azazele

Miniarc-Villains-31

Samuel waited until all the rebels were accounted for and subdued, stripped of their weapons and forced to lie face first on the ground. Then he approached the group comprised of Kern and the other six acolytes leading the work crew, including Robert. They were trying to keep their voices down as they conversed but their emotions, and their volu...

Miniarc-Villains-30

Despite spending hours in the ruins the day before, Samuel wasn’t used to the assault on his senses that came with the grisly work; each putrid scent caused his stomach to turn, and the most pitiful corpses squeezed his heart. The dull roar of hundreds of people working toward a single goal was worse than a mob of insects buzzing about his ear...

Miniarc-Villains-29

“He’s not a rebel?”

When Samuel returned to the camp the following morning, the first thing he did was find Sir Frost to check in on their captive. It wasn’t that the prince doubted the Hall’s ability to interrogate someone. He doubted their ability to act unhindered. He also trusted his knights far more.

Not that he wanted...

Miniarc-Villains-28

Samuel didn’t expect the people of Quest to trust him. That was why his growing legend was so surprising. He also couldn’t find fault with them for disdaining the Hall, as it was natural for those without to hate those that had.

However, calling him the enemy was excessive. The man’s whole demeanor felt exaggerated. The more Samuel w...

Miniarc-Villains-27

Samuel wasn’t thrilled to be working within the ruins of the city, but he was anxious to be doing something. He wasn’t opposed to lying about so long as he was lazing in comfort, preferably on a plush chair with a tray of fruits, cheese, and wine within arm’s reach. Standing around with his figurative thumb up his ass while o...

Miniarc-Villains-26

Alyssa wasn’t happy being woken.

She was less happy about being woken by the whims of a stubborn prince. Samuel never saw her, but he wouldn’t be surprised if half the camp heard her shouted, “Let the fucker do whatever he wants!” Lane exited the tent with lightly flushed cheeks and asked for a moment to arrange a few things before...

Miniarc-Villains-25

Samuel was familiar with the use of patsies. It was standard practice for anyone in power to operate through them, poor men and women who jumped at the chance to wield a portion of a noble’s influence, unaware that they were lambs being led to slaughter. Commoners didn’t have a high opinion of nobles, but revolts were incredibly rare. Beside...

Miniarc-Villains-24

“They’re talking about you, you know.”

Once more, Samuel was seated in the dining room of the Gold Dorm with Cecilia. It’d been days since he’d last invited her out. He hadn’t been entirely sure that it was appropriate, given their last conversation, but there were few people he trusted enough to confide in.

The reason he...

Miniarc-Villains-23

Given the miracle he performed, Orum’s exit was anticlimatic, the elf walking away from the men with slow, lumbering steps after a short farewell. He passed the returning soldier sent to play messenger, the veteran sharply stepping aside to let the foreigner pass with the same deference he paid his superiors. Samuel noted that he carried sever...

Miniarc-Villains-22

True to his word, Orum returned quickly. Not so quickly that Samuel wasn’t annoyed at being made to wait but far faster than he expected, given that the elf had needed to find a water source as well as bring it back.

Another surprise was the two large barrels on his shoulders. One of the burdens was enough to require a wagon and a beast ...

Miniarc-Villains-21

He reached into his pants, pulling out a handful of seeds. Then he waved for the men to approach, who did so with varying degrees of reluctance, Ewan making sure the prince stayed a step behind him.

“This is the seed of a leafy green,” the elf explained. “Little taste, but sturdy, grows fast, and is full of nutrition.”

“How...

Miniarc-Villains-20

When Yulianna asked to bring someone to dinner, Samuel expected an acolyte she had befriended during her time as a volunteer. Perhaps a refugee that had pleaded with her to use her influence so that they could speak to someone with authority.

The last thing he expected was an elf.

Despite it having been over a year since Kierra Atain...

Miniarc-Villains-19

Samuel liked to think that he could be intimidating when he chose. It was an important skill, as he implied threats were his best weapon. It was also the only use he had for his father’s physique, though even he thought it sad that the best thing he could do with the blood of generals was to tower over delicate beauties.

Unfortunately, Y...

Miniarc-Villains-18

The “reserved field” was located beside the camp’s supplies. Given the distance from Alyssa’s tent, he imagined that the area was originally the edge of the camp, as far away from the unpleasantness at the front of the camp as possible. However, the constant expansion of the camp meant that it was now surrounded, though there was enough ...

Miniarc-Villains-17

The camp looked different at night. It felt different.

In the frank light of day, the refugees were pitiful things. They seemed paralyzed by their circumstances, living statues that commemorated their tragic lives. But in the darkness, all that made them sad was shrouded in shadow.

He could make out the faces of those that s...

Miniarc-Villains-16

“Are you done avoiding me?”

Samuel’s luck avoiding Cecilia didn’t extend into Saintsday. A few hours into his shift, he took a break in the waiting area he found before, taking advantage of its emptiness. It didn’t remain so for long. Scant minutes after he’d started relaxing, the noblewoman rounded the wall of crates. Samuel f...

Miniarc-Villains-15

The silence continued for a week.

Samuel told himself that he needed time to think of the heavy conversation he shared with Cecilia, which wasn’t quite a lie. Even with days of turning her revelations over, the prince struggled to relate to her struggles. He could understand if she said wasn’t attracted to him or that she wanted someth...

Miniarc-Villains-14

Samuel tried to convince himself that the source of his tension was riding through the ruined city, but it was a hard illusion to maintain. Despite earlier events, it was a peaceful night. The presence of a royal knight on the driver’s bench made it difficult to cultivate a sense of danger.

He had to face reality; the source of his tensi...

Miniarc-Villains-13

Samuel wasn’t surprised to find the camp in one piece after exiting the tent. The ominous clouds of smoke had dissipated and there was nothing of note in the distance. A crowd of acolytes surrounded the tent, but none of the stern faces seemed worried. Every subtle sign said that the danger, if it existed in the first place, had passed.

...

Miniarc-Villains-12

Although Samuel never got the chance to speak with Cecilia during the day, she accepted his invitation for a late dinner. The conversation was lively, as they both had new experiences to convey. With some dismay, Samuel realized that the noblewoman’s interest in helping others wasn’t waning. It didn’t bode well for his intentions to spend ...

Miniarc-Villains-11

Samuel’s hopes of finding a job he wouldn’t find entirely offensive were quickly dashed. The man he randomly accosted, Abott, was in charge of the hospital. He had the final word in its operation and he decided that Samuel would be best utilized doing work just as demeaning as slaving over a hot fire.

The prince was placed with the lau...

Miniarc-Villains-10

As his guide assured him, one tent stood out from the rest, only in size rather than luxury. Its position was also prominent, the center of the better organized area of the camp.

It wasn’t an officer’s tent, of which Samuel had intimate knowledge of having been dragged along with his brother to immerse themselves in Dowager’s fascina...

Miniarc-Villains-09

Samuel had no experience with tragedy.

The woes of the world couldn’t penetrate the walls of the palace. Seated at the table where he took his lessons as a boy, misfortune was an academic thing, a concept that his tutors had picked apart. Samuel would never be king, but he was given a king’s education. A ruler had to stand above it all...

Miniarc-Villains-08

Samuel wasn’t the only one ready to get on with his life.

When he arrived, he was struck by the little traffic through the Market but the Caster Hall was as busy as ever. The new term was fast approaching and there was plenty to do. While the staff finalized their curriculums, the acolytes had to confirm their placements in their preferr...

Miniarc-Villains-07

Samuel slept fitfully that night, his dreams plagued by vague memories of his childhood interspersed with scenes of his younger sister pulling apart rag dolls’ confusing and concerning. Dinner with Cecilia was delightful and illuminating, but it left him with a lingering dread for the future, one that seeped into his thoughts no matter his des...

Miniarc-Villains-06

A half-bell was a short time to wash away weeks of travel.

Samuel regretted his haste as he briskly wiped dirt from his hands and face before changing into fresh clothes. His hair took the longest, as he brushed it till it gleamed. It was his best feature but it was also a trait unique to the royal family. It represented them; he couldn’...

Miniarc-Villains-05

Despite leaving the danger of the broken city behind, Samuel was a ball of tension as his procession rode through the hall. The shutters covering the window of the carriage were wide open so his eyes could scan the surroundings for any sign that the conflict had spread to the school. Reality defied his fears, but it did nothing to dispel the lin...

Miniarc-Villains-04

Samuel was no fool.

He also wasn’t as nonchalant about the proposed danger of an angry Lourianne Tome targeting him as he wanted to appear.

He knew the strength of a royal knight well. As a boy, when swordplay and simple magic excited him to no end, he used to follow Dowager to watch their training. That included bouts between the ...

Miniarc-Villains-03

Four days later, Samuel stood a few paces from the convoy of wagons, sweating profusely. He had rejected Ewan’s offer of training but found himself practicing on his own. There was little else to do besides watch the clouds and that got boring very quickly. The soldiers that weren’t watching the perimeter amused themselves with cards and boa...

Miniarc-Villains-02

There were two ways to become a knight, the most common method of joining a knight order or receiving the title for the crown. Any higher noble, those above the middling rank of viscount, could establish an order. The nobles funded the order, providing equipment and training for its members. In return, the knights served the family; sometimes, t...