If there was one thing that Lord Garvis liked to have, it was power. True, he only held sway over one province of South Crowthen, but for now it was enough. After his father had mysteriously died on a hunting trip that Garvis himself also took a part in, he was crowned the new Lord. Many of the people he ruled over doubted his innocence. It made little difference to Garvis now; he was now rid of his weak-willed father, and he himself was a rune lord to boot. He had merely to wait for an opportunity to further advance his power in the hierarchy of Rofehaven, and soon he would be able to challenge the Lord of South Crowthen himself! Now, if only he could muster an army large enough-

"Sir Garvis?" One of the guards standing outside the door had the audacity to enter Lord Andros Garvis' quarter's without knocking.

"That is NOT how you address your ruler!"

"I'm sorry…my lord."

"Well, why do you intrude?" Even though the new lord had only one endowment of Voice to his name, it still allowed his shouting to reverberate through the room and out into the hallway with extra intensity and clarity.

"Well, my lord, the wizard Emus requests an audience with you and the Chancellor."

The young lord gave a sneer at the mention of the wizard's name. Of all the blasted people that Andros had to deal with, he was the worst. Emus and his father had been friends for many years, and he shared the same weak willed, peaceful attitude that Andros loathed. He was also the most skeptical about the death of the previous Garvis, and had been the most inquisitive with the current Lord Garvis. If anyone knew what had really happened to Andros' father, it would be that blasted wizard. In his head, the new lord made a mental note to take the wizard's life as soon as possible.

The guard had noticed his new lord turn his back at the response given him, muttering and fuming quietly to himself. Silently the guard wished that, somehow, the true Lord Garvis had never died, to be replaced by this selfish, greedy son. Of course, he was a runelord, and no one would question his authority, much less challenge his place as a ruler. Many of the subjects had the courage to fight him, but none of them had the powers of being rune lords themselves, and to attempt to fight Lord Andros Garvis in combat would mean certain death. So the peasants and merchants decided, for now, to wait out the lord's rule. Silently, they all hoped that something like what happened to the lord's father would happen to him also.

The guard spoke up again, "Sir?"

"WHAT NOW?" Echoes could be heard in the seconds of silence that followed.

Opening his eyes, the now terrified guard asked, "Will you meet with Emus?"

"Tell him to meet me in the throne room soon."

"Yes, my lord." The guard turned and walked out the door of Lord Garvis' chambers. Hopefully, the soldier though, whatever the wizard had to say to the new lord was bad news.

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In case anyone's wondering, I WILL be writing more of this story. For now, I'm hoping to get some input, to see if the story's any good so far.