Marik Ensis Lucerna, king of Lucael, sat at the head the council that, despite the fact that it was barely morning, had been running for several hours already. He glared out at the bickering representatives of each of the other four cities. Two Hierarchs and two Guardians had been sent, some of which he had appointed himself but others who had been around before he was crowned. The Hierarch and Guardian of Capitalia Lux had taken their positions to the left and right respectively of the king. The gargantuan hall echoed with the arguing voices, and Marik slammed his hand on the table to silence them.

Hierarch Aretis of Civitas Sol smirked smugly back, an arrogant young man swathed in golden robes who had inherited the role from his respected late father that Marik found insufferable, though he was tolerated because he was very powerful. His Summoning was an incandescent and imperious angel that aptly represented the City of the Sun.

His counterpart sneered condescendingly at his cockiness – Martha was an aged representative of Scientia Mos, the City of Books that was made up of a huge amount of libraries, though none matched the ancient splendour of the palace's. She was a trusted advisor of the king that was well known for her wisdom, and although her Summoning was the least offensively powerful of any of the ten remaining Light-bearers, a venerable and sagacious Lammasu, Martha could give out the correct advice in almost any situation, and her stoic presence at the council was gratefully received. She had been Emili's mentor before her engagement to Marik, who sorely missed his wife.

Xathan, Slayer of the Wicked was the Guardian of Cassida Principia, City of Swords, the most militaristic of the five cities, was a similarly-aged comrade of the king's that could sometimes be thick-headed and bellicose, but had proved himself numerous times on the field of battle. Befitting of his station, he was clothed in polished but still dented and worn armour that had carried him through many engagements, although the scabbard was empty at his hips, as tradition dictated. Xathan used a warrior angel that could inspire the common troops to victory.

Finally, the representative of Gol, formerly the City of Quiet but now the City of Silence, was Lelia, a once youthful and enthusiastic young warrior that had been the younger sister of the previous Guardian before both him and the Hierarch had been brutally murdered in the Siege of Gol. The atrocities wreaked upon the city left it a defiled shadow of its glorious self, and Lelia had been scarred (both physically and mentally) by the slaughter, but instead of giving up hope she had rallied the people. She had taken a Vow of Silence, promising never to speak until the perpetrators of the heinous act had been brought to justice. That had been nine years ago, and she had not spoken a word since – neither had her Summoning, a vengeful angel that had helped her on her quest.

Marik shared the blame for the surprise attack on Gol and the nine year civil war that had resulted in countless deaths – three of the eight cities had sided with his own brother, who had been planning the rebellion ever since Marik had been crowned after the Death Vision of their father. Those three cities were now razed to the ground, obliterated from sight and home to the creatures of the darkness.

After his revolt failed, Johnias had fled into the unknown depths of shadow with his most loyal warriors, and his brother had no ideas as to his fate. He had hesitated at the start of the rebellion, not really comprehending the extent of his brother's treachery, but after several greater demons were sent to the palace and took the life of Emili, Marik could never forgive Johnias for taking his love away from him. He had become obsessed, hunting him across their territories and slaughtering the revolting armies in his need for revenge.

It had only been a single month since the violence of the civil war and the final confrontation between the brothers' armies, but already the construction of Gol Secondus, City of Rebirth, had begun next to the ruins of the first. It was a testament to the unity and resolve of the Lucaelians that the wounds the rebellion that had lasted nine years had caused were beginning to heal at such a rate. The physical wounds, anyway.

The king was flanked by Tristram, Champion of Capitalia and childhood hero of his eldest Alexander, and Tybalt, the Hierarch of the capital city and the mentor to his sons. The two had cared for Alexander and Caiellis during the civil war when the capital city and palace had been compromised, taking them across Lucael so that Johnias's forces could not take the two princes and so their location had remained secret - even to their father.

Marik knew that he should start paying attention to his children now that the war was over, as he hadn't really been there for them the past nine years - well, he hadn't seen them at all. He was disappointed that his youngest, Caiellis, had failed to pass the test and achieve his Summoning, because the age of only just thirteen was almost the latest recorded time for a Lucerna. He had needed to give the boy an incentive to try harder, as obviously he had been coddled by his older brother and wasn't trying hard enough to pass the test. It had pained him to see the expression of rejection on Caiellis's young face when he had told his son that he was a failure as far as he was concerned the first time they had spoken after the war, but now maybe the boy wouldn't screw up as much.

His eyes snapped to the heavy wooden doors on the other side of the room as they were slammed open, and all of the council members turned around in alarm at the crash. Tristram stepped protectively in front of his king, axe at the ready, and then snorted when he realised it was only Alexander and Caiellis. Marik's eyes narrowed when he saw the look of smouldering anger on his eldest's face, wondering why the seventeen year old would just barge straight into the council room – he was a respectful boy, and knew that his father wouldn't take too kindly to having the meeting interrupted.

"Dad. We need to talk. Now," Alexander stated, eschewing pleasantries and glancing at the other council members' surprised faces. Aretis sniggered under his breath, sensing the volcanic fury bottled up inside the lad, and realising that King Marik would have a hard time diffusing that rage – he definitely didn't envy the king's position. He stifled it when Hierarch Martha glared at him, and the king sighed wearily, supposing that if his normally obedient eldest son was angry enough to charge into an important meeting then he should probably pay attention to his children.

"Fine, that concludes today's council session. Light-bearers, go back to your cities, and begin the process of rebuilding. Ave Lux," he intoned, and the representatives bowed respectfully, replying: "Ave Lux, my king."

With that, they began to file out of the chambers, followed swiftly by Tristram and Tybalt at a gesture from Marik, although the two clearly wanted to say and see what would transpire. When the wooden doors had closed fully, he let out another impatient sigh, not wanting to have to deal with foolish children. Emili had always been better at this parenting business.

"What is it?" he questioned irritably, and Alexander moved in front of him, yanking the reluctant Caiellis behind by his thin arm, the younger son clearly not wanting to be there.

"Alex, please-" he pleaded, and his brother shot him a reassuring glance that didn't entirely dispel the anger in his eyes, "Cai, I wouldn't be a good big brother if I didn't do this."

He turned his gaze upon his father, who stood up out of his ornate chair at the head of the table. Both Marik and Alexander were tall men, although the latter was around four inches shorter than the imposing king. Marik shared the piercing blue eyes, physical build and blonde hair of his eldest, but also the guarded emotions and high cheekbones of his youngest son.

He wore his favoured outfit for interacting with council members and his subjects – a golden but unadorned circlet encircled his forehead, and he was plated in sliver armour that was shined and polished, but not to the extent that it removed the clear battle-damage. An antique longsword was sheathed at his waist, the scabbard furnished with rare and enchanted gemstones.

A cloak of deep purple fell down his back, reminding onlookers that he was not just a warrior, but a politician, diplomat and ruler as well. The armour on his front left his throat bare, where the Blade of Wrath could be clearly seen, his badge of royalty.

Alex pulled Caiellis in front of him, and said: "Kiddo, I'm going to need you to take off your shirt again, ok?" Without saying a word, Caiellis silently made to remove the garment, and heard his father gulp when he saw the knife-wounds.

"Who the hell did that?!" Marik asked, analysing the wounds and feeling a parental feeling begin to overcome his initial anger at being interrupted. He may have not been able to see his sons over the past nine years and his dream of a perfect family may have died with Emili, but no one was going to hurt his baby boy without severe consequences - especially this badly.

"Exactly what I asked," Alex replied, not giving his little brother time to respond – not that Cai was going to, he didn't want the situation to escalate any more than it needed to. He should have just ignored his brother earlier and gone straight onto trying the test, avoiding having Alex confront his father over his self-harm. Why did he care anyway? It was just his way of coping with the feeling of failure. His brother had no right to tell him what he could and could not do. Even better, he knew that it was pathetic, and now that was being shown to his father. He shivered in the cold of the large room, uncomfortable with his father's staring at the knife-wounds on his slender torso and hoping that the man wasn't judging his stick like arms too much.

"Dad, he did it to himself," the older boy stated, and Marik looked confusedly back, thinking about why his child would want to do that.

"Why?" their father inquired, and Alexander shook his head back.

"He said that it was his way of managing with the pressure, he said that he did it every time he failed a Summoning," Alexander snarled, knowing that his father's return had coincided with the start of Cai's self-wounding, and also knowing that Marik would definitely had said something to his younger brother that made him lose his sense of self-worth.

"I don't see a problem with that," Marik uttered calmly, expanding his (admittedly untruthful) point after Alexander's outraged expression, "If he wants to do that to himself, fine by me. It gives him another reason not to remain a failure."

"Cai, out. Now," the elder brother instructed, trying to keep the fury he felt out of his voice, his tone brooking no dissent. He certainly didn't want Caiellis to see him and their father arguing – the poor boy had enough on his plate already, he didn't need anything else to worry about. Caiellis slunk dejectedly out of the room, tears of self-loathing burning at the edges of his vision. Great. Now his dad would dislike him even more, think that he was even weaker and more pathetic. How was he supposed to survive with his failures now? And of course Alexander had to go and make a huge deal out of everything.

He shot through the corridors, not caring where he went and ignoring the terrified glances some of the servants gave him before scurrying away. He knew that a large number of Lucaelians feared him because of his Summoning, as the last and only person to ever have that was King Xarius, or the self-styled Emperor of Light who used the Angel of the Black Sun to terrorize his subjects into compliance, using the hated Black magic given to him from the dual nature of the angel to reanimate a necrotic army and crush resistance.

He had planned to sacrifice the entire population of Capitalia Lux to fuel his conquest of the world and gain favour with his dark patrons, but had been slain by his niece, Queen Matrice. Her reign had ended over a hundred years ago, but the Lucaelians were notorious for holding grudges and when Xarius's Summoning had appeared at Caiellis's birth, it was said that a few Hierarchs and Guardians suggested that the babe be murdered to avoid a repeat of the reign of terror.

He thought about just running away, but quickly realised that such an action would be pointless – so long as he was still in one of the cities, his father's soldiers would find him soon enough, as there was no way he'd be able to board one of the monorails without being identified. He could retreat out of the safety of the cities, but dismissed that idea. Caiellis was too much of a coward to venture into the darkness alone.

Maybe he should just kill himself. He felt worthless. It wasn't like anyone even wanted him around, and there would be no chance he could be made king and screw up even more if he was dead – his father thought he was a failure, and the people feared him. Well, there was Alex, but his big brother was one against hundreds.

Caiellis laughed quietly as his random path led him to the entrance of the palace library – a huge repository of knowledge that stretched far underground, once his favourite place to relax before he had begun incessantly attempting the test. The palace library held the Codex Angelica, a bestiary of the many different Lucaelian Summonings, with a large section dedicated solely to each angel that had graced the world with its presence. His subconscious was obviously trying to tell him something.

He resolved to find a good book and become lost in the stories of battles between mighty heroes and dastardly monsters, and wait for the depressing thoughts to go away. Then he would check on his brother to see if he had finished. As he walked in, waving at the venerable caretaker who nodded back at his favourite visitor, Cai randomly chose an aisle of books to walk down, figuring that his unconscious mind had served him well already.

The boy blinked in mild incredulity as he noticed a tanned young woman wearing strange clothing with her head in an open book snoring softly in front of him.

Caiellis smiled, realising she was a Yentarian researcher and recognising her from when she arrived in Capitalia Lux and was granted entry to the library - although he hadn't spoken to her, just watched from one of the windows of the many high up corridors and halls in the palace. He removed her silken jacket which had been dumped to the side, gently pulling out the book from underneath her head, bookmarking the page, and replacing it with the garment of clothing. She was quite a heavy sleeper – the boy had been scared about waking her, not really wanting a conversation but feeling like he should do something to comfort her more.

Cai then left her, going to get a drink and some food from the curator, who often took a meal after Caiellis used to pop in regularly as a child and spend the day there, out of the way. The old man still followed that habit in the hope that the boy would start visiting again, as it was an incredibly lonely job.

.*.*.*.

"What the fuck do you mean, you don't see a problem?" Alexander exploded, letting out the anger he felt once he was sure that his younger brother had exited the room and was out of earshot, "Do you not care one bit about him? I know that you are obsessed with bringing your brother to justice and avenging mum, but could you at least spare a thought for him? It's partly your fault that this happened!" Alex felt magical power building up inside of him, the Red mana responding to his rage while the White reacted to his protectiveness of his brother.

"I though I had taught you to be more respectful than that," Marik replied coldly, letting out some of his pure White mana to match the release of his son – he wasn't afraid to fight in the chambers, they had withstood much worse over the years. Anyway, it would be good to see how powerful one of the potential heirs to the throne had become – training sessions were one thing, but Alexander wouldn't hold back in his angered state, and Marik was sure that his son didn't want to hurt him, "Disappointing. It seems like I will have to discipline you."

Alex breathed in deeply, feeling the sensation of mana running through him as he began the Summoning. A circle of fiery orange surrounded him, followed by one of white that pulsed outwards. He felt the Swords of Flame light up on his right bicep, and sensed the familiar tingle coursing through his veins.

"Aurelia!" he cried, and the circles on the floor flashed with incandescent light, expanding upwards around the boy.

When the light had died down, the slow beat of huge wings could be heard, and Alexander looked gratefully up at the angel in front of him. Armoured by dark-silver plates that covered her human-esque form and framed by bright, unembellished wings that gracefully held her aloft, Aurelia had a head of scarlet hair that spilled out behind a helm the same colour as her armour. The Warleader held two swords out in front of her – one was straight-bladed while the other was twisted and elegant.

Marik nodded at the well known sight of the fiery angel, and relaxed his breathing – his breaths had subconsciously become shorter; he had never quite been able to get over the feeling of awe whenever he saw an angel that close- - especially one of the First Sisterhood. Foregoing the ceremony his son had to go through due to his relative inexperience with Summoning, Marik placed his palms facing each other and in front of the Blade of Wrath, calmly channelling the White mana through him, creating a sphere of pale light in his hands.

"Akroma," he uttered, letting the sphere grow until it eclipsed his form and forced his eldest to look away. The light began to take a shape, and another angel was Summoned. The Angel of Wrath was clothed in pale armour with golden edging that left much of her waxen skin uncovered and also decorated the top of her open wings. She wielded a colossal broadsword of a marble-like Sancturia metal one-handed, the blade the shape of the king's birthmark. Akroma had blue hair – the only colour on her – above small eyes that regarded her opponent coldly.

"Sister," she spoke, her voice lacking anything resembling emotion – the two angels were opposites, Aurelia represented the emotions of the defenders of justice, whereas Akroma was the aloof avatar of endless duty. Alexander leapt forwards, his fist wrapped in golden flames, and Aurelia followed him, igniting her twin swords and diving at her sister. Marik blocked with a conjured shield of White, while his Summoning deflected the blades of her counterpart with her immense sword.

Alexander launched another strike, knowing that he would have to stay on the offensive before his father could bring his greater magical energy to bear. He didn't really know what he wanted to accomplish by fighting his dad, but had needed to release the rage he felt at his brother's mistreatment. Maybe if he proved to Marik that his sons were worth listening to would his father actively try to help Caiellis.

"Don't you realise what your words have done to him?" he shouted, and the king grimaced as a kick from his son caught him off guard, sending him staggering back. Perhaps he had underestimated Alexander, and shouldn't be holding back as much power.

"What, given him an incentive to try harder? Good. He can't stay a failure forever," he replied through his teeth, repelling a blistering series of strikes that cracked his shield. Marik didn't fully mean the words, because if he was being honest he didn't really consider the boy as a failure because Caiellis was his son, but he no longer had the time to deal with children and Caiellis was getting dangerously close to being the Lucerna who had taken the longest to pass their Summoning trial - something that the king would not allow in his reign. He let out a bit more mana, watching as Akroma used that to send a lance of light at the opposing angel, who met it with her own spear of conjured flame.

"Caiellis tries harder than anyone I have ever met, including myself!" Alexander yelled as Marik began to counter-attack, drawing the sword at his waist and forcing his eldest to parry an arcing overhead blow on his bracers. Sparks shot from the ringing impact of metal-on-metal, and Alex had to jump back to avoid being impaled on his father's blade – he was sure that the man wasn't attacking with the intent to kill, but it would surely signify his defeat if he allowed a blow like that to get through. "Can't you tell? He attempts the test every day, and it exhausts him! Cai hardly eats, and all he thinks about is how to try differently and complete his Summoning. He doesn't have any friends, and he barely even talks to anyone any-more! It's killing him, how can you not see that? Or are you just too fucking blind to realise what is happening to your youngest? My acceptance is not good enough for Caiellis on its own, I've always tried to make him feel welcome, so he doesn't see a change! He just needs you to notice him! He just needs your love after nine years of waiting to see you!"

Alex beckoned his Summoning over, Aurelia breaking off from her duel with Akroma, and together began channelling mana into a devastating spell.

"That's enough," Marik declared, his voice loud and commanding but bereft of anger. He released a huge amount of White energy and forcefully dispelled Aurelia before the spell could be completed, who returned inside of his eldest's body in a jolt of mana, knocking him off of his feet. He then dismissed Akroma, who returned to the Summoning Realm with a salute, her duty done for now. He sighed for the third time and paced over to his son's side, hoisting the teen to his feet.

"Quite the display of power," he commented, proud of Alexander's courage to fight his father and king. He had taken the boy's words to heart – he did barely ever see his youngest, and he remembered Hierarch Tybalt's words from a few days ago: "You shouldn't be too harsh on Caiellis, he is constantly trying to pass the trial and access his Summoning." Marik had disregarded his advisor's words, saying that obviously his son wasn't trying hard enough, but now with Alexander's outburst, his defiant plea for Caiellis's sake, he paid more heed to the warning.

"Yeah, well, someone has to stick up for the runt, because he's not going to do it himself," his eldest responded, sullenly, annoyed at the fact that he had been defeated so quickly. Noticing his disappointed, Marik sat down beside him put a fatherly arm around his shoulders, glad by the fact that he didn't shy away from the contact, and said: "I should probably teach you how to resist that spell."

They sat in silence for a few seconds, and just as Alex made to speak his dad interrupted him, "I have arranged for you both to have a place at the Scholaria Magnus."

"Huh? What's that?" his eldest son asked, a curious look on his face.

"It is a school that has been recently constructed in neutral territory by members of each of the four kingdoms for fifteen to eighteen year olds, although I was able to use my influence to ensure your brother was also able to go."

"You're sending us away?" Alex replied disbelievingly, "But dad, you only just got back from the civil war!"

"And I'm clearly incapable of being a proper father yet!" Marik snapped back, silencing his eldest child. "Anyway," he continued, "I thought it would be a good opportunity to meet important children from other factions, and hone your magical skills." He left the fact that he hoped it would allow Caiellis to unlock his Summoning unspoken, knowing that it would be on his boy's mind, "Also, it will be good for your little brother. He needs to make friends (since at the moment, just like before the civil war, he doesn't seem to have any), and when you both return, I will be ready to act as your father. I promise."

Marik looked deep into Alexander's eyes, trying to find acceptance there and doing so when his son stared back. The boy turned away, rising to his feet and saying: "I'll go tell the little man then."

"No, I'll do it. I need to speak with him anyway, and make sure he is alright," the king stated, placing a placating hand on Alex's shoulder and also standing up. He laughed, and said, "How many nicknames do you have for him, anyway?"

Alex smirked back, glad that the boys' dad was actively trying to heal the relationship between him and Caiellis that had been rent asunder by a nine year long civil war which had begun with the death of the queen, replying: "Each one is for a specific situation to get a different response."

"Seriously?" the man replied, because although he could remember that an eight year old Alexander had called his little brother numerous different names he didn't think his eldest son would have enough patience for that.

"Nah, I just do it to annoy him."

Marik pushed the doors open and strode confidently out, and returned a few seconds later with a vaguely embarrassed expression on his face.

"Where will he have gone?" the king asked of his older son, realising that he knew almost nothing about his youngest apart from what the four year old Caiellis had been like. Smiling patiently in a way that Marik was sure the older brother used on the younger, Alexander said: "Cai will have gone to the royal library. Make sure that you are patient with him, and slowly coax him out of his shell. Don't be too forceful or he'll just push you away. You can thank me later."

Liber Sancturia:

Akroma, Angel of Wrath: Summoning of Marik Ensis Lucerna

Angelic Arbiter: Summoning of Hierarch Aretis (Yes, I know I changed this if anyone is reading it again. Admonition Angel is just too cool not to be First Sisterhood)

Venerable Lammasu: Summoning of Hierarch Martha

Angelic Overseer: Summoning of Guardian Xathan

Guardian Lelia: Angel of Retribution