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The training yard of the Crimson Eye headquarters was packed as Night Commander Gentath strolled through the many recruits and initiates being grilled by instructors or sparing with one another, the influx of recruits had almost doubled when news of Tatherus son of Chancellor Red Claw had been inducted into the elite ranks of the order spread like wild fire amongst the various social classes of Obsidias and this made him smile. Just like any teacher he was pleased to have turned the young noble into a master of the blade and he let it show, today however he was not interested in training a new recruit he was interested in finding his former student to give him some disturbing information.

"So where is this so called rising star of the order?" Asked a voice from behind him, the Bengal Tiger turned around and looked up at the Grizzly Bear following him.

"He is usual here helping the younger ones in there training but he might be working with the blacksmith, hard to say really"

The two figures walked a bit further till the heard a familiar noise; it was so lowed that even the recruits who were in the middle of a sword exercise stopped and looked for the source of the sound after the noise had died down the Bear and the Tiger moved to where the commotion was coming from. It didn't take them long to find Tatherus helping a disorientated merchant up off the ground as a group of guards from the Obsidian City Watch ransacked the man's cart, in front of Tatherus and the merchant stood Bail Tatherus's oldest brother with a big frown across his face.

"Ok where is the merchandise? Where is it stashed? Tell me now old man! Or will I have to bring you before the council?" the sound in his voice as he rowed made every recruit that was in the vicinity of the confrontation to cringe.

"I told you I have no illegal merchandise, I don't do business with those black market brutes please you got to believe me!"

Bail attempted to give the Armadillo a swift kick to shut him up bit was intercepted by Tatherus; the two exchanged a look before Bail gave a snort of contempt. He turned back to his men and proceeded to ask if they had found anything, by now the merchants entire stock was emptied all over ground most of which were crafting materials and black smithing tools with a couple of weapons he had acquired from adventurers who passed him in the street.

"Look Bail, this is the fifth time you shook down a merchant coming into the strong hold in regards to black market deals, can't you see these people have no connection with any illegal trading or do I need to beat it into you like that time when we were children and I got...."

Tatherus was cut off before he could finish as Bail gave an annoyed growl. With a quick hand gesture the guards stopped rifling through the Armadillo's stock and left the area leaving the two of them to clean up the mess, after a few minutes Tatherus noticed his old instructor and gave him a nod, as if through telepathy Gentath and the large Grizzly Bear approached him as he helped the old Armadillo.

"Sorry you had to see that sir; sometimes I think he has rocks in his head or a very small brain"

"It's ok, I always like you rubbing Bails nose in the fact I chose you over him, anyway I have someone here you should meet" he indicated to the Grizzly Bear behind him, "Tatherus Red Claw I would like you to meet Gorgon he just transferred in from Sun Spire Keep"

Tatherus looked at the large Grizzly standing in front of him and gave a smile, "pleasure to meet you, I have never had the opportunity of meeting a bear before" he said as he extended a hand

"Like wise young one, you seem to take the mandates of the Crimson Eye to heart, with what I saw just then you should be very proud" Gorgon replied taking Tatherus claw in his large paw giving it a quick shake

"Thankyou I always try to do my best, so does my friends"

There was a moment of silence before Gorgon's expression changed and he requested to see Tatherus in privet. Tatherus agreed and after helping the Armadillo merchant with repacking his cart he followed Gentath and Gorgon to the strongholds map room.

Later that evening

Tatherus couldn't sleep, his mind was buzzing with what Gorgon had told him and it disturbed him to the core. He sat up in bed and looked out over the city pondering what to do next but nothing came to mind, he had already set in place a measures to keep his mother and father safe along with his two brothers and his twin sister but he felt it wasn't enough, he needed guidance and he had no one to give him it, that's when it hit him like a tonne of bricks. Back when he was little his mother Saria Dark scale said to him "if you can't find the answers you seek amongst mortals, seek it amongst gods" this was a long taught motto amongst clerics off all temples and a good piece of advice. It was only a matter of gearing up and visiting the Temple District at night.

It didn't take long to get his weapon and head down to the main gate; normally he would take a much safer route through a network of tunnels and sewers that honey combed the entire substructure of Obsidias but he needed to keep his head clear and being cramped in small twisting pathways under the city would not be the best place to do so. It was easy to get past the gate guard after all he was a member of the elite class of the Crimson Eye, the hard part was navigating the back allies and short cuts he needed to get to the Temple District but he made it there as if it were day. The first thing he saw when he arrived was the tower of the gods, it was made of marble and stood several meters tall so tall it was high enough to watch over the Temple District with ease, he knew that this tower was one of four dotted about Obsidias with the much larger central tower the Obsidian Spire in the city centre, as he looked upon the monumental structure he couldn't help but be enthralled by the large glowing crystal at the top. He didn't know much about the crystal only that it was magical in a way and only mages knew how it worked, but dwelling on the strange gem was not going to get him the answers he needed with a quick sigh he pulled his gaze away from the tower and walked up to the temple of Marcanthrus, being a devout follower of the path of honour the patron deity of all warriors and knights was logical that he was the best choice for his questions and guidance.

As he opened the large steel plated front door he was surprised to see a priestess of Marcanthrus kneeling by the alter in deep prayer, the alter was lit with several candles that bathed the statues of the temple in a flickering golden light and the golden Idle of Marcanthrus that watched over the alter looked like it had been recently cleaned, he closed the door behind him as silently as possible to not disturb the priestess and made his way to the alter as he approached he looked over the young disciple of the god of War, Time and Honour. She was a grey wolf not much older than himself, her ceremonial battle robes clung to her form making her look like a vision of beauty mixed in with the intimidating look of a warrior around her neck was an amulet with the symbol of Marcanthrus but much of it was covered by her hand.

"so you have come, I was wondering when you would be visiting the house of the god of war" the priestess said with her eyes still shut, "you have come for guidance I take it, Marcanthrus has for seen this moment I will help you anyway I can."

This came as a shock to Tatherus; how did she know? Could she be mistaken? It was all a big mystery. Tatherus let took a deep breath and turned to the priestess.

"I have come in regards to shadows moving in the dark, an attempt to cease power if you will; it has come to my attention that a coup attempted will be made against my family, I have already placed measures to keep my family safe but I feel it's not enough."

The priestess suddenly looked up with a worried look on her face. She stood up and walked over to the young lizard; she stood slightly shorter than him but was able to show her intimidating form as if she was a pack leader.

"So the fixed point is closing in on us, Marcanthrus warned the clergy of this temple of this event and to do everything in our power to limit collateral damage" she said, "Are you familiar with the tale of Saral-Greth?"

"Yes, Saral-Greth was a paladin who was devoted to Marcanthrus to the extent he was dubbed the Champion of honour" Tatherus replied, "he was responsible in stopping the Necromancer lord Recarnis from unleashing an undead army on Obsidias." Replied the young knight

"That is true, but he too had people he cared for in neighbouring villages that he wanted to save, but he couldn't help them even with all the plans set in place to protect them. He asked for Marcanthrus for guidance and he was gifted with a vision, Marcanthrus allowed him to see the strands of time as they were woven into the fabric of the cosmos and pointed out the events that were in flux and those that were fixed. The events that were fixed could not be changed but there were elements that could be speared the fate that was to occur, using this knowledge he hired a group of spy's, Assassins, thieves and mercenaries to act as his agents in these places and when the word was sent that the army was coming they would do their best to save as many people as they could" The priestess continued then pointed to a figure sitting in a dark corner or the temple.

The figure was a young red vixen but was hard to distinguish who; she was draped in a black cloak with a hood that covered her eyes, the only thing that was distinguishable was the badge pinned to the left side of her chest. The figure got up and approached the two before removing her hood, what Tatherus saw was no short of a coincidence.

"Sky?" he said with surprise, it had been two years since they parted ways and now she was a member of the privet army known as the shadow blades, "What are you doing here?" he asked

"Repaying a dept." she said bluntly "after all I do recall a certain group of Crimson Eye Initiates saving me from becoming a cum bucket for a group of bandits"

"Well now do I need to pay your organisation or are you doing this for kicks?" he chuckled still not believing how far the ex-slave had come, "I need to know if I am to employ the same tactic as Saral-Greth"

"Don't worry we have pledged loyalty to you and the Crimson Eye and if your order are branded traitors we will be your agents till we are released from our oaths." Sky then turned away and blushed, "and some of my fellow shadow blades and I think you and your Eagle friend Talon are quite attractive"

"You and half the Crimson Eye" Tatherus added before regaining his composure "report to the Crimson Eye compound for a full briefing" and with that Sky slank back into the shadows.

Thanking the priestess for everything Tatherus left the temple feeling confident that he will wether the coming storm.

The next day

"My lord we have a situation between the estates of Councillor Fragus and the Gornaran Hive" the council Stewart said with a frown this was the only bad news Chancellor Red claw had heard all week and it made him mad

"Tell me quickly before I rip your voice box!" the Chancellor said fighting back the urge to disembowel the poor husky that stood in front of him, he was only two months away from finally stepping down as Chancellor of the Obsidias Council and now a massive war was about to break out.

The Husky jumped a little at the reaction before continuing with his report. "Apparently the estate is in a bitter land and border dispute over the town of hellfire peak, the volcanic fields in the area have been the main source of food production for the local herbivores in the region and the mines are a good source of many rear metals for forging tools and weapons" he let out a sigh, "but it appears that Fragus and his pack has moved in and clamed ownership of the town and therefore breaking the joint agreement forged by their houses centuries ago."

"Damn just what I didn't need, a pack of Hyenas going against a hive of wasps" he cursed then focused on how to rectify the situation "have the towns people sent a request for help?"

"Yes Chancellor, they ask that you send the Crimson Eye's Blood Watch to the region to stabilise the matter, I would recommend your son Tatherus as the best choice for this matter"

The Chancellor looked to his adviser Nagrath who was standing with his back turned to him, as if he was communicated by telepathy he turned to face the Chancellor with an expression of deep consideration on his face, Nagrath gave him a nod of agreement before turning back and continued the task he was doing leaving the Chancellor to address the Stewart.

"Send a message to the Crimson Eye and let them know of the situation and my choice of Knight to be sent, also tell Tatherus to visit the Obsidias Depositary before he leaves, the cashier will know what he is to receive" the Chancellor said before leaving his office. 'And if the rumours of a coup are indeed correct then he will have a fighting chance' he thought to himself before heading to his privet chambers to mull things over.

To be continued