The Eye of Chaos (Council of Champions Book One) ✔️

Chapter One: Before the Beginning- Four Years Ago

The heat scorched their skin, and sweat could be seen carving moist curvatures down their faces. But all was ignored as their prince gave his speech, a declaration of war. With most of Fileatte here, standing bare to the sun's rays, the heat increased constantly.      

            Kei watched his brother give his brother and rolled his eyes at every dramatic pause. The more Bassel roared and cried out for war, the more the people seemed to shift on the ball of their feet. A clear sign growing impatient. It was not to hear his speech that they came, but to celebrate the superiority if their country.

Even from his balcony, the long for release was clear. The muscles around his lips twitched into a grin as a child in the crowd pulled his mother's dress. It stretched even wider as his eyes flickered over to the muttering nobles with their hands cringing and brows furrowed.

            "My people. Citizens. Loyal subjects of Fileatte, tomorrow we head to war," First Prince Bassel roared, punching the air above his head. He was firmly planted within the royal balcony, his purple cloak of royalty billowing in the wind. Little could actually be seen besides his brother's cloak and his upper torso. "Let us show those Dael they can't mess with Fileatte. They dishonor our King's legacy through war in time of sickness. We will show them never again to cross us. For we are the country of Fileatte, the land of Warriors. We will not only defeat Dael. We will not only win. But we will eliminate and destroy every last one of them," he finished with a war cry, his entire body seeming to spray pride and triumph.

            It was like Bassel though he had already one the war. But his audience seemed not to notice or they did and didn't care, as they followed his lead, throwing their fists up into the air in a triumphant cry. Clergymen, nobles and peasants stood up in unity, a perfect example of the grace instilled within Fileatte. Kei stumbled as they shouts shook the castle's thousand year old foundations.

            But the citizens put the residents to shame, making the loudest thunder seem like a simple footstep in a meadow. It was impossible to imagine the millions of people letting loose below, screaming for war.

He couldn't imagine that all of his people were war hawks, bloodthirsty beasts. Kei tapped his finger on the balcony's slip marble plating. For most of the people, it was their first time coming to Alphagete. The Fileatte capital city, also called the City of War. His home city and birthplace.

            Kei straightened and exited through the doors, shaking his head in astonished disappointment. Bassel had never been the smartest of the four siblings, but that speech had been a huge disappointment. A man who refused war was a coward, but one who only looked for war was an idiot.

            Kei passed a few of his royal cousins, watching them sprint around each other in a game of tag. They had no idea of the men about to die for the pleasures and wealth of their family. He hadn't either up until a year ago when his father had become ill and the royal laws of linage forced him to enter politics at a young age. Not that he actually participated.

            He rounded a corner that led him into a lightly lit hallway, filled with expensive decorations, paintings and a beautiful vase covered with jewels and priceless drawings of ancient battles. It was one of the few hallways that he tended to avoid because it was close to the castle's rooms where the formal meetings were held. The King and his advisors had picked that room precisely to meet to discuss the future of the kingdom. The last thing that he wanted was to spend an hour discussing politics with hypocrites and corrupted nobles.

            He snapped back to reality as a small body crashed into him. There was a flash of blew as the girl backtracked. Kei stared at the young girl's hair, startled by the outlandish color. And when he looked into her face, noticing her enticing pale yellow eyes become more surprised, his jaw slightly dropped.