Prologue

“Do not speak to me of strength! How do you have the gall to even present such a notion?! In this world, few can stand as an equal to me. Those of my bloodline should never be in question. The nerve!”

“My lord! The young master has shown a decline in his cultivation training; the boy’s on the path of a scholar! Not the path of a warrior!”

A group of several men had gathered around an expansive table. Those gathered were discussing the young nobility; each man here represented one of the five great Halls that made up the Imperial Military.

“As master of the empire, you cannot allow a weak successor to your throne!” exclaimed Hall Master Augustus. “He has never won a fight against one of his peers. As master of the Legion Hall, I can not promote a child with no desire to fight!” Many battle-worn hands pounded the lacquered table and harrumphing voices rose in agreement.

“Brothers! I've heard your concerns, lest you forget he is my son! He will no doubt become a force of his own in time.” The emperor paused as he considered his sons. Of all the offspring of the Emperor, two sons had stood out from birth; Titus and Kronos, who would one day be in competition for his hard-won throne. But, unlike the elder siblings of this generation, young Tiberius had shown equal potential to that of his brothers, though he squandered his training hours only to study texts. The child of the wife of his heart and the youngest heir of his Great Empire should have the potential power to surpass them all…

“Perhaps the young Tiberius should spend less time with his mother! He should only see her once a fortnight like the other children!” General Knox of the Specter Hall looked down his long nose at the other men at the table. “He sneaks away not to cultivate and hide his skill like some of his brothers, but to read and acquire useless information about old gods, the lost histories, and even forbidden techniques used by those mechanized devils.”

Julius of the Praetorians grunted and spoke up finally. “The boy just needs more training. Leave him to me, Tiberius, if he fails; I’ll crush him into the shape you want. Surely you think I can do at least that…”

“Come on now Jules, you have to be more subtle about these things.” Minos hissed from the shadows tapping a small dagger bearing the faint skull symbol of the Cloaked Hall while he waited to be dismissed.

“Well, that wasn’t terrifying at all.”The head of the Warden Hall, Ather, smiled derisively at his comrades. “The boy does need more training, but surely we can only spend so much time and energy on him before it becomes wasteful. I say if he hasn’t reached the beginning stages of apprentice within the next two moons, we reconvene and decide what to do with him then.”

Tiberius sighed but knew that his counselors were correct. His sons would have to fight for their places in this world and coddling them would serve no one. “Rather, if he fails to have a change of heart than there will be nothing we can do. If he hasn’t shown progress in his training by the time I enter secluded training after the next moon, he will be removed from the capital. We will not foster someone who can not hold their own.”

The hall masters all nodded and agreed with their emperor. All were pleased they had been heard out and the issue would be resolved eventually.

Master Ather stood before the other hall masters. “Now to important matters.” He swallowed hard as his relaxed expression became cold and tight. “Brothers, news of Helios has reached our men. He’s struck again, five more are dead...”