Fenris turned towards the newest member of their group and said, “I, Eldric, and the Lady of Shadows cannot make our existence known in the kingdom. Our identities are secrets that, if revealed, would cause immense unrest within the kingdom. Such disclosure could lead to unnecessary panic, possibly inciting internal conflict. That chaos would only serve to provide an opportunity for our adversaries, the Durcaliams, to strike. Both Lucious and the Lord of Thunder are under scrutiny, and their actions may arouse the suspicion of our enemies. Therefore, they cannot undertake the task of locating the wizard.”
The gaze with which Fenris was looking at Alex softened slightly as he acknowledged the burden he was placing on the newcomer. “As a newcomer, you are unknown to our enemies and free from our burdens. In this instance, we can only rely on you. It’s time for you to contribute to our cause. Your mission is to find this newborn wizard.”
To better understand the situation, one must first understand Fenris’s past.
Before founding the Vigil of Destiny, Fenris was a member of ‘Arcana Aegis,’ a group of wizards that had served the royal family since the foundation of the kingdom. He ascended to the role of head of the Arcana Aegis when the kingdom changed hands for the fifth time, subsequently becoming the closest confidant of the sixth ruler.
King Valerius had decreed before his departure to the Other Side that the throne should be passed down to the most worthy person in the kingdom. As strength mattered the most in this world, the strongest individual was deemed most worthy, thus, if the ruler of the kingdom was deemed incompetent and someone else in the kingdom was considerably stronger, they had the right to contend for the throne.
A battle would be fought between the ruler and the contender. If the contender won, the king will lose his crown and his royal family would lose its royal status, becoming mere nobles, while the contender would ascend the throne with their immediate relatives being bestowed royal status.
This rule was never changed in honor of Valerius, the founder and the first king of the kingdom. This was the way of royal succession in the kingdom.
However, this tradition wasn’t followed when the sixth king was crowned the king. The throne was handed over to him by the will of his predecessor, who was his brother and the fifth king. The fifth king had written in his will that if anything were to happen to him, the throne would go to his brother. One day, the fifth king fell into a coma from which no wizard could wake him up. Consequently, the throne was passed on to his brother, who was far weaker and more brutish and incompetent than his brother. At that time, the royal family got greedy. They wanted to keep themselves in power so they supported this decision and suppressed any opposition. Thus, the sixth king’s position was stabilized.
Wanting to revel in unprecedented glory and prove to his people that they were right to make him their king, the sixth king, named Agnar, sought to establish relations with the barbarians of the West, something not even his ancestors or the previous rulers of the kingdom had succeeded in doing. These barbarians resided in the Grunwald Plains, which was located beyond the Verdant Deepwood Forest. The negotiations were progressing smoothly until King Agnar, in a vile act of indiscretion, forced himself upon their saintess. The news spread like wildfire, and the outraged barbarians retaliated, leading to a brutal war. 𝒩𝞸𝐕𝔩xt.𝔠𝒪𝔪
The war resulted in heavy casualties on both sides, but the kingdom wasn’t hit as hard as the barbarians. The barbarians were struck down as soon as they crossed the forest, failing to breach the kingdom’s first line of defense, the Northern Frontier.
During the barbarian war, Fenris demonstrated his exceptional abilities. He held back the onslaught of the enraged barbarians single-handedly, his efforts sparing countless lives on both sides. His heroism amidst the chaos transformed him into a legendary figure in the eyes of the people. He hadn’t wished to fight for an incompetent king, but he couldn’t stand aside while his people suffered. With every barbarian he repelled, his support among the masses grew.
However, the increasing adoration for Fenris stirred fear in the heart of the king. He was afraid that Fenris, backed by his widespread support, would usurp the throne. In his desperation, the king plotted Fenris’s assassination. Fenris barely survived the ordeal, and in order to protect himself, he made everyone believe that he had died. But he made sure that the true perpetrator behind the attempt on his life was revealed.
With Fenris believed to be dead, the king lost his closest confidant. His brother lay in a comatose state, unable to assist him, and the people’s hero was seemingly slain by the king’s own hand. This sparked a revolt among the people, and the throne was challenged.
Victoria, a woman of the same family as the king, who was more competent and stronger than him, challenged him to a ‘Duel of Ascendancy’. Victoria wasn’t the strongest figure in the divine capital, but she was backed by several powerful figures and families, including the royal family.
The king was unaware of how she had garnered such support, and worst of all, he lost the duel. In the end, the king was stripped of his position. Victoria ascended to the throne, and the era of the Kingdom of Victoria began.
Fenris watched all this unfold from the shadows. After all, he knew too many dirty secrets of the royal family. He was aware that if the royals knew he was alive, they would go to great lengths to get rid of him. That’s why he chose to remain hidden, observing everything from behind the scenes. But that’s not all he did. He founded the Vigil of Destiny with the goals of surviving the destined calamities and breaking free from the kingdom.
Lady of Shadows and Eldric were in the same shoes as him. They were wanted by the royal family!
The newcomer, though he had not yet experienced the trials and tribulations of the others, steeled himself as he accepted the task, “I will do my best.”
“May destiny help guide you to your goal,” Fenris said.
“All shall be as it’s destined,” the other members of the Vigil of Destiny chanted in unison.
With that, the meeting in the Destiny Coven came to an end.