TKATP: A Coronation of Blood

Chapter I: Benedict

The towering white spires of the Navitium Palace dominated everyday life in Navitium. The Twelve Towers seemed to scrape the very dome of the sky with Uwiryel's Tower standing the tallest, a gold statue of the angel Uwriyel standing triumphant at the top, his greatsword high in the air in one hand. It shadowed over Benedict as he glided through the canals of Navitium on his royal gondola. The strong smell of Sersalvonian coated in spices waded through the air and danced their way into his nose as he breathed them in. The residents of Navitium waved to their prince as he passed them both on the footpaths and in the canals. Many a prayer and blessing he heard, but Benedict would only give a small smile and wave back. They only really recognized him because of his gondola. After all, he was only the third son.

They made their way down to Sanct Nicoláus's Square, in Classical Navitium, the section of the city which was first raised in the ancient days by the Aetherwielders of old, where the Navitium Palace was located. There lay the markets of Navitium; places where merchants from Nyove and Soyove Royne to Evrúopa and the shores of West Corphegia and riches flowed down the River Serpentine which wound its way through the Crown Island of Sersalvon, Sanct Seraselv.

The smell of spices, herbs, and Sersalvonian warm dishes permeated the air and filled Benedict's nose. The sound of music; maracas, guitarras, bomba drums, and singing. Men and women calling out their products in a dozen different tongues. Fruits, vegetables, sugar, spices, rice, and more.

"Your Highness," called his guard, Gabriel delle Ariellus, a knight of the Angelic Guard. The Knight of Fortitude. "We have arrived." He was clad in Aes Sídhe armor etched with the angelic rune of Mikkael, the Angel of Fortitude.

Benedict nodded and exited the gondola, where he was greeted by the familiar sight of the Exotic Market. Merchants from across the world selling their items of value to the highborn citizens and wealthy traders of Navitium. Benedict strained his eyes as he looked for a particular vendor...

There! It was in the same place, as usual, it was Olin's vendor, a Nyove merchant who oft traveled to Evrúopa and to the Caraíbes Isles. Benedict made his way over to the vending stand, the crowd parting for him in the face of the Knight of Fortitude. Unlike the common folk, they paid him little mind.

Olin was grinning as he saw Benedict approaching his stand. "Your Highness!" he exclaimed, offering his hand out in the standard Nyove greeting. Benedict accepted his hand and shook it. "As always, it is the greatest honor for your sight to fall upon me."

Benedict smiled. "No need for the flattery, Olin. You know what I came for."

In a mock pout, Olin conceded. "Fair enough, Your Highness. Shall it be the books first or the news?"

"News."

Olin nodded, but his smile seemed to slightly dim. "Yes, yes. News, of course. I know my prince loves talk of war, and so war I shall give you..." Olin spoke of some Nyove city-states fighting for control of a river which emptied into the Gulf of Nahatual which was valuable to trade flowing from Soyove and the Caraíbes Isles. He spoke of a succession crisis in some Soyove kingdom that threatened to spill into the Old Colonies. But his tone darkened as he got to Evrúopa. "There are strange tidings from Evrúopa, my prince. And stranger from the wild clans of the Alfvúr Faorise."

Benedict was skeptical. "There are always strange tidings from the Alfvúr Faorise," he said. "The forest is imbued with the Aether from the days of the Aes Sídhe."

Olin paused for a moment. "Perhaps you are correct, my prince. But still, they say that the trees have begun to glow once more."

Benedict smiled, not unkindly. "They've been saying that since the Banishment."