He turned to march onwards towards the castle, the day had tired him, his wounds still throbbing greatly. He would handle one task at a time, for he was far more interested in reaching the famed castle. His walk up there was marked with scenery he had only ever seen in books. Each side of the massive marble path was covered with foreign trees, each one large with lightly colored rosy leaves. The pathway was large enough for several people to stand across and still have room for a horse drawn carriage. The marble was smooth, even after much use, signs of weakness were not visible. The higher he rose, the greater the view of the whole city grew. The boy had never seen the city from this high before. From where he stood the troubles of the city looked inconsequential. The millions who lived below all seemed to fade into the background, their lives merely a footnote unworthy of comment. Those below had always complained of the lack of interest the royal family showed towards the people of Akkad. Unlike other realms whose royal family regularly had celebrations. Those of house Xerxes kept to themselves, content with their own privacy. The boy never understood such talk back in the slums, but now atop this point here looking down at them all; he did. He wondered if Antares ever felt the sensation coursing through him right now.

  As he made his way to the top, the path opened up to a massive courtyard. Its grand scale took him by surprise. From down below Akkad, such an area was not possible but from up above, here it was. More magic he thought to himself, a painful grin crossed his face. He had known of its existence but he never truly noticed, but today something within him awoke. A desire to see the world for what it was, for the turmoil that followed the days of his father's death. The boy had grown so much in mere hours of leaving his home. His curiosity burned brightly, he too wanted to use magic.

  He walked off the marble stairs along the gravel path leading to the huge obsidian staircase. Before him a large crowd gathered, but what caught his attention was the woman and two children playing in the courtyard. He could tell from their clothing and presence they were royalty, the glow they emitted was visible to his eyes who knew nothing but the dull colors of the common folk.

  It was a sizable crowd that had gathered at the steps of the castle. People pushed each other jostling for position, he stood at the back unsure of what to do.

  "Your first time?" said the man next to him.

  The boy turned, facing a towering man. "What makes you say that?" he turned his attention back to the crowd.

  The man chuckled. "Because you're not joining them." he said pointing at the crowd.

  "Neither are you," he retorted.

  The tall man raised his hands defensively. "I mean no disrespect friend, simply wish to advise that you are perhaps too late."

  "What do you mean?" he asked.

  The tall man turned to face the staircase and the boy followed his gaze. "Ah here they come."

  Two soldiers adorned in Stygian colours briskly exited the castle. They reached the top of the stairs and the crowd calmed, quieting quickly.

  "Apologies people. His majesty is far too busy to see anyone today," a short stoutly man barked.

  The crowd caused a ruckus and the man slammed the butt of his spear into the ground and everyone fell silent.

  "As you all know it has been a difficult time for his majesty, the death of his father still weighs heavy. There is much to address." His words left no room for rebuttal. "Come back tomorrow."

  The crowd shuffled and began to disperse making their way down the path.

  "The king's been really busy lately, he barely has time to see anyone." The tall man sighed looking annoyed. "Unless you come very early in the morning there is not much hope of seeing him."

  The boy looked to see the sun was setting. The events of the day took much longer than he had anticipated and now evening had arrived. He did not know if he would be able to return to the castle tomorrow. He would not leave it to chance once again, he was so close to completing his father's wishes. He felt the letter in his pocket and steeled himself. He moved past the crowd and walked up the steps towards the short guard.

  "Hey kid, did you not hear me? The king is not seeing anyone," the guard waved his hand dismissing the boy.

  He stood defiantly. " I-I need to see the king, it's important."

  The guard rolled his eyes, "Yeah? You and every other citizen in this city, kid."

  "But it's important!" the boy demanded.

  "And what about other people? Their desires do not matter?" barked back the old guard.

  The boy hesitated where he stood. He had come so far already, he was so close he had no intentions of going home now. He would honor his father, he would do it one last time.

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  "Please, I am begging you, it's for my father." He pulled out the letter from his pocket showing him.

  The guard pushed the letter to the ground, uninterested in looking at it.

  "Listen here child, I have had a long day. Come back tomorrow with your stupid letter," the guard said, stepping on it.

  The boy's body reacted before he was aware. This time his swollen right hand buried itself squarely into the jaw of the guard as his foot stepped on the letter. The force of the boy's fists were strong enough to move the guard from where he stood. A Follow up blow was blocked with the spear the guard held. In a single sweeping motion he swiped at the boy's feet and slammed him into the ground with authority. In intense pain, the boy scrambled to his feet but was repeatedly beaten back down. Each blow sent searing pain across his body.

  "You would dare hit an imperial guard!" bellowed the guard, his anger palpable.

  The boy swiped at the guard's feet with his own and the unaware man fell to the ground. The boy scuttled towards the letter but was immediately jumped upon by the second guard. Squirm as he might, he could not escape as repeated blows to the head nearly knocked him out.

  "You insolent brat!" barked the old guard as he got to his feet. He went over to pick up the letter.

  "Damn you and your letter."

  The boy realized too late that the guard was going to tear the letter. Try as he might, with all the energy he could muster, he cried and wailed trying to break free. He would not let anything happen to the letter, it was all he had left of his father, the last thing he was entrusted to do. The boy begged and pleaded, he prayed to every God he could. They failed him with his father. He prayed that they would not fail him now.

  "By Strigga what is going on here?" A woman emerged from the steps with two children following behind her.

  All immediately got on one knee. The air in the area was different, the boy had never felt pressure like this before. She looked at him and shivers ran through his back, her piercing gaze inflicting dominance over him. He did not know who she was, but even him as young as he was, as inexperienced as he was, could tell he was in the presence of someone great.

  "Lady Alena!" the short round guard lowered his head greatly. "A thousand apologies." The boy was surprised to see the man capable of displaying such submission.

  "What could be of such great importance?" her eyes darted across the area looking at everyone. "To interrupt my time with my grandchildren?"

  The boy looked at the children who clung to the lady's dress. They locked eyes with him and he gave a soft smile and they hid.

  The guard cleared his throat, drawing on whatever confidence he could muster. "I am sorry my lady, it is just some common boy causing problems." He slowly rose to his feet, hoping he was allowed to. "I will remove him from the castle right away."

  "Give me my letter!" demanded the boy.

  "Why you!" the guard readied to hit the boy again.

  "Enough," her words precise and sharp.

  She snapped her fingers and the guard brought the letter to her. Lady Alena had hoped for a quiet day out away from the castle for her grandchildren given the events of the last few days. The actions of their parents had a great reaching effect throughout the castle and some of the realm, of course the children were none the wiser. She had hoped to have a day planned with laughter and activities to busy them. It had worked for most of the day but was now interrupted. She looked at the letter and the royal seal shone brightly.

  "Sir Carsha, have you seen the letter?" her eyes did not leave the seal.

  He swallowed softly. "N-no my lady."

  "I would not like to assume why you did not," she began. " Because if you did. You would see this is a royal seal, and not just any royal seal, this one belongs to my son, your king."

  Carsha turned pale. His words stuck in his throat. He stood there squirming underneath the gaze of his lady. He looked at the ground, accepting any punishment that would be handed to him.

  "I will deal with both of you later." Lady Alena looked at Carsha and the second guard with disdain. She turned to look at the boy, holding the letter between her fingers. "You boy, what is your name? And how did you get this letter?"

  He gingerly returned to his feet, dusting himself off. He wiped the tears from his eyes and stood proud.

  "It belonged to my father... but he's dead now." The words hurt him to say out loud. "It was his last wish for me to deliver that letter to Antares."

  "King Antares, to you," she chastised him. "I see your father did not teach you respect. And your name?"

  The boy hesitated, embarrassed by her words, found strength within himself.

  "M-My name is Cyrus, son of Dijkstra," Cyrus looked Lady Alena in the eyes.

  She studied him for a moment, taking the measure of the young child. Besides his obvious wounds, he looked malnourished and tired. His eyes filled with pain, much of his appearance reminded her of Antares. The weight of all suffering on their shoulders. A burden they carried whether by choice or fate. She handed him back the letter. And walked past him with Loukas and Samara in tow.

  "That is not your name, you have the blood of Stygians flowing through your veins." Her words rang loud in his ears. "From this day forward you will be recognized as such."

  Cyrus clung to her words stumbling after them, within perhaps a new path arose. Where he thought his was ending now seemed to lead him even further than he imagined. To meet the queen consort of the previous king was something many dreamed off and very few would ever experience, and yet here he was. Standing on sacred ground. This morning he was but one of millions who didn't matter, who simply existed to occupy space, now as evening started to turn to night, he was someone who mattered, and by extension so did his father.

  "What are you waiting for Cyrus Xerxes?" Lady Alena called out to him. A small smile escaping the edges of her lips. Her violet eyes glowed with life. "Do you not have a letter to deliver to the king?"