Thursday, November 30th, 2045
Griffin Society, Griffin City, Netheria
On a cold and misty morning in Griffin City, a young man stood on the lawn, vacantly staring at the winter roses that had bloomed beautifully.
He has just settled one of his debts, avenging someone who had been taken away from him, but he still felt a little lost.
"Young Master, the new Master of the Rovic Family is selling their businesses and is planning on moving out of the country with the children and the women."
One of his Shadow Guards informed him and patiently waited for the young man to speak.
"Where are they planning on settling?"
"Britain."
"Inform the people we have there to take care of them from the shadows, and not let anyone take advantage of their weakness." Samrath closed his eyes and spoke. "As for the remaining men in their family, no need to deal with them. Everyone responsible for Samantha's death has already died."
"Yes, Young Master." The old Shadow Guard smiled at the young man's decision and appreciatively nodded his head.
"Any news on the Wislaw?"
"Wislaw have isolated themselves." The old man spoke. "There is no concrete news, but rumours say that they are not even welcoming their close friends into their territory. They abandoned the Rovic, and they are not even pursuing the matter of their Young Masters' deaths."
"What do you think has happened?"
"I believe that they have lost most of their strength. The Grand Elders and Elders are gone. And their Head is gone as well."
"Killed."
"Yes. And undoubtedly by Lord Erebus."
"I see."
"Aunt Vidya, what do you think of him?" Samrath narrowed his eyes and asked.
A person walked onto the lawn after hearing his question, wearing the same clothes as his other Shadow Guards.
"It's hard to get a read on him, Young Samrath." The aged woman lightly spoke. "He's the most powerful person in this world if we don't include Lady Nyx in the equation. And yet he does not carry himself with an arrogance that most with that much power would succumb under. He has a big family, and everyone around him seems to hold love and respect for him. It speaks a lot about a man."
Samrath nodded to her words.
"Continue."
"He is an existence that no one should make an enemy of. It's not because of the power he holds, but because of the person he is." She solemnly said. "If we look deep into his success over the last few years in the business world, we would find it littered with the fall of his enemies and rivals. The death of the Falken of Sameran is evidence of it. No one survived, except for children and some elderly. They all died under mysterious circumstances, and the Family has been scattered beyond any hope of coming together and rising again." She meaningfully spoke. "It's strange isn't it that even the oldest Ancient Families of our world, ours included, hold him in high regard. We never held any other Mortal God in such high regard, so why him?"
"Because unlike them, he does not isolate himself or actively try to take advantage of you." Samrath frowned and spoke. "And people..."
"People feel compelled to him." Vidya smiled as she spoke the words Samrath had not finished. "He's deadly charming, and he is ridiculously talented to add to it. If the rumours are true, he killed Nergal with his own hands, and how old is he again? 23."
"He's an ally that everyone wants." The young man understood what she was trying to say. "That's how he presents himself."
"Maybe." She shook her head. "Or maybe he does not even try." She added. "In either case, he's an extremely dangerous person."
"But is he Just?" Samrath asked, and Vidya could not find words to answer him for a few minutes.
"It's hard to say, Young Master. Outwardly, he appears to be a man who shows restraint and does not give in to his evil. He is not shy of taking responsibility, like in our case where he admitted that he killed the Young Masters of the Wislaw Family, and then asked you to not worry about them, even when he was not obliged to take responsibility. And he kept his word." She frowned. "As vicious as he is, he is still capable of sparing the children and innocents amongst his enemies. A remarkable trait."
"The Monarch's Justice." Samrath smiled.
"Yes. He can be just if he sees that there is room for it." The old lady nodded her head. "Is there something on your mind, Young Samrath?"
"I don't know why, Aunt Vidya, but recently, I have had this bad feeling gripping my heart as if someone's been keeping an eye on me and finding my plight amusing." He sighed.
"And you believe it is Lord Erebus?"
"I don't know." He shook his head. "But I am inclined to believe that it is just my mind playing games on me."
"It is possible. You have not slept well in the last few weeks, and you have been restless about that girl Sunaina." Vidya nodded.
"Young Master, the Ozell have refused to entertain you at their home."
A Shadow Guard arrived behind them and informed him, and Samrath clenched his fist.
"They are testing my patience now." He felt his rage bubble up, but a hand on his shoulder calmed him down.
"Young Samrath, it is time you take a more active approach." She advised, and he immediately nodded his head.
"Do you have anything in mind?" He asked, and the three guards behind him thought over a solution.
"The Ozell are going to participate in the Ancient Trials that are going to be held in the Magic City." The man who had come with the news spoke again. "The reward is two Aura Stones, and many Ancient Families in Netheria are tempted."
A hint of brilliance flashed in Samrath's eyes at the mention of Aura Stones. They were something he needed to access the mysterious treasure that now lived inside him. It would undoubtedly help him gain more knowledge about Medicine and improve his strength as well.
But then he calmed down when he realised that these Ancient Trials were only meant for the Families in Netheria, and he alone stood no chance of winning it as an outsider.
Samrath thought things over for a while and then made up his mind.
"Send Ozell a letter and tell them that I will be fighting them for Sunaina's hand in the Ancient Trials. We will settle our dispute in the old and sacred way."
"Yes, Young Master." The Shadow guard listened to his command and left to execute it.
"They are not obliged to agree." Vidya lightly said.
"They will if they have any pride. And by the looks of the things, they have plenty." He smiled. "Gather all the information you can on these Ancient Trials."
"Yes."
The two Shadow Guards acknowledged his command and then got to work.
It did not take long for them to gather the necessary information, and at the dinner table, they informed him about everything they had managed to gather.
"The Mourntale of Magic City, the maiden family of Lord Erebus' first wife." Samrath was surprised when he learned about the situation that the Mourntale were in and a little more when he learned that the one behind the Ancient Trials was none other than Lady Hecate, Lord Erebus' second wife. "So the Trials are being held on an agenda."
"Yes." Vidya nodded her head. "However, it does not concern us or the Ancient Families outside the Magic City, therefore a lot of them are keen on participating in it for the prize or to settle their own disputes."
"I think we should talk to Lord Erebus first." An old man spoke. "If he allows you to participate in it, then it will also guarantee some security in the trial. The Ozell would also feel pressured to accept your challenge on the day."
"You are right." Samrath agreed to his words and nodded his head. "We will go see him in the morning." He decided, and then hopefully finished his meal and went to his room to finally take some good rest.
However, as soon as he fell asleep, the nightmares came haunting him again.
He could hear and feel the pain of his beloved Sunaina, who was begging him to save her, and then there was his late beloved Samantha, who kept shedding tears and looking at him with accusing eyes.
Samrath woke up gasping for breath in the middle of the night. He did not know why, but all of a sudden, he had a hunch that he had failed to avenge his beloved. That her killer still lived, and that justice had not been served.
"Old Bali!"
"Young Master." A voice answered him after a few seconds as the door to his room opened.
"Investigate everything that happened on the night Samantha was killed. Everything!"
The old man hesitated to answer since a lot of time had passed since the incident, and he did not know what exactly his Young Master wanted him to investigate. However, he still nodded his head.
"I will try my best, Young Master." He promised.
