Time Skip, A Few Days Later.
The Royal City Of Leyndell.
The Elden Throne Room.
The royal throne room, where Queen Marika The Eternal performed the duties and responsibilities expected of a noble sovereign, was a massive antechamber with an open view of the entire capital city. Beautiful marble white columns, with images depicting various events during the creation of Marika's empire, held up the wooden ceiling connected to the sacred Erdtree. Servants professionally walked about the throne room, either cleaning certain sections or attending to the guests who came to make requests to the Goddess Of Order.
Queen Marika The Eternal was seated upon a wooden throne carved from the Erdtree and coloured a lovely shade of brass. The immortal sovereign of the Lands Between, whose throne was placed near the heart of the antechamber, held a displeased expression as the Captain of her royal guard kneeled before the Erdtree throne. The court nobles whispered amongst themselves, playing their usual game of politics. At the same time, the royal Captain gave his report on the ongoing investigation regarding the earthquake that happened a few days ago.
According to Leyndell's City Watch, the earthquake appeared around noon, causing minimal damage to several locations such as the local marketplaces, Grand Cathedral Of The Golden Order, the barracks for the city's garrison and a dozen pathways leading out of the capital. The Watch Captain confirmed none of the citizens were severely injured in the aftermath of the earthquake, peasants were already at work repairing the affected areas of Leyndell, and things should return to normal within the next couple of days.
Two days after the quake, Scouts were sent to the villages nearest to the capital to check on their condition and gather more info on the ground-shaking event, titled the Great Quake, by the peasant folk. The scouts reported the surrounding villages were relatively unharmed by the Great Quake, and the peasants told the visiting soldiers about how the rumbling had originated from the capital. The Captain of the royal guard had thanked the scouting parties for their handwork and even told them to take a few days off as a reward for their efforts.
Once suspicion of the Great Quake originating from beyond Leyndell's borders was ruled out as a possibility. The royal Captain recruited sorcerers who lived in Leyndell and Golden priests from the church of Queen Marika to search the capital for any signs of magic which could've caused the Great Quake. Unfortunately, after searching every inch of the capital for clues, the practitioners of both parties were adamant in regards to the Great Quake not being the result of either a magical or faith-based phenomenon.
So in summation, after having spent countless hours investigating the origin of the Great Quake, using considerable resources and manpower to attempt to understand the chaotic event. The followers of the Golden Order knew solely that the origin point which made the Erdtree tremble was somewhere within Leyndell.
The Goddess Of Order stared emotionlessly at the kneeling Captain. "Thank you, Captain Dragel Mar'kern," Queen Marika's tone was best described as cold after Dragel Mar'kern ended the report on the Great Quake investigation. "Your efforts regarding this unusual matter have aided in continuing the peace within the Lands Between." The royal Captain had done well eliminating most of the Lands Between as the possible origin point for the Great Quake. Now the Golden Order won't waste time scouring the entire kingdom for the source.
"Your words honour me, Your Majesty." Captain Dragel, whose head was entirely covered by a golden helmet crafted into the form of a bull skull, replied with a reverent tone. The surrounding Nobles watched the proceedings with calculating eyes as Queen Marika commanded the royal guard captain to rise and return to his duties within the palace. After Captain Dragel vanished from the throne room, Queen Marika gave her blessing to the nobles and other court attendants to give their opinions on the Great Quake.
A nobleman from the southeast lands of Caelid, scarlet robes decorated with black dragons taking flight covering his overweight form, was the first to step forward to address the Eternal Queen. "Your Majesty, fellow nobles of this hallowed court." He smiled charmingly towards those present within the throne room. "The phenomenon known as the Great Quake has shaken the hearts of many within our fair capital." The nobles muttered soft agreements as many were indeed unnerved by the earthquake, which made their homeland tremble.
"The peasantry even begins to question if the Great Quake was created by the Omen," the Caelid noblemen's gaze slowly swept the throne room as its inhabitants grew uneasy at the mere mention of the Omen. "They're even theorising the Omen living beneath the capital are plotting to unleash more Great Quakes until Leyndell is reduced to ruins."
"Utterly preposterous!" A Golden Archbishop from the Church of Queen Marika thundered furiously, stomping towards the Caelid noble. "Omen are bestial monstrosities devoid of humanity and therefore can't possibly be responsible for the Great Quake!" The elderly priest, wearing his order's golden and white robes, stood beside the Caelid nobleman, who never lost his charming smile. A predatory shine emanated from the overweight man's amethyst orbs, a common trait within the lands of Caelid, while the court reacted to the priest's words.
"Hm, please forgive me, Father Crespin," the scarlet-dressed noble conversed with the Archbishop whilst subtly watching Queen Marika for any changes in her aloof expression. "But, isn't the underground the sole place within the capital where none of our investigators has searched?" Voices of agreement are raised from the various nobles as they're starting to support the Caelidion's argument that the underworld, where the Omens lived, might hold the answers to the Great Quake's origins.
Father Crespin's face became an unhealthy shade of red as the Caelidion rapidly gained support from the noble families. "You're treading awfully close to the path of heresy Lord Zyrus Zazriel," the Archbishop warned while tightening his grasp upon the golden holy sceptre, the symbol of his high position within the church. However, an amused chuckle escaped Lord Zyrus's blue-painted lips; the Caelidion didn't see the old priest as a serious threat and held zero problems openly displaying it before the entire court.
"My dear priest, when has it ever been considered heresy to share thoughts or concerns with our Eternal Queen," Lord Zyrus smile morphed into a mockery as he continued to converse with Father Crespin. "If anything, I find your reluctance to investigate the sewers rather strange." The Caelidion noble stepped forward until he was inches from the Archbishop's face. The elderly priest shifted uncomfortably while other nobles in the court stared with suspicion since the church representative was unusually reluctant to allow an investigation team to be sent into the sewers.
"Why, it's almost as if you've something to hide in the sewers, Father Crespin." The whispers amongst the court grew louder while the Archbishop's furious face morphed to a lovely shade of purple. Lord Zyrus purred like the giant black cats which lived within the northern tip of Caelid's territory.
"That's an outrageous accusation, Lord Zyrus!" Venom flowed from Archbishop Crespin's voice like a waterfall. "The Golden Order nor its loyal servants within the Church of Queen Marika have anything to hide from the people!" The priest puffed up like a peacock whilst trying to run damage control over the accusation Lord Zyrus had just delivered in front of the court nobles.
"Now, I demand an apology for your disrespect towards the church, Lord Zyrus." Father Crespin demanded after having spent the last few minutes reassuring the court that the church held no secrets within the maze of tunnels which comprised Leyndell's sewer system.
However, before Lord Zyrus could respond to the church representative's demand, Queen Marika chose to step into the conversation. "That's quite enough, Archbishop Crespin," the throne room went silent as the Goddess of Order addressed the holy man. "After all, Lord Zyrus simply voiced the concerns of the people within the Lands Between and therefore shouldn't need to apologise." Father Crespin stuttered at the unforeseen support his opponent had just received from Queen Marika.
"My Queen, he's shown blatant disrespect towards the church and even dares suggest the Omens are capable enough to cause the Great Quake!" Crespin frantically said while pointing an accusing finger at the still smiling Zyrus. "Why, I won't be surprised if this Caelidion is secretly an Omen sympathiser!" The assembled nobles winced at the priest's comment since it was considered a serious crime to be an Omen sympathiser; the punishment was usually execution or eternal banishment into the Leyndell sewers to live with the Omen.
"Enough, Archbishop!" Queen Marika's tone became as hard as steel as she glared at the duo standing in the centre of the throne room. "Lord Zyrus is neither a heretic nor Omen sympathiser, and you'll drop the line of questioning immediately!" Some power of the Elden Ring must've slipped into her voice as the room slightly trembled; Archbishop Crespin paled when he realised how annoyed the Goddess of Order was after listening to his argument with the Caelid noblemen.
"My most sincere apologies, Your Grace," Crespin flinched as Zyrus stepped forward and bowed deeply, the sunlight flooding from the open view reflected from his bald head. "I only wanted to share the worries of the inhabitants of our homeland. I never desired to cause conflict amongst the court." Zyrus raised his head to the sounds of applause; the nobles were deeply moved by the Caelid Lord's apparent devotion to the Erdtree empire and his humbleness after Queen Marika showed her displeasure at the duo's argument.
"Bastard," seethed Archbishop Crespin as some nobles boldly declared Zyrus a perfect example of the Land Between's nobility. "Zyrus has caused me to be seen as an argumentative servant after submitting first to the Goddess's will, thus lowering my position within the eyes of the nobility." Crespin internally admitted the Caelidion Noble had executed a masterful political manoeuvre and had gained respect from both the higher and lower tiers of Leyndell's nobility. Plus, several acolytes he'd brought with him to the court seemed to approve of the southeastern Lord.
Shelving the ideas to greatly punish those priests, for now, Archbishop Crespin walked forwards to once again run damage control. "I must also give my apologies, Your Majesty," the elderly priest sincerely bowed his head for forgiveness. "I was merely concerned with how Lord Zyrus's ideas would be received among the faithful." The Golden Bishop won't be pleased once he receives word regarding how Lord Zyrus Zazriel was even suggesting Omens are smart enough to engineer an earthquake able to tremble the mighty Erdtree.
Queen Marika relaxed into the brass-coloured throne. "I accept both apologies." The tension within the throne room vanished as peace was restored to the royal court. "Now, let us resume discussions on the important matters of our hallowed court." The Goddess of Order's tone conveyed she'd not be taking no for an answer. However, Queen Marika took a moment to reassure her subjects that several Omenkillers were already hunting within the sewers. She'd personally ask if they've seen anything odd during their Omen hunts.
"Of course, Your Highness," Zyrus covered his mouth with a scarlet sleeve, hiding the triumphant smile that bloomed upon his blue lips. "We mortals of the Lands Between live only to serve the Goddess of Order." The throne room soon descended into the usual activities of the royal court, Nobles from far across the Lands Between requesting aid or revealing a dispute they wished for the Queen to resolve. Of course, various new laws needed to be debated before Queen Marika could give her approval to instate them.
However, amidst the orderly chaos, none witnessed Lord Zyrus exiting the throne room. The overweight Caelid learned all he desired from today's court session, so now Zyrus was returning to his guest quarters within the palace where he was planning to meet with an old friend.
Time Skip.
Erdtree Palace.
Lord Zyrus Zazriel's quarters.
"Archbishop Crespin is very upset with you, M'Lord."
"How unsurprising," Zyrus replied with a bored tone whilst sitting upon a relatively comfortable crimson chair. "I'm guessing he'd tried to convince a dozen nobles how dangerous I am to the empire?" The Caelidion glanced towards his oldest friend within the capital, a Demi-human maid named Mattia whose flesh was coloured dark chocolate and possessed amethyst eyes much like his own. The Demi-Human maid was seated on an emerald couch opposite Lord Zyrus with a cup of tea held within her dainty fingers.
"The noble visitors from Limgrave were the unfortunate victims of our dear Archbishop," Mattia revealed while drinking some of the expensive tea. "Some even appeared to consider jumping out the windows." A giggle escaped the maid's lips since nobles rarely paid attention to the servants within the royal palace, thus making it easier for the Demi-Human to spy upon them. She'd been delivering refreshments to the throne room when stumbling upon Archbishop Crespin's attempt to gather support from the Limgrave nobility.
"Um, perhaps I'll give them some Caelid chocolates as an apology." Outer gods knew how insufferable Archbishop Crespin could be when the faith was humiliated in front of Queen Marika. "Although I share their suffering of our dear priest, today's court session has provided the final piece of evidence I was searching for." Zyrus smiled with pleasure as his plans reached a grand milestone, primarily thanks to Mattia's willingness to assist him by spying on Leyndell's nobility and the influential players in the court.
Mattia took another sip of tea while her amethyst orbs wandered around the Caelid-styled guest room. "So you've finally found the Queen's secret?" The Demi-human maid turned her gaze back towards Zyrus. It was oddly amusing since her friend had spent the past nine years playing the dangerous political games of the Land Between's nobility in search of some mysterious answers that he won't reveal to Mattia. The bastard even encoded his journals, so she couldn't learn what he desired to find within Leyndell from them.
Zyrus must've known what Mattia was thinking because he heartily chuckled at his old friend. "More like I've confirmed what Queen Marika's secret is." From the depths of his scarlet robes, Zyrus pulled out an old letter with a seal Mattia recognised as the personal emblem of the royal servants. The Demi-Human maid uses such a seal to enter certain sections of the palace where not even guests or noblemen are allowed. Hell, with a servant seal, you could command merchants to give a sizeable discount.
"Here," Zyrus gently handed the letter to the Demi-Human maid. "This shall reveal what I've been seeking these past nine years." Mattia carefully took the letter; she knew how hard it was for Zyrus to trust others with his secrets and slowly opened it. The maid thoroughly read the letter's contents, and her jaw dropped in disbelief as the knowledge contained within this seemingly innocent piece of paper registered within her brain. Without thinking, she returned the old letter to her friend, who pocketed it back within the scarlet sleeve.
"Queen Marika gave birth to Omen children." Mattia softly whispered as the reality of the situation smashed into her skull like an enraged dragon.
Zyrus nodded while sipping more of his own tea. "Twins, to be exact." The Caelid Noblemen causally told the Demi-Human while watching flames dance within the guest room's fireplace. "Respectively named Mohg and Morgott before their mother threw them into the sewers of Leyndell."
Mattia slumped against the emerald couch. "This could ruin the Queen's reputation if word got out." The peasantry would undoubtedly be appalled to discover their Queen not only birthed Omen but was content with abandoning them to the darkness of the underground where the Omenkillers loved to visit during their Omen hunts.
The priesthood wouldn't be silent on the matter as they'll either call for the Omen twins' deaths or try convincing the Queen to allow an exception to the rules of allowing no Omen to freely wander the surface. So they could manipulate the Omen princes to further their own agenda.
"How'd you even get this letter?" Mattia questioned her friend after spending a few minutes in total silence.
Zyrus sighed while putting the teacup on a nearby table. "A Caelid midwife was present to assist with the twins' birth," he revealed as the fireplace illuminated the guest quarters with an ominous light. "And before wrongfully sentenced to live with the Omens in exile, she managed to write the letter and send it to my ancestral household." The crime she was convicted of was the sin of witnessing Marika giving birth to her Omen offspring, and according to the midwife, the church was involved in covering up the Queen's dirty little secret.
"I see," Mattia ran a hand across her raven hair while absorbing the information. "The Queen will have us dealt with should she or the church learn about the letter." The Eternal Queen might decide to send Radagon after them as there was little they could do against the Second Elden Lord.
"I've considered the possibility," Zyrus replied calmly as the tea within both cups went cold. "However, should my plans go smoothly, neither the Queen nor her husband can touch us." The demigods will also be forced to stay away from the odd duo, and Caelid will benefit the most from his schemes.
"Oh, and what are you scheming, Zyrus." Mattia's eyes narrowed with suspicion as her friend was dangerously clever and could talk his way out of various situations. The key example was how he'd somehow convinced her to be a maid for the royal family and, even more impressively, got the servant stuff to rapidly raise her through the ranks until she reached senior maid status.
Zyrus serenely smiled whilst giving the answer. "I'm planning on making Mohg and Morgott the twin kings of Caelid." If this was a cartoon, the tiny hamster within Mattia's brain would've stopped running on its wheel. The idea of Omen kings within Caelid was so surreal that the maid just couldn't picture such a reality, and the church would go ballistic should word reach the Golden Bishop about what Zyrus was plotting to do with Queen Marika's Omen children.
"Okay," Mattia slowly began as her brain rebooted to its previous save file. "And how are you going to accomplish this scheme?" The Demi-Human wasn't even going to say how insane this idea sounded. Besides, Mattia was confident that if anyone within the Lands Between could pull this madness off, it was Zyrus Zazriel.
"The first step is obviously locating Mohg and Morgott within the sewers," Zyrus folded his hands together as the sunlight started disappearing past the horizon. "Next, we'll expose Marika's secret to the public while escaping with the twins to Caelid." The scheming nobleman had several plans to secure their freedom from the capital and delay Radagon long enough for them to reach the border. After they'd crossed, an army of local bannermen would be waiting to escort them to Zyrus's ancestral home.
"After our successful escape Queen Marika will have two choices," Zyrus held up two fingers for emphasis. "Either she declares war on Caelid or accepts our proposal of making the twins legal rulers of the homeland." The Caelid Noble was sure Queen Marika would choose the latter as she'd need time to recover from the political fallout after the truth behind Mohg and Morgott's birth was revealed to the general populace. Plus, war was unattractive to the nobility at the moment, so they'd pressure the Goddess of Order to consider the deal.
"Hm, it just might work," Mattia mumbled. "I assume you've chosen our homeland because it's the least prejudiced against Omens?" Caelid was always known for its acceptance of Omens back before Queen Marika conquered the southeastern areas of the Lands Between. Hell, the former existing Caelid royal family had even married quite a few Omens into the royal bloodline so their offspring could inherit the Omen parents' inhuman physical capabilities, resistance to most diseases and far greater longevity.
Zyrus nodded. "Our culture will make the transaction period from vassal state to independent country much easier." Caelidions would accept Omen kings far better than the other provinces, and Zyrus knew they'd have the home field advantage should, for whatever insane reason, Marika decides to declare war on Caelid. Plus, potential allies existed among the inhabitants of the Academy of Raya Lucaria. The glintstone sorcerers never entirely accepted the dishonour visited upon their Queen when Radagon left to marry Queen Marika.
Mattia grunted while rising off the emerald couch. "I've gotta admit this is your greatest scheme to date," the Demi-Human smoothed her uniform and then proceeded to walk towards the exit. "However, please be careful. I don't want to mourn your death until we're old and grey." She exited the guest quarters; after checking, no one was around to see her departure, thus leaving Zyrus alone with nothing but a cup of cold tea for company.
"Never fear, old friend," the scheming Caelid Noble whispered as darkness covered the vast majority of his quarters. "I don't plan on dying until my goals are achieved." An icy, calculating grin stretched across Zyrus's blue lips as the gears of fate seemed to be turning towards his favour. Now he only needed to wait until the Omen demigods were located to begin the next phase of his nine-year ambitions for securing Caelid's independence from the Goddess of Order and those lunatic followers who comprised the Golden Order.
Maybe the Omen Twins would even know what actually caused the Great Quake.
Leyndell's Underground Sewer System.
The Abyssal Steps.
Giant Crab Nesting Ground.
Corpses. Hundreds of recently made crab corpses littered their nesting grounds with fresh blood flowing into the water from multiple stab wounds. At the centre of the nest was a figure bathed in shadow with a massive meat cleaver held tightly within their blood-soaked grip.
"Not…enough….never…enough." The figure stepped into the crystal-generated light revealing a helmet crafted into the image of a raven. Their voice was a mixture of insanity and delight, which caused the surviving crabs to scatter into the tunnels in order to escape the monster that murdered their kin.
"I…need…blood…Omen…blood." Random twitches assaulted the raven-masked individual's frame whilst they dragged the massive cleaver across the muddy ground.
"Omen…blood…Omen…Blood!" An inhuman shriek thundered behind the raven mask. Fuelled by madness and bloodlust, they ran into the tunnels murdering anything remotely alive while laughing insanely as the masked individual performed the work Queen Marika entrusted them.
An Omenkiller was roaming the Abyssal Steps.