Chapter 1: Under The Moonlit Sky
Raelis had always enjoyed the glint of moonlight. It reminded him of his mother’s hair, the only memory he still clung to without bitterness.
The imperial courtyard was cold and still, marble tiles reflecting the scattered glow of overhead lanterns. Moonlight broke through in shards, barely visible past the encroaching circle of armored figures.
Yet, when he looked up, he barely caught a glimpse of the moon as the ring of swordsmen surrounding him blocked most of it from view, their blades pointed at his throat.
"Raelis Varekan," one of the swordsmen muttered. "You’ve been accused of treason. Do you have a defense?"
He couldn’t retaliate. He couldn’t even utter a word for that matter. His brothers and sisters made sure of that by petrifying his vocal cords.
Of course I do, Raelis thought with a sigh, glancing at the swordsman. But I can’t really tell you my side of the story now, can I?
"Your gaze tells me you don’t," the swordsman added. "I guess that is to be expected from someone whose bloodline is at 0% purity. How you don’t have even a single percent is beyond me."
As his words faded, all the swordsmen burst out into laughter, their swords inching ever so closer to Raelis’s skin, slightly cutting into it.
Blood was drawn, trickling down his neck and dyeing his previously white jacket red.
Raelis couldn’t care less. This wasn’t the first time he was mistreated, but it looked like it would be the last.
His grandfather, Emperor Kaelith, was standing in front of him.
Dozens of nobles lined the courtyard’s perimeter, clad in ceremonial robes, their murmurs silenced by the emperor’s presence. The scent of burning incense drifted faintly through the night air, clashing with the tension that thickened by the second.