Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

All of Raleron was covered in dense, hot jungle. It was a harsh yet lush land of plenty. Of all the kingdoms on the continent, it had the highest concentration of dangerous animals and monsters that stalked its land.

Many of its citizens lived in villages built amongst the canopy of the trees. Like the capital city of Eroa, these cities and villages were beautiful. Yet, unlike Eroa, the cities had no ground-level construction. Other than what was required to grant access to the levels above, the ground floor of the jungle was left uninhabited.

The palace of Raleron was constructed much in the same way as Eroa's palace. However, much of the palace and surrounding capital city were damaged. Over the last few years, the heirs to the throne had gathered allies and waged a quiet political war behind the scenes. But, after years of tumultuous peace, the dam finally broke, and a multi-sided war erupted within the capital.

Brothers and sisters fought against one another as the citizens and nobility divided themselves between the siblings in line for the throne. The breaking point for the conflict was the assassination of the Queen Regent, who was ruling temporarily in place of her deceased husband. She was the glue holding the king's children back from bloodshed.

When an assassin took her life, her body was strung up in the throne room for all to see. All ten brothers and sisters vying for superiority unleashed years of tension at once and started what had become known as the Night of Tears.

When the dust settled only one prince remained, and that was Prince Isthith, the youngest of the former king. He was also the only child born from someone not part of the former king's harem. His mother was a maid taken by the king after a night of drinking.

People feared what kind of king the child of a commoner would be for Raleron, but their fears were abated when he instantly opened the coffers of the royal palace and his fallen siblings to rebuild the capital and provide economic relief to the suffering citizenry.

Istheth stood on the balcony of his room overlooking the reconstruction of his capital beneath. His green, snake-like eyes carefully investigated the surroundings to ensure things were progressing smoothly. Occasionally his forked tongue would taste the air around him as was the natural habit of snake beastmen like himself.

Knocking interrupted his thoughts, and the new captain of the royal guard entered. "My liege, I bring you reports of the guard selection process as well as the… other matter."

"Excellent." The king replied. "Have the representatives arrived?"

"Haedda has sent a scout ahead of their party, apologizing for the delay. It seems a young dragonling has started hunting near the border with Alorek and they had to detour for fear of its parents being nearby." The captain responded. "As for the representative of the Far Shores, they await your presence when it is convenient for you."

"And the assassin?"

The captain gulped and whispered, "She and her group have been paid and we received word they reached Arcadios. They are no longer within our borders."

"Good."

"Sire, perhaps you should be more cautious of verbalizing your involvement in the queen's death."

Istheth began to laugh, the shining scales peppering his neck flashing in the sunlight. "Why? I am the last of the king's clutch. Even if the public learned of my involvement, what would they do? We all know one of my blood must sit upon the throne. As I am the last of the former king's clutch, I have nothing to fear or hide."

"As you say, my liege. Shall I escort you to our guest."

Istheth walked with his hands behind his back to the throne room to receive his guests. A while back, he received notice of a request for an alliance from Haedda and the Far Shores. As far as he knew, he was the only one among his siblings who received such an offer.

They promised financial and military support if they allowed the two nations access to the mountains outside at the edge of their territory. It was a simple enough ask, so Istheth had no problem with agreeing. However, as a bastard child born of a maid, he needed support up front to make things work.

Around that time, he heard word of a powerful and skilled assassin who had appeared in the country. Her name was Shiyani, and she was a well-known tool used by the different nobles in many countries.

This assassin proved worth every coin she asked. Within hours of coming to an agreement, the queen was dead, along with a number of nobles loyal to his siblings, weakening them greatly. Istheth then waited as his brothers and sisters tore each other apart. When all that remained were a few bloodied and battered forces, he struck and annihilated all that remained.

Istheth sat upon his throne at the same moment the doors to the room opened, allowing a strange-looking group of men to enter. Several were clearly of mixed blood, but the head of the group was purely human. All of them were decorated with shoulder-to-wrist tattoos. A few also possessed tattoos and piercings on their faces.

These strange-looking people were the representatives of the Far Shores, the mysterious sea-faring people who lived beyond the mist that surrounded the continent. They had come to claim what was promised, mining rights to the mountains. Istheth asked them what they wanted to mine, and they showed him an oddly pretty green metal. They called it orichalcum but declined to explain its use.

Though he was curious, the king had no issues letting them keep their secrets. After all, it was because of them and Haedda that he was able to seat himself on the throne of Raleron. Haedda asked for nothing for their assistance other than an alliance through marriage, which Istheth had no problem granting.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Normally, he would have denied their request because any children would be half-beastman and half-elf. Raleron had a history of only fully beast-blooded kings.

Haedda, however, was a powerful and enigmatic country that rarely interacted with those beyond its borders. Its citizens were almost as unknown as those of the Far Shores. The only reliably known fact about the country was that all of its citizens were magically gifted. As such, Istheth agreed.

He would meet his new wife when their delegation arrived in a few days. After that, a collaboration between Haedda, the Far Shores, and Alorek would begin. Only time will tell what they will be able to achieve together.