Nero

“Father! Father! They’re here!”

I rush towards my father’s study as fast as I can, my heart beating in my throat, my voice hoarse from screaming his name.

All day long we’ve heard rumors of Emperor Decimus’s death. Five centuries of peace, five centuries of rule ended with a single stroke.

They say Magnus Bruttius did it. The prodigal son of House Bruttius, their strongest warrior, their fiercest leader… betraying his emperor, betraying all of us Elbans, driven mad by his lust for power.

I didn’t believe it.

I didn’t want to.

But when the soldiers of House Bruttius arrived on our doorstep, when they ran their blades through our defenseless servants, cut them down like dogs… I couldn’t deny the truth any longer.

Life as I had known it was over.

I kick open the heavy wooden doors to my father’s study to find him in his usual spot: bent-over his desk, studying a paper scroll, glasses perched on his nose.

Gaius Octavius is unlike any other Elban I have ever met. He prefers science over warfare, knowledge over the sword, and this makes him the odd man out in Elban culture.

Even now, with our entire society thrust into chaos, my father is more concerned with some old scroll than saving his own skin.

“We have to go!”

“No time,” he mutters, “No time! She’s not ready, not yet!”

I grab his robe and yank him towards me. “Snap out of it!” I scream. My hand leaves a bloody mark on his olive-green robe.

I don’t know if that blood is my own, or some Bruttius dog I just put down.

My father’s eyes find mine, and finally I see the sparkle of recognition I was looking for.

“Ah, Nero, my son, there you are. I was looking for you.”

“What are you talking about? You were looking at the old scrolls again.”

“Yes, yes, so close, so close to unlocking the true potential… will have to try now, risky, but no choice, no, no choice.”

Father’s rambling worries me. He’s always been aloof, but even this is strange for him. He’s gathered so much knowledge in that graying head of his that I worry it has driven him mad.

There’s no time left to worry, though. House Bruttius has declared war on us, its soldiers are at our gates, and blood has already been spilled. House Octavius is but a minor house compared to the greatest of the Elban houses. We have no realistic hope of defeating them in combat.

There is no other option left than to run — but an Elban doesn’t run.

An Elban comes home with his shield, or on it.

“You have to go,” I growl again. “You don’t have to die this day!”

“Look at you,” Gaius Octavius says, smiling. “You have grown up to be a strong lad. I remember when you were but a little baby boy, smaller than that sword you’re carrying! I am proud of you son.”

There is a finality in his voice that makes a shiver run down my spine. This is not the last conversation I intend to have with my father, even though the situation does look grim.

Boom!

The room is rocked by an explosion. Plaster falls from the ceiling, and the sound of battle draws closer.

“Please, father,” I plead. “Come with me.”

“We must go… to the observatory!”

“This is not the time to stargaze,” I grit through my teeth. “The Emperor has died. The Bruttius are coming for us. Aren’t you listening?! Can’t you see what’s happening?!”

“I’ve always seen,” my father says, uncharacteristically harsh. “I have always known! And prepared, yes! There is a secret escape in the observatory. Take me there. Come on, lad. I haven’t got all day.”

Relieved, I grab my father’s hand and lead him down the hall, going as fast as his old bones can take.

“Die, Bruttius scum!”

At the bottom of the stairs a tall man swings a two-handed sword, cleaving it right through a Bruttius warrior. The man is clad in red body-armor, the symbol of a golden owl barely visible because of all the blood dripping down his imposing frame.

“Romulus Valerius,” I say. “Am I glad to see you.”

Bruttius soldiers, dressed in their characteristic all-black, lay crumbled on the marble floor. I remember playing in this hall when I was a kid, sliding on the slippery tiles. This place was always impeccably clean.

Now the marble floor is covered in an inch of blood.

“There you are,” Romulus says, his voice booming. “I was afraid you’d miss all the fun.”

If there’s one man in this world I trust, it’s Romulus. There’s no Elban warrior taller than him, no one stronger. He’s arrogant, stubborn, even zealous… but he’s also one of the few people I consider a true friend.

“We have to reach the observatory,” I say. “Can we?”

If the enemy have gotten into our very halls, that will be tougher than I imagined.

“Of course we can,” Romulus answers. “Lets carve a path there.”

I nod and draw my own sword - Fire’s Bane. The pommel is shaped like a stag’s head, the symbol of House Octavius. Given to my by my father, this sword is what stands between us and death.

“Stay close, father.”

Flanked by a small contingent of our most loyal fighters we charge out the gates. The observatory is located only a few hundred yards to the left of the Octavius mansion, but in these conditions, it might as well be a thousand miles away.

The sky is filled with smoke, fire and death. Flames bellow up from Massa, our great city being consumed by fire, thick black suffocating smoke blackening out the stars.

Needle-nosed spaceships bearing the mark of House Bruttius punch out of the smoke, dropping more troops on our sacred grounds with every passing second.

My heart is beating like a war-drum. My palms are sweaty, and my sword nearly slips from my grasp when a ship passes overhead, the force of its engines nearly blowing us off our feet.

In the total chaos that surrounds us we manage to carve a path, striking down soldiers as we go. The massive battle is taking place back at the mansion, and few pay attention to us.

The observatory is only a rock’s throw away now. We are close.

So, so close.

“Watch out!”

A small ship rockets by overhead, does a U-turn and touches down on the grass right in front of us. The glass door whizzes open, and my breath falters.

A man steps out, his heavy boots touching the grass with a thud. His jet-black chainmail armor is decorated with a golden snake, curling its way around his massive frame.

However, what draws most of my attention is his eyes.

Cold, dark, eyes, like looking at death itself.

“You,” he growls, pointing right at me. “You die now.”

That man is no-one other than Magnus Bruttius himself.

“I’ll hold him off,” Romulus says. “Go!”

“But—”

“Go!”

Romulus raises his sword up high and charges at Magnus. I run past with my father, the sound of swords meeting behind me. I don’t dare to look back. We reach the observatory, and I snatch the keychain from my father’s hands. As I fumble with the keys, the adrenaline making my hands shake, my mind replays Magnus’s words.

You. You die now.

Why me?

I’m the heir to House Octavius… but we are only a minor house. Not a threat to anyone. Certainly not to House Bruttius.

Yet there was utter conviction in the emperor-slayer’s words.

The door swings open, breaking my chain of thoughts. We enter and I close and lock the door behind us, catching a glimpse of Romulus going toe-to-toe with one of the Elba’s greatest warriors.

If anyone can defeat Magnus in close combat, it’s Romulus. Yet, I don’t dare to look.

The idea that this whole carnage is because of me is making me sick to my stomach.

I press my back against the door, taking a deep breath, steadying my nerves.

The observatory is a circular room, the walls covered in rows of books, a giant telescope taking up most of the space. Father shuffles forwards, his hands traveling past the rows of books.

We Elbans are a traditional people. Even now that the stars themselves are within our grasp, we prefer the old ways. We fight with swords, we study ancient tomes, we prefer the carriage to the space ship, leaving our planet only to subjugate alien species, only for the glory of warfare.

I could certainly go for a space ship right now, though.

“Where is this exit, father?”

As I watch him pull out a dusty old book out of the wall, I fear for a second that he’s really gone mad. That he lied to me, that his thirst for knowledge is so great he’s risking all of our lives just because he wants to read another book…

But then the entire wall rumbles and slides out of the way, revealing an iron pod.

“Have some faith in me, son,” Gaius says with a smile on his face, as if he could read my mind. “Here’s your exit.”

“How is this pod supposed to get us out of here?”

“Step inside and you’ll see,” father answers as he pushes a stack of papers to the side on his desk to reveal a hidden control panel, full of dials and buttons.

I had no idea about any of this.

What else has father hidden from me?

I walk up to the iron pod, my eyes wide, and peer inside. It’s only big enough for one person.

“No,” I say decisively. “I’m here to save you, not the other way around. ”

Father shakes his head.

“I’m an old man, Nero. I have already passed my second century. My house is on the verge of collapse. You are my only successor, the only hope we have. No son, I will not go.”

“No,” I say. “No! You go. I will hold them off. You go. I demand it, father.”

Father sighs and walks towards me. He places his hand on my shoulder and looks me in the eye.

“I raised you a bit too well, I’m afraid. You’re always looking out for other people. It’s commendable… and a bit foolish at times, so I guess that means you take after your father.”

He smiles, but there’s no joy in his eyes. There’s only crushing sadness.

“Forgive me, son.”

With a force I didn’t know father’s old muscles possessed he shoves me backwards, into the open pod, taking me by absolute surprise. The iron door slams shut, locking me inside the cramped space.

I punch the walls with all of my strength, my face pressed against the small transparent pane, shouting, no, screaming at father.

“What are you doing?!”

“This is the only way,” father says, the thick iron muting his voice. “There are so many things I have yet to teach you. I wish we had more time, that I could explain it all… it’s my own fault. I’ve protected you too much, tried to keep you from your own fate. I just wanted to spend more time with you… despite all of my years, despite all of my books, I’m still a fool in the end.”

“What are you talking about?!” I ask, the panic squeezing my throat, the words barely making it out.

“Remember that only you decide who you are,” father says. “Remember that. No matter what anyone says, you are my son.”

The door to the observatory flies off its hinges, and Magnus Bruttius steps into the room, dragging the tip of his sword across the floor, leaving a trail of blood.

Romulus.

“You,” he mouthes, pointing right at me. He drags his finger across his neck.

My heart skips a beat. Is this all because of me? All this death? All this destruction?

Father is pressing buttons on the outside of the pod, fiddling with the dials, muttering under his breath. He doesn’t even notices the evil man sneaking up behind him.

I pound on the pane with my fists, screaming. There’s no way he can’t hear me — so why isn’t he moving?!

The next moment my heart is ripped out of my chest and split into a thousand little pieces.

Magnus runs his sword clean through my father, his olive green robe turning a dark crimson.

His lifeless body falls to the ground, and tears cloud my vision.

“No!” I scream, repeating the word over and over again like a mantra, like that will wake me from this nightmare.

Magnus Bruttius, my nemesis, my sworn enemy for reasons I still can’t phantom places his face against the window pane, snarling at me, his black eyes devoid of all emotion except bloodlust.

“You can run, but you can’t hide, Nero. I will find you. Your power will be mine.”

His snarling smile is the last thing I remember.

An intense purple flash throws me back against the iron wall, and I pass out from sheer pressure.

When I open my eyes again, I’m in a different world, a different place, looking at the most perfect creature I have ever seen.