Chapter 8: The King

Munster District, Ulster, 767

Bloom hurried down the hall with Cowen and a dozen soldiers by his side. He had grown used to walking with a cane now.

"Your grace, I'm not sure we can trust this information," Cowen said. "We have no idea who leaked it to us."

"If it's true, he won't be able to hide it," Bloom said.

"You do realize, this would mean the…purging you ordered of Lesinter's nobility. It was-"

"It was necessary," Bloom said, with a firm and resolute tone. "Even if they weren't behind the assassination, they needed to learn I'm not to be taken lightly. And there's been no trouble there since, has there?"

"No," Cowen admitted. "Not yet."

Bloom threw open the doors in front of him. Inside, was a lavish apartment, not unlike his own. A man and a woman were on the carpeted floor, playing with a child. For a second, the scene seemed peaceful, then the guards swarmed in and lowered their lances. The man stood up and looked around. "B...Bloom. What is the meaning of this? You're scaring my daughter."

Bloom stepped forward and bored through King Conor's skull with his eyes. "I should be scaring you," he said.

"Wha…what do you mean?"

"Tell me, is it an act? Or are you really as gutless as you seem?"

"Please, let's talk about this somewhere-"

"Did you try to kill me!?"

Conor's shivering form suddenly slumped as his entire body took on a defeated expression. "How did you know?" he whispered.

"One of your friends betrayed you. I didn't think you had it in you. This only proves, I shouldn't place my trust in anyone from Munster. You invite me into your country, and then you try to murder me." Bloom took a second to calm himself. "Say goodbye to your wife and child, I'm going to execute you in the morning."

Munster District, Ulster, 768

Before he was killed, the last king of Ulster confessed that he'd been sheltering Prince Leif too, but the prince of Leinster had fled to parts unknown after the assassination attempt failed.

Things changed in Ulster after that. The locals, who had always been complacent, started to get nervous. Bloom started to show his authority more and more. It didn't matter how safe things seemed, if his most trusted allies could betray him, then anyone could. The only way to ensure his safety, and the safety of his family, was to ensure retribution would befall any who dared try and harm him. Ishtar and Ishtore were given personal bodyguards, Reinhardt and Liza, promising young commanders from Friege. For Tinny, he assigned three mages of lesser renown, but also from Friege. Those of the Friege household were the only people he even vaguely trusted now.

Fearing a revolt from one of the districts, particularly Connacht, which had sided with Thracia in the past, he rotated his officers in charge. A man called Gustav was placed in charge of Leinster, while Muhammad was moved to Connacht and Raydrik was moved to Munster. He also had King Crete executed too, leaving Conor's daughter, Miranda, as the only surviving heir of Munster's royal families, aside from the missing prince Leif, of course. Finding the boy became one of his top priorities. The fact that he and his retainers had successfully managed to hide in the same city as Bloom for years was a constant source of embarrassment. He almost caught them in the city of Frest, but someone tipped them off and they fled again. Frest was supposedly an independent city, outside of Grannvale's control, but Bloom changed that, executing the bishop in charge and enforcing martial law. He hoped that would send a firm message to any other city that dared to shelter Leif Faris Claus.

Alvis maintained contact with Bloom after Tailtyu's funeral. Although he didn't visit Bloom often, he regularly sent his children to Munster in order to maintain their friendship with Ishtore and Ishtar. Hilda also visited on a regular bases to see the children, Bloom allowed her that much. She spent most of her time in Miletos, doing what, Bloom had no idea, but he was glad of it. He didn't particularly want her returning to Friege at the risk of treating Ethnia the same way she'd treated Tailtyu.

Not long after her sixth birthday, the mark of Tordo appeared on Ishtar's body. Secretly, Bloom had been hoping Ishtor would carry on his Holy Blood, but such favouritism was immediately dismissed when he discovered that his daughter would carry on the line. Never before, had there been a child to manifest the mark at such a young age. Ishtar was immediately given a thunder tome and, as everyone expected, she was a natural when it came to magical talent. Ishtore couldn't help but be jealous, Bloom knew it and tried to accommodate him without underselling the significance of Ishtar. He also trained with his tomes and, while he wasn't as adept as Ishtar, he still proved to be a prodigy in his own right.

Just like Hilda predicted, he thought one day as he watched them train. She always got what she wanted. She always found a way. Now, it's my turn. Munster is mine, and I will not have it taken away from me, no matter how many assassins they send.