"Revenge is a vicious circle."
"A wheel that goes round and round and round."
"A wheel of pain and suffering that never stops unless you forgive."
"But revenge must have its limits."
"For a man who is willing to do anything to get his revenge is hollow."
"He loses his righteousness bathing in the blood of innocents."
"Making what was once justice nothing more than another atrocity."
Viscount Aleric Kale brother to Karstan Kale and Lord of Raebershire.
….
Viscount Symon Springmore was sitting scared of his own shadow in his castle solar, his shaking hand pouring himself another bourbon that he quickly downed, his every movement and expression mirroring the fear he felt in his heart.
He had called every man he could to the castle, including many of his vassals, having nearly 1500 men garrisoning his castle when they combined their forces.
It was not a number he could upkeep or feed forever, but it would at least allow him to live just a little bit longer.
House Springmore was not a particularly powerful house, but neither were they weak. Most barons had between 100 and 500 men to call upon, and vice counts usually had between 500 and 2000 men to call upon any more than that, and that noble house was among the most powerful of their ranks and any less and that house was one of the weakest and likely to soon fall.
This usually only happens if a noble family is given a particularly rich land or is under a particularly poor and tyrannical lord.
In other words, Symon ruled over a house that could only be called average for the holdings they owned.
It had been days since Lord Springmore had last been sober.
In his crippling fear, he turned to bottle in a vain attempt to forget about his problems and of the lion he had unknowingly provoked, but no matter how much he drank, the fear never dissipated; it only numbed slightly.
Every night, he had nightmares of ending up like his good friend Karstan Kale, hanging with his family from his own gatehouse like a common criminal.
Unlike the Kales, who were close to getting a grandmaster, the Springmores only had two master fighters, but Symon already knew that it was not enough after the terrible fate that befell his friend.
It was why he had called his banners and every man he could to his castle because he was sure, well, he hoped, that if Karstan had all his men guarding his castle, then not even a grandmaster could kill him.
He hoped that over 1000 men and two master fighters might just be enough to protect him from the mysterious grandmaster who wanted Symon's head.
Despite it being a relatively futile hope.
Unlike the other members of the lower nobility, he only became more fearful when he heard about the reasons for Karstan's death, sure he was next on the phantom killer's list.
While those who were not involved in the attack on Quinten Amberguard quickly went back to business as usual, there were five landed nobles who did not.
Five men who could not go back to normal no matter how much they wanted to and how much they regretted their plotting and scheming.
Because each felt the shadow of death stalking them, just waiting to strike as they were not innocent.
And their enemy had already proven himself to be merciless.
'Why the fuck did that small company have to have a grandmaster behind them!'
Symon thought in more fear than anger, but the anger was still there as he shakily poured himself another bourbon, emptying the large glass bottle that was on his table, which was the second one he had gone through today.
Everyone knew not to fuck around with grandmasters or those protected by them because you could never predict how a confrontation between grandmasters would go.
Hell, even kings and emperors had to plan around them if they wanted to arrest and eradicate a noble house.
In the great Chavarian purge that occurred shortly after Prince Victarion and Lucius Aurellion's death, the Chavarain Emperor had to call his brother and his army to the capital to make sure that no one could escape using all the imperial family's grandmasters and power to quash any dissent or rebellion from the nobles who were lined up to face the executioner's block.
And some noble houses, due to the backing of 1 or multiple grandmasters, were not touched.
Such was a grandmaster's status and devastating power.
Existences that each kingdom meticulously keeps track of to ensure the stability of their realms.
Yet now, for a few tens of thousands of gold coins, he had offended one of these illustrious and powerful figures that could kill him with a flick of their finger.
Something he should not have ever done.
And it had taught him a lesson he would never forget for the rest of his life, no matter how short that life may be.
Never judge a book by its cover.
Otherwise, he would not find himself in this situation.
It was then that Lysander, his trusty old butler, ran into his solar with a look of relief plastered on his face as Symon was not the only one who lived in fear, but all his subordinates did, too.
Because it was well known that Viscount Karstan Kale's family were not the only ones who were killed that fateful night.
All their guards and servants perished, too.
"My lord! 3000 men of the royal guard under their Commander Thaddeus Varlian are requesting entry to the castle. Apparently, they carry orders from his majesty!"
Lysander said, his grey eyes showing his feeling of relief.
Symon was stunned for a second before his mind, once locked in a spiral of despair and fear, seemed to suddenly see the light.
'Thaddeus Varlian? The commander of the Nathian Royal Guard? Yes, this is exactly what I need.'
Symon thought happily, for Thaddeus was the strongest known grandmaster in the Kingdom of Nathia and fiercely loyal to the royal family.
"Let them in! Let in our valued guest."
Symon almost shouted because of how relieved he felt; for the first time in 2 months, he finally felt safe.
'A grandmaster!'
'With a grandmaster around, I will finally be safe.'
Symon continued to muse, stuck in his own mental delusions. He never seemed to question once why the royal guards were there in the first place and was just happy that they were because no matter how skilled this mysterious grandmaster was, he would never be able to Thaddeus and the 3000 royal guards that he commanded.
If he was in the right frame of mind and not viciously afraid of a phantom killer, then he may have asked these vital questions because royal guards in these numbers only left the capital to do one of two things.
Fight a war.
Or arrest a landed noble.
Not even royal messengers carrying decrees across the realm were protected by so many men.
And because there were no wars to be fought at the moment, it meant the royal guards were there for one reason and one reason only.
To arrest Symon for a crime he committed.
The door banged open as Thaddeus entered the room. His 6 foot 5 giant bulk struggled to fit through the door of the solar as his purple-gold armour shined in the torchlight.
The trusted royal guard commander had arms like tree trunks and a large bastard sword drawn in one hand with two golden-plated coiling dragonheads creating the hilt.
The man's bright sky-blue eyes subconsciously scanned the room for any threats to a potential protectee, an action he does by instinct more than choice after spending over half his 55-year-long life protecting the royal family, having joined the royal guards at 16 years old.
He sneered at the landed noble, who was shocked by the colossal half-lion's audacity.
"You- How Dare y-"
Symon began; however, before he could protest further, the huge man took a scroll out of a silk pouch tied to his abnormally large belt with an animalistic growl, silencing the Viscount.
"By order of the king, you, Viscount Symon Springmore, are under arrest."
Thaddeus said in a cold tone as three royal guards began to walk over and frogmarch him out the door.
Elsewhere, the other five nobles involved in attacking Railius were getting similar visits by the royal guards, each being arrested for one reason or another and taken to the capital for judgment.
Whether it was for the illegal selling of people into slavery, tax evasion or even murder, all of them were found guilty of various crimes, losing their lands but little else as the second prince's faction protected them, allowing them to keep their heads and noble status which otherwise would have been lost too.
It was a victory for the second prince, if only a small one, as it was still nothing compared to losing 6 landed nobles that supported him as well as the money they gained through Amos Hostod and his company as the deal with Amos died when the six nobles lost their power.
From a cynical view, despite the horror of losing four members of their family, House Kale, who still had their title intact, was lucky, though if their lord could be proven to have done things wrong like the rest of his associates, then he too may have lost his lands and titles.
After all, it was only when there was little other choice and because a message needed to be sent that Karstan and his family actually died to Leon.
Well, that and because the grandmaster of loyalty needed an outlet, and Karstan Kale just happened to fit the bill perfectly.
….
Aleric Kale was considered a relatively normal descendant of a noble family by most indicators, anyway.
As the second-born son, he did not stand to inherit much of his family's estate and so decided to join the army and protect the kingdom, something which is not out of the norm for second sons to do, especially ones that come from a more military-based background.
Where Aleric differed from most, though, was that he always demanded that he get promoted by his own merits, starting up from the lowest of recruits to get to the position of captain he was now.
It was something that he had achieved for himself.
Something that was not tied to his family's position or influence.
He also did not get on well with his brother Karstan, as he was a greedy, slimy git who would sooner or later get what was coming to him.
What Aleric could never have imagined was just how soon he would go to meet his maker, added to the fact it seemed that instead of a single ticket, Karstan had ordered a one-way family ticket to the underworld, taking with him his wife and two young children.
"This has got to be some kind of fucking joke!"
Aleric shouted angrily at the pale-faced, shaking messenger who had clearly been traumatised or feared his new lord's anger. Choosing to stay silent to avoid retribution, even if it was not in Aleric's nature to punish a messenger for bringing bad news.
Yes, new lord because that was what he was now.
He was no longer just a captain of the Nathian Army but a lord.
He was the new head of House Kale and a Viscount to boot.
While he and his brother may not see eye to eye and Aleric would not mourn for the scheming sod, his niece and nephew were another matter entirely.
They were sweet children innocent of their father's sins and yet had died for them all the same.
Every year, if he could, Aleric would visit them for their birthdays or at the new year, doting and spoiling them with gifts and tales of past battles.
At 26 years of age, Aleric was a master fighter, showing his talent for close combat and his noble upbringing, which gave him a leg up over the more common-born recruits who usually end up finding their way into Ranier Lantier's army.
He also massively disagreed with his brother for supporting the second prince over the crown prince.
The crown prince was upright, loyal and wanted what was best for the country, while the second prince cared more for his own greed and personal power, wishing to gain the throne he thought should be his by any means necessary.
Maybe he was slightly biased due to being tutored by Ranier Lantier and serving in his army, but from Aleric's perspective, there was only one prince his brother should have supported.
The crown prince, not the scheming second prince who, didn't know when to stop.
And now his brother, niece and nephew had paid the price for it.
Just one of many casualties in this foolish political war, which will do nothing except cause a civil war as soon as the decrepit old king finally croaks.
He would soon have to leave to manage his inheritance, though he still needed to decide whether he wanted to stay in the army or do something else, as while many landed, nobles preferred to rule over their fiefs instead of joining the military with their men, there are still a few lord's who leave a castellan back in their lands and lead a portion of their territories men to join the army at one of the kingdoms three fortresses.
It was actually a good way for a noble to increase their military power as there was a good chance that some of their brothers-in-arms would be more loyal to their general than to the crown, allowing them to effectively increase their power on the crown's dime.
Just look at Ranier Lantier. He is actually the Grand Duke of Bundo, one of the two grand dukes in the kingdom who can raise around 100,000 men alongside his vassals. If you combine that with the men at Nartook Fortress, he will have an army of 180,000 elite soldiers under his command, giving him the most military power in the kingdom.
It was also the reason that the moment that Ranier Lantier publicly sided with Prnce Kodjis, the young prince became the crown prince so easily.
Aleric felt conflicted as he clenched his fists to control the fluctuating emotions that were raging inside him, but for now, there was only one thing on his mind.
And it had nothing to do with political fights as the new Viscount Kale had no interest in them or the power and influence they offered.
No, he had one goal.
Quinten Amberguard.
And he wanted answers from.
But most of all, the answer to one question in particular.
Why?
Why did the children have to die?
He understood why his brother had to die.
But not the children.
Never the innocent children.
Why did they have to join their father in the grave?
For this, he would give up his commission and his place in the army.
He would not join the battle for the throne, as the rest of the kingdom should not have to pay the price for his selfishness.
He would use all of House Kale's resources.
Every single shred of influence his family had to find out why this Quinten Amberguard committed the atrocity he did and if he found the reason lacking.
He would avenge his family and not for his asshole of a brother who deserved it.
But for that brother's children, who were loved so dearly by their uncle.