The scent of Iron lingered in the air. Blood.
That's what he smelled every Morning, in his every dream.
Noir stood barefoot upon the obsidian balcony, eyes raised to the stars that never blinked in Vael'Thorne's sky.
He looked at the moon, His lips curled up. Just a bit.
The smile showed more of lonelyness rather than happiness. He sighed.
"To think there was something even I couldn't reach..."
Ofcourse, he wasn't talking about the moon, That's More Cliché than romantic.
He was talking about something else.
Something more.....Human?
Below, the city pulsed like a living dream: soft lights flowing through crystal veins, towers of glass and shadow crowned in moonfire. The capital of the so-called Kingdom of Darkness shimmered like something stolen from the heavens.
He let the silence stretch, broken only by the distant hum of magic and music.
Noir often wondered how it appeared to outsiders. To the slaves they brought in chains. Did they look upon his world and weep in confusion, as their lies dissolved into wonder?
Behind him, the glass doors to his private chambers remained open, violet curtains swaying with the wind. There were reports on his desk—border disputes, whispers of a divine remnant in the eastern isles—but he let them wait.
Time obeyed him. Or so the world believed.
A shadow shifted.
Not a assassin. Not for him.
He knew the weight of every footstep in his palace.
"Your Majesty. The patrol returns. With a... guest."
He didn't turn. His voice was low, velvet-dark. "A prisoner?"
"A slave. Divine-marked. And—she healed Sir Kael."
That made him turn.
"Healed?"
The guard hesitated, clearly aware of the word's gravity. "Touched him, Your Grace. His wound closed before the second breath. No incantation. No offering."
Noir's eyes narrowed slightly.
Sir Kael had been wounded in the marsh patrol. A poison Dragon's Claw—slow death, incurable by normal means. Noir had already made peace with the loss.
And now... healed.
By a chained girl.
Noir said nothing for a long moment. He turned his gaze toward the palace far below—where his throne waited, and beyond it, the garden of still water, where his ancestors whispered through the lilies.
A girl who glows. A Divine-born who heals without prayer.
Danger. Or miracle Perhaps?
He spoke softly, as if to the wind.
"Prepare the east garden," he said. "I will speak with her myself."
"As you command, My Lord." The shadow Bowed before disappearing into thin air.
----
The garden had been designed by his grandmother—a woman of flame and shadow. It was said she tamed wild spirits with her laughter. Now, only her voice lingered in the water's reflection, in the music of wind chimes shaped like crescent moons.
Noir stood in the center of the marble circle, hands caressing the beautiful eqinox flower, watching the pond ripple under the moonlight.
He heard the clinking of chains before he saw her.
Her face was bruised, her exposed legs and arms showed the whip marks, atleast five in each limb. The worn piece of cloak was the only thing covering her light body
She was Thinner than he imagined. But her presence struck him like thunder wrapped in silk. Even exhausted, her light pulsed, dimmed but undeniable.
She was led by the same guard who'd spoken with her earlier. He Bowed to his lord and stopped a few paces away and stepped back, leaving the girl alone.
She didn't kneel. Didn't speak. She was far too frightened to even process any of these in her mind.
Her eyes met his—and held.
So many had faltered under that gaze.
He took one step forward.
Then another.
And another.
Only when he stood just close enough, to see the shimmer of her power dancing faintly across her skin, did he speak.
His eyes softened, curious, dangerous.
"Tell me, slave—what do you see when you look at me?"
Her lips parted slightly.
But the answer would not come. Of course it wouldn't.
If the roar of a lion is enough to make a person faint from fear, then what stood before her—was a presence so dreadful, even dragons, proud and ancient, bowed before it while trembling.
He Was The Monarch Who Ruled The Night.
Noir Vaeloren Nyxshade.