CHAPTER 11: THE HUNT BEGINS

"I am yet to be informed of your plans in this tournament, Sir Kael.” An old-looking but elegant man, wearing a golden tunic said as they walked on the carpeted floor through the dark halls of the castle. The chandeliers on the ceilings were out, and only the light from the windows at the end of the hall had shone the path. Large, old paintings hung on both walls, depicting the portraits of the previous kings of Crown Galacer.

Every king on the paintings belonged to the only bloodline who had ruled Glacia ever since the beginning; the Aragons. Kael believed that the Aragon family had the strongest bloodline among all royal families in this world. They had their own signature, a vessel of tremendous power, running through their veins, which Kael had yet to witness. And that’s something he was looking forward to in the future.

“Sir Kael,” the councilor called him again, as he seemed to notice the divine knight trailing off while walking. Two Grand Knights had been following them, as guards they were of the high councilor.

Kael cleared his throat. “Pardon me, councilor. What is it again?”

“I’m asking if you are truly certain about this … tournament,” the old man said, playing with his fingers, raising a brow at the divine knight. “And the reason of you asking me to be the one to hold it?”

Kael returned his gaze forward. "Simple, for you are more than fitting to administer the event, High Councilor Rowan,” he said, hiding his smile. This would be the perfect opportunity to catch those rebels … no … this councilor would be the perfect bait on his fishing hook.

"I suppose you are up to something again," Rowan said, narrowing his eyes. "I don't think you opening up a tournament out of nowhere will not result to anything."

"Have no fear, Rowan. My team and I will be there on guard as back-up to your Grand Knights.”

A few minutes later, Kael arrived in the team chamber, where he saw Tristan inside. The silver-haired young man was on his white coat, hands on his pockets while looking through the half-opened windows. He was the only one in the room, since Kael had ordered the other three members to wipe out the rest of the bandit hideouts near the capital.

The lit chandeliers, together with the blazing woods in the fireplace, had made the chamber warmer … but just too bright for Kael’s eyes. He unequipped his golden armor and helm, leaving him in his white, winter garment. He fixed his black hair backwards and then went beside Tristan. It was midday. The view of the Upper Ring down towards the Lower Ring could be seen clearly from their perspective. Kael gazed at the snow fall in the entire kingdom capital, filling up the white roofs of the buildings and houses.

Kael's eyes shifted to Tristan beside him, whose attention was still locked far away in the view. With the windows slightly opened, Tristan's silver hair flailed with the freezing wind. Looking at the boy made him recall how similar they’d been when he was just as young as Tristan before. He recalled growing up with his older brother from a humble village. But they both had to run away from home … to come to the capital and become knights. Their prodigious talents and hard work had paid off as they grew ranks.

Everything that time was more than fine for Kael. However, there was one thing which he had still been keeping from his brother; his envy. Lucas had always been one step ahead of him. He even became the Divine Knight while Kael stayed as a Grand Knight that time. But when King Letholdus had died from the battle against the Legion, all of a sudden his brother turned against the capital, turning himself into a traitor.

"Can I ask something?" Tristan spoke up while still gazing at the window.

"Yes," Kael replied.

"When I was young, my village told me stories about the frost dragons flying here in the capital. I want to know if the stories are true … and if they are, where are they now?"

Kael stared at him for a moment. He sighed and then looked up at the white, cloudy skies. "There was only one frost dragon that lived here, Tristan. But that was eighteen years ago."

Tristan did not respond. He just stared at Kael with his gray-colored eyes, showing a bit of curiosity.

“I never knew you had some interest in dragons,” Kael said, raising an eyebrow.

“My father was a dragon hunter,” Tristan answered, facing the windows now. “He left us a long time ago to pursue his stupid dreams. But he never came back …”

“Dreams?” Kael asked.

“Dragon conquests and all that stuff…” Tristan shrugged. A short silence came after that. Kael never knew that this boy had such terrible past.

"Is it dead?" Tristan spoke again.

“What?”

“The frost dragon.”

Kael pursed his lips and shook his head. "No one knows. They never found the dragon after the bloody war of the north against the demons. When the previous king died in battle, he might have sent the dragon far north to take the legendary sword away and protect it."

"The Frostcalibur?"

"Yes. It’s been how many years since the king have ordered our knights to search for the sword … or the dragon, but even now, they still haven’t found it," Kael replied. "But what’s worse … the Power Crystal is dead. It needs to be restored before the demons will come again. It's the only thing that protects the North from the Legion."

"Wait. Did you just say they will come back? I thought the north had already defeated them?"

Kael sighed. "I’m afraid, that was just the beginning, Tristan … the start of a greater war between humans and demons."

"But what if the Power Crystal’s still dead when they return?"

"Without the frost dragon ... the Frostcalibur... and most importantly, the Power Crystal, we can never stand a chance against the Legion. We might be strong, but they’re far stronger than we can ever imagine."

“So they really are that terrifying …" Tristan whispered.

The huge doors of the chamber opened. Kael and Tristan turned their heads and saw the rest of the members walking inside with their cloak uniform.

"It’s done, Sir Kael,” Dain reported, stretching out his arms. “The remaining bandits around the capital are all dead and cold.”

"Very well …" Kael replied. “Now that everyone’s here … On to the table.”

The team took their seats with Kael at the head of the table. They all looked at the Divine Knight, waiting for him to continue.

"There will be a tournament coming up in the Lower Ring of the capital, held in Morgad Arena. And this is where we will finally take our first step in catching the Forgotten Winter."

“A tournament?” Tristan said, furrowing his eyebrows. “But how certain are you that they’re gonna show up?"

Kael looked at the young man, his lips forming a grin. "We're using Councilor Rowan as our bait, since he will be the one to administer the competition.”

“Rowan? Why him?” Cedric asked with a serious look in his eyes, his arms crossed over his chest.

“Because, general,” Kael replied, “he is the next target of the guild."

"And what makes you so sure that they're gonna take it?"

"Among the four High Councilors of King Terrowin, only two are left. The other two were already killed by those rebel assassins. They are now targeting the rest of the two. And we're gonna offer them the bait. Starting today, we have already spread the announcement about the tournament throughout the whole country. I'm sure the information has already reached them, knowing how well Lucas sees and hears … from all his men in the capital working for him."

"So this is where the real fight begins, you mean to say?" Dain said as he punched his other palm.

"Yes,” Kael replied. “We can't just let them kill anyone anytime they want in our kingdom, and then hide in the shadows after. It's time we take the fight to them."

"Sir Kael," Tristan spoke. They all turned at him. "Am I allowed to join the tournament?"

"Hold it, young man,” Cedric said. “This is no time for playing. You have a job to do.”

"It’s alright, Cedric. As long as Tristan is present in the arena, entering the tournament won't make any difference in our plans," Kael met Tristan’s eyes, “And I believe he has his own reason of joining.”

Tristan nodded. "I will send all the prize money to my village after I win.”

“That’s a lot of confidence you have there,” Dain chuckled, elbowing Ryia beside him, “But I got my money on you. You’ll win the tournament for sure.” 

Cedric just shrugged and rolled his eyes.

Kael turned to the red-haired woman sitting beside Dain. "How was your search in the far east of the capital, Ryia?"

"We have a lead, Sir Kael,” Ryia replied. “My pet made a sudden stop in the entrance of White Forest. He tracked something strange as he got closer, but I had to stop because of your calling. No doubt, the guild is hiding in that forest."

"But that is the largest forest here in Glacia. It will take some time to find them there," Cedric said. "High-leveled beasts also live in that vast environment."

“I have my children, general," Ryia replied. "I will have both land and air covered on our search."

"And if its high-level beasts we're talking about, then that wouldn't be a problem to me," Tristan said, crossing his arms.

"We'll discuss further about this matter after we complete our mission in the tournament," Kael showed his right hand and then rolled it into a fist. "We might not need to find them after, because we'll definitely crush them the moment we spot them in the arena."