain them on their necks, arms and feet?" He asked as he struggled to get over such outlandish deed. 

"I deemed it necessary." Prince Veritus answered. "It's not that they could take my knights head on. I just want to instill some fear into them, a sense of hopelessness letting them know how wrong they did in raiding us!" 

"I think you just did," Lord Prestonheim looked in horror as his own knights' eyes glimmered at the words of the prince. 

"Well, Lord Commander Prestonheim, I didn't come here just to deliver these slaves." The prince sighed. "I would've been up to the Southern border by now if it weren't for two things. One, I needed to see my brother. And please don't ask me what is it that I want with him. You know exactly what it is. I need him to come home and I would like to make him an offer." Prince Veritus smiled, but his eyes were soulless and lackluster.

"And what of the second one?" 

"Glad you asked!" Prince Veritus clapped his hands signaling someone to show up. 

A hooded figure suddenly appeared in front of Lord Prestonheim that it startled him for a moment. 

"I never knew you'll get startled by such magic!" The hooded figured said. "Must've been your age or something!" The man said in a whimsical yet deep voice.

"M-Maceus…is that you?" Lord Prestonheim squinted his eyes to get a better look at the hooded figure.

The man took off his hood and revealed himself to him, "Yes, godfather. It is I! And I came here to do my own investigation."

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I would like to dedicate this chapter to BlueCold. Thank you so much for your comment and review! I appreciate those things so much because it helps me improve the way I write and how I approach my story.

Ad Astra et Ultra!

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Want to have a page dedicated to you? Or cameo as a character in this novel? See the JULY PROMOTIONS at the AUX Chapter!