The Ocean Siege | Vol.2, The Eldenarian Artifacts ✓

epilogue.

Thorian stood in his dark chambers, wincing with every movement he made. The battle he had just been in hours before plagued his aging body with agonizing soreness and minor injuries. His medics had done their best to help him recover but there wasn't much they could do for the pain.

So, for the time being, he would have to endure. Though, it was nothing he hadn't experienced before.

Knowing he had secured yet another Eldenarian artifact helped him take his mind off the pain.

A wicked smile stretched across his ghoulish face, his lips stretched into a curved line. His eyes stared at the wooden table before him, boring imaginary holes into the dark grain. Three items laid on the velvet cloth, colored light pulsating from the gems built into each one.

The artifact farthest to the left was the Illumio, the ring which belonged to the House of Moreau. It's golden light emanated from the yellow gemstone placed on top of the white band. Thorian's own ring, the Obscurio, which happened to be the twin of the Illumio, throbbed with its own black light, as it was reacting to the immense amount of magical energy around itself.

The Illumio had been collected a few weeks prior when Makaela joined his ranks. It took her a while to acclimatize to her new surroundings but she was getting there. The young magician was even beginning to showcase her loyalty to her new master. In fact, after the short siege on Aegidor, he was confident that he could trust her with his own life. She fought for him until the end and that was all he could ever ask of her—from any of his subjects, rather.

On the table, beside the white and gold ring, was a silver broadsword with a jade-encrusted hilt. An emerald gem was built into the center of the handle, the initials of all the previous owners carved into the verdant stone.

The blade's most recent owner was Achilles Washington, the deceased leader of the House of Brynhildr. After Thorian killed the man in his home, the hidden town of Hodvekt, the blade was his for the taking.

Along with the silver armored glove resting on the dark tapestry stretched across the table, those were the artifacts currently in his possession.

Now that Sirus was dead and gone, his gauntlet in Thorian's position, the Order of the Black Lotus was closer to their ultimate goal than ever before.

Soon magicians will return to our rightful place as leaders of the world. Ordinaires will bow before us and treat us like the gods we are.

Gazing upon the table, he mulled over the remaining items he needed to collect.

There was the Spear of Fire, the object in the custody of the House of Kasai. However, the spear was at the bottom of his list. Since the members of that house were already allied with him, he was sure they would relinquish their artifact without any question.

If not, he would rip it from Karuma Kasai's cold, dead hands himself.

After the spear, there was the wooden flute of the House of Vayu—which had recently been dubbed as the ''lost house''. Since its leader, Madame Alizeh, vanished a decade before, nothing has been heard from them.

But Thorian was determined to find them. They would be the final key that would allow him to accomplish what needed to be done.

Lastly, there was the pendant. It belonged to Naidini. The woman was in charge of the House of Al Kabbar, the group of magicians talented in woodland and shifting magic. The pendant was said to give the wearing ultimate control over nature and the ability to shapeshift into any animal at any time.

Thorian nodded.

He decided he would go after that one first. A number of his forces were already in Vashara, Al Kabbar's headquarters. They had been battling for a few days now in attempts to wrench the seat of power from Naidini.

Thorian's spy and loyal follower, Nuri Alnasi, was planning to commence a coup to become the new leader of the house. But it was taking longer than anticipated and Thorian didn't have any more time to waste. The Eldai would surely be notified about his actions soon and the war that he had seen in his dreams would be upon them.

If he was going to get that pendant, he was going to retrieve it himself.

Thorian turned on his heel, his black robes fluttering behind him like an unstable shadow. He left his room and began walking down the hallway that led down to the lower levels of the palace.

His eyes darkened as he traveled down the stairs. Torches flickered on the wall, dousing the polished stone bricks with muted light from the waving flames. The man's figure was swallowed by the darkness of the corridor as he delved deeper within it. He steadily approached the door at the end of the hallway.

It was time for a meeting.