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3.

Kingdom Burning Down

As the first orange stripes of dawn were appearing on the sky by early morning, Severus of Ulidia stepped out onto the balcony of the throne hall of the fortress of Blackdown Stronghold, deeply breathing in the cool morning air.

A light mist covered the green meadows of the valley while the first sunrays grazed over the tops of the hills all around. Songbirds were singing the melodies of dawn, flying between the trees or sitting on the dew kissed branches.

It could have been an peaceful picture of a ordinary morning, if it had not been for the soldiers who were carrying the bodies of the guards of Quinn out of the castle, throwing them onto a carriage that was standing in the courtyard.

Also, on second sight, the valley of Black Hollow was not as tranquil and untroubled as it seemed, and Severus relished in the view that the valley offered to him.

Columns of thick, black smoke were rising from the small villages around the hill the fortress was located on, serving as a proof of the destruction he had wished for. It showed that the most of the houses in the villages and also some of the farms had been burned down, just as he had ordered and when he thought of the smoldering ruins, he smiled. This was exactly how he had imagined the beginning of the new Ulidia, even though it seemed quite extreme to burn a whole kingdom down to build it back up.

He allowed himself to float on the waves of euphoria that the sight of the destruction was causing inside of him and he smiled to himself. Finally, everything he had ever dreamed of and everything he deserved was coming true.

Within the next weeks, his soldiers would have reached even the farthest parts of Ulidia, and then, there would be no one left to stop him. By then, he would have cleared his path of every obstacle, he was sure about that.

And then, he would set an end to this tiring, weak diplomacy his father and his brother had loved so dearly. When every single man had had a sword placed in his hand, he would lead them towards the kingdoms that were lying south and west from Ulidia. One kingdom was not enough for him, and he would not stop, even if he had to set the whole world on fire.

Suddenly, he heard steps behind him and Severus turned around on his heel to check who was disturbing his peace.

"Your highness, a number of messengers have returned to the castle," Ronan told his master, bowing deeply while speaking to display his utmost devotion, holding a roll of parchment in his hands.

"Any word about my siblings?"

"The men searched the woods they were said to be hunting in – unfortunately, I have to inform you that they were not there, my king. There also were no traces of a camp or that they had been there at all. Maybe it... it was a false trail."

"What?!," Severus spat, his face contorted in anger, his hands balled up to fists, his knuckles white. "But there has to be something! Send out more men! I want you to find them!"

Ronan nodded hastily, having taken a step backwards as his king had his outburst, replying:"As you wish, my master! Though, there is some kind of a hint! Sir Niall's horse has been spotted by a farmer who lives by the outskirts of the forest. He could not tell if it truly was your brother that rode it, but at least he could assure us that he was sure about the horse, as he saw your brother with it when he visited the castle. Being a supplier under Quinn's reign, he was here pretty often. Nevertheless, our men are following him."

Severus' rage was fading away slowly as he heard Ronan's words, understanding that not everything was lost though it seemed like a setback that Niall, Lorcan and Fianna had somehow managed to escape the soldiers who were out to catch them. He had to ask himself if they had been warned, and if this was case, who had done it and how?

Starting to pace up and down the balcony, he asked Ronan:"Where was he heading?"

"To the north, master."

"Anything about Lorcan and Fianna?," Severus questioned Ronan further, his fingertips absent-mindedly running along the cool metal of his crown. He tried to figure out why Niall should be heading towards the north - there only was a chain of high mountains that were difficult to overcome, blocking the shortest way to the northern coastal villages and ports of Ulidia.

It made no sense to him, but at least he saw the advantage the mountains were providing him and his own men – Niall would be forced to move very slow, as he would rather kill himself than to abandon his precious horse, a focus that Severus thought to be utter foolish. But well, he would not be the one to complain if Niall's obsession eventually caused him to land in his dungeons.

Ronan cleared his throat carefully, looking almost afraid to pull his king out of his thoughts, causing him to nearly stutter as he stated:"There is nothing about the two of them, your highness. But... but every single soldier we have sent out knows about the importance of finding your siblings and bringing them here. I am sure, my king, that it will not take us long to track them down!"

"It better will be as you say, Ronan."

"I will not disappoint you, your highness. For that, I guarantee with my honour and my life," Ronan whispered, his hands shaking as he bowed again, fear showing clearly in his eyes, but Severus ignored the uncomfortableness of his servant.

He was the emperor, for god's sake, he was not supposed to be a pleasant conversationalist, no, he had a kingdom to rule, there was no time for compliments.

And also, he was of the opinion that to succeed with this task and to strengthen the fundaments of his almighty power alike, he needed to rule Ulidia with iron hands. He felt like always having a firm grip on things one wanted to keep with him was a wise advise.

No matter how kind his father and his brother had been during their reign, he was going to be as merciless as he needed to be if a situation required it, because this was going to be the only way how he would be able to lead Ulidia to a new, even bigger glory.

"I am sure you won't, Ronan. You have been my most loyal soldier and servant for the last few years. You never betrayed me and fulfilled my wishes to your best abilities. Unlike other individuals, we must say. Those who did let us down through the years, who abandoned our cause, will feel how vicious and cruel my revenge can be. I will make them wish they had sticked by my side and beg for their lives to be spared. How many of my enemies have you tracked down by now?"

For a short second, something like utter madness flashed across the kings face, and Ronan hurried to speak:"The messengers say that there are about a dozen they have captured tonight, due to their foolishness to stay in the valley of Black Hollow. They were easy to find, they say. Some were executed right away as they tried to flee from our soldiers, but the rest are on their way, master."

Severus nodded slowly and stopped pacing around the balcony, fixing his dark, pensive gaze on Ronan again.

"What about Hooch?"

Ronan shuffled slightly and the way his hands were tightening around the roll of parchment hinted that again, he did not have the best news to tell to his master.

"The village of Waterhal was frisked first last night, as you ordered and we raided his cottage, but he was not there, your highness. Neighbours say that he left a few days ago, to attend business at one of the eastern ports, though their informations were very vague. They seemed to be reluctant to tell us more and, my lord, the east coast of Ulidia is long."

"I am well informed about the geography of my kingdom! It is from utmost important that we find him, Ronan!," Severus growled indignantly, obviously starting to be furious yet again and Ronan frowned in concern as he hurried to go on with his explanations.

"I... I know, master, and I am more than relieved to be able to tell you that we may not have found Hooch himself yet, but that we have his daughters in our power and that they are being brought here."

The king's face lit up instantly and he approached Ronan with two long steps. The man seemed to fear that his master could attack him, but he did nothing like that. Instead, Severus grabbed Ronan by his shoulders, a bright and satisfied grin on his pale face as he shook his captain slightly in excitement.

"This is almost better than having him himself, my friend! We have what he loves most in our hands, and I am sure that it will be useful to us in many different ways! One must never underestimate the power something foolish as love has over people!," he exclaimed, his smirk turning out to have a slightly evil touch. "This could make my revenge even sweeter."

"I... I am pleased if you are, your royal highness," Ronan whispered, lowering his head slightly.

"Go now, Ronan, I trust you to do everything that is necessary to gather the informations I want from the girls," the king ordered, his fingers touching his golden crown once again before he turned his back to Ronan, who slowly withdrew himself from the balcony. Severus placed his hands on the stone balustrade in front of him, taking in deep breaths of the morning air.

His gaze wandered downwards, gliding over the thin stream of carriages that were slowly winding their way up the narrow street that led up the hill on which the castle had been built.

Upon looking down at them, being only dots far below him, he felt even more powerful, as if he could crush them by merely moving a finger above them.

He knew that some of the carts were carrying people from the villages that were nearest to the fortress – traitors, men and women who were known to be his brother's strongest supporters. They were a danger to him, just as his remaining siblings were, and he wanted them out of his way.

Others were transporting something else Severus was longing for to possess power over – not objects of his revenge, but the items that would satisfy his greed, the craving for gold, his hunger for all the riches that existed in this world.

Gold, silver and bronze coins, precious metals, strong weapons and shields, sparkling jewellery made of pearls and diamonds, rare woods and the finest fabrics were all on their way to him.

There was one thing he had to acknowledge – his father and his brother may have been blind concerning certain things during their reign, as the importance of spreading a kingdom's influence with the sword. But certainly, they had understood it how they could improve the wealth of their subjects, something that came to Severus' benefit.

His soldiers would have plenty of valuable things to gather and fill the treasuries of the fortress, and he would use all the gold to built up the strongest force that had ever marched across the soil.

Let the masses scream and cry and beg them not to take everything they have – in a few years time, they would thank him for the even bigger riches they would possess then, thanks to him, King Severus of Ulidia. Something like childish joy filled him as he watched the carriages coming closer, feeling impatient about starting on building the future he had always imagined.