The Shadow Tide

CHAPTER 3 - Whispers

The palace room known as the "secret chamber" was located at the top of one of the towers. As the name suggested, it was a place unknown to most residents palace staff, except for Brethen, the king and queen, the princess, and Fausto. And Arian, of course. After all, that was the room where the prince hid his deepest secrets.

Practitioners of Dark Magic were not well-regarded in Pratoria, even if one of these practitioners was the future king. There was a long history of conflict between wizards – practitioners of Dark Magic – and the monks – religious figures and practitioners of White Magic – which left a stain on the reputation of those who practiced the occult arts, even after those conflicts ended.

Arian learned to appreciate Dark Magic from his grandmother, the queen's mother, a lady Brethen briefly met when she first arrived at the palace. The woman was very old and ill, and she passed away a few months later, but she left a strong legacy in her grandson. Arian had been practicing Magic since he was fourteen, as his grandmother's apprentice. Brethen believed that if anyone dared to take the Magic away from the prince, he would crumble.

The secret chamber was a spacious room, with a high ceiling, raw stone walls, and narrow windows. The center of the space was dominated by a long counter covered with tubes, pots, books, and papers. In the corners, crammed bookshelves reached from floor to ceiling, along with cabinets full of glass jars with the most various contents.

Under one of the windows was a desk, and that's where Brethen found Arian.

Since they first met, Arian hadn't changed much. He had lost some of his childish features, his shoulders were a bit broader, and his hair was longer, enough to tie back when necessary. Other than that, he was still the same old prince.

Arian was hunched over a book, surrounded by dozens of others. His jacket hung on the back of the chair, his vest was unbuttoned, and the shirt sleeves were rolled up to the elbows. Some strands escaped from the ribbon he used to tie back his hair, and his round reading spectacles slipped down the prince's straight nose.

"I just finished the inspection with Fausto," Brethen said, closing the door. "We didn't find anything out of the ordinary."

Arian lifted his eyes from the book and turned to face Brethen.

"You still don't know how he got in?"

"We have some suspicions," Brethen approached him. "But it would take very careful planning to avoid all the guards, besides knowing the palace map very well."

"Do you think he had help from someone inside?"

"It's quite possible."

Brethen stopped behind Arian and leaned on the back of the chair to see the book on the table. She immediately identified the symbol of the Shadow Tide in one of the corners of the page.

"I thought your father told you not to get involved in this. "She said.

"Of course," he winked. "But I never said I would obey."

Brethen knew that very well. She would have been surprised if she didn't find the prince completely immersed in what someone asked him not to touch.

"Did you find anything interesting?" Brethen leaned over Arian's shoulder.

"Nothing that explains yesterday's invasion, but your theory about the raiders makes sense." Arian turned a few pages and pulled the book closer for Brethen to see. "The Shadow Tide was formed by various arms, so to speak, spread throughout the kingdom. Each arm had a certain independence and needed to find its own means of financing. Some of these arms had members from the nobility and wealthy merchants, who bore the costs of the organization, but other arms were not so lucky and had the habit of committing raids, like what happened in your village."