White Ravens: Advent of War

The First Step

Sigil and his group found themselves at the McBride's estate, sitting tensely in front of Anderson McBride. This man appeared to be so influential that he could tell the soldiers of Regalia's capital to disperse, and he even managed to make one of the empire's top dogs to stand down, not to mention, it was a loose canon like Kael.

It seemed that this man was not someone they would wish to make an enemy of. Sigil was tapping his finger over his crossed arms while waiting for Anderson to utter a word. Beside the man was his lovely daughter, Melissa, and even someone as talkative as her was silenced in his presence.

A servant approached with refreshments, breaking the tension and silence in the room. Anderson waved his hand to dismiss the maid, leaned forward, and finally decided to speak. "I do not know who you people are, but I'm sure that Liam Valor is a cover. Furthermore, only one of you looks Regalian, and she's a deserter."

Corselia was startled, but she quickly hid her surprise. Anderson seemed to notice her emotional fluctuation, but he decided to ignore her and continue speaking. "So, what are Wisterians doing within the empire? Are you here to spy on us?"

Suddenly, Melissa said, "Father, they're not..."

Anderson put his hand up, rendering her unable to finish her sentence. "Let our guests speak for themselves, child. It would be a disservice to deprive them of their right to explain."

At long last, Sigil cleared his throat and reached out his hand to Anderson. "It is an honor to meet you, Lord Anderson McBride. My name is Sigil Thorn, ex-captain of the twelfth rune knight squad of Wisteria."

"Ex-captain, huh? I see..." Anderson trailed off, and gestured Sigil to continue.

"May I be blunt, sir?" Sigil asked. When he saw Anderson nod, he continued, "I've heard from your daughter that your esteemed family is an avid supporter of Lady Merces. Though I've not heard up to what extent you're willing to help her, I do know that you cannot openly defy the Emperor's orders to execute her."

Anderson chuckled upon hearing Sigil's deduction. "If you already figured that out, I'm amused to know why you'd want to ask for my assistance," he replied.

Silence befell them once more as Sigil and Anderson stared at each other with steely gazes. Finally, Sigil said, "We're here, acting as emissaries of Lord Vanderbilt to gather allies for a peace treaty."

"A peace treaty?" asked Melissa. "How do you mean?"

This time, Corselia intervened. "A peace treaty between Regalia and Wisteria. Our mission here is to save Lady Lelei Merces, and ride under her banner as an independent, neutral force with the goal of brokering an armistice between our two nations. And soon, we do hope that this war finally comes to an end."

All of a sudden, Anderson let out a hearty laughter. He was laughing for a good ten seconds until he finally stopped. "I do apologize for laughing, it's not that I belittle your goals, it's just that I find it too naïve. But I'll humor the thought. Let's say you do manage to convince a majority of the Regalian aristocrats to support Lady Merces, but that still wouldn't be enough if the Emperor wishes to continue fighting this war. Furthermore, how could you, fugitives of your own nation, convince Wisteria to forge an armistice with us?"

Gust suddenly got up from his seat and took out a letter from his satchel. It contained Commander Liana's personal seal. Anderson was surprised to see the seal on the letter just as much as Sigil was.

"I do imagine you would recognize that seal, Lord Anderson," said Gust. "Before I left Loveria, I spoke to the commander regarding our current situation. She told me to hand-deliver that letter to a man named Anderson McBride, and said that he could be the key to ending this war once and for all."

Anderson let out a helpless sigh while chuckling softly. "She really said that, huh? I can't believe she still has that much faith in me." Then, he got up, and walked towards the stairwell, stopping midway. "Basil?"

Basil approached Anderson and bowed respectfully. "How can I be of service to you, my lord?"

"Show our guests to their rooms. They have a long day ahead of them tomorrow. The good Lady Merces will need their strength if she's to escape, don't you think so as well, Basil?" Anderson remarked.

"Indeed, my lord." Basil turned to Sigil and the others and said, "This way please."

Basil led them all to individual rooms, and made sure that they had everything they needed. That night, Corselia asked Tatiana to teach her how to cast healing magic, which the latter agreed without hesitation. Gust, on the other hand, spoke to Basil. It seemed that the young man had taken a shine on the hale old man. He could tell that Basil was a capable combatant, and he wanted to test his strength against him.

The old man invited him to the courtyard and they soon dueled using blunt weapons.

Meanwhile, Sigil was resting at his room, when all of a sudden, he heard a knock coming from the door. "Come in," he said.

Melissa entered his room bringing in refreshments and some biscuits. She put down the tray on the coffee table, and sat down. Sigil sat across her and asked, "Listen, Lady Melissa, I do apologize for deceiving you yesterday. I—"

"Peace, Sir Sigil. You need not apologize for worrying about your safety. I'm merely here to chat," Melissa remarked.

"Okay... what about?" Sigil responded.

She cleared her throat and spoke softer this time. "What made you want to end this war, Sir Sigil? You are a rune knight captain, are you not? Not to mention, you seem to be newly inaugurated."

Sigil chuckled softly as Rune's image flashed through his mind. "I have an idiotic brother, but his heart is in the right place. He has all the makings of a fool, but he inherited our father's heart. He's actually the one who proposed we put an end to this hundred year war."

"I see. But what about you, Sigil? what do you think? I'm sorry, may I drop the honorifics?" Melissa asked.

"Only if you let me do the same," he replied.

Melissa giggled softly. "By all means, Sigil. Anyway, what do you want to do?"

Sigil got up from his seat and walked towards the balcony with his hands behind his back. "Personally, I share Rune's ideals. Truthfully, he should be the one who became captain, but he entrusted that position to me, believing that I'd know what to do when the situation calls for it."

Then, he turned around and continued, "He actually stood up to the Queen of Wisteria just to forfeit his chance of being a captain in front of dozens of rune knights, including the Queen's royal knights!"

"He sounds like a good brother," Melissa remarked.

"That, he is, though I sometimes doubt it," Sigil replied. He took out something from his pocket, and stared at it. It was the crest of House Thorn. "Our father, Bellamy Thorn, died before he could see us knighted. When I was a kid, he adopted me from a horrible orphanage, and told me that from then on, I shall now be known as Sigil, son of Bellamy, child of House Thorn. His trueborn son, Rune was every bit as kind as he was, and didn't even hesitate to accept me."

A tear fell from Sigil's eyes, which he wiped away immediately. "If there was something that I want to do, it's to make sure that their dreams are realized. Just like my father, I wish to put an end to this war, the right way. I'll do whatever it takes to ensure that we can all live in a world that Rune and my father can be proud of!"

Unbeknownst to Sigil, there were people listening outside his door. It turned out to be Gust and Corselia. For whatever reason, they seemed to have become fast friends, much to Tatiana's dismay. They invited Tatiana to come along when they noticed Melissa enter Sigil's room, but she declined, saying that she wanted to rest.

Initially, they were expecting to hear something scandalous inside, but they never expected that they would be inspired Sigil instead. With that, they went back to their own rooms and retired for the night.

The following morning, the group set out to the fourth pathway, leading to the southern coast of Regalia. Basil led them to outskirts of New Valeria, and into a hidden pathway beneath a large willow tree. Fortunately, there didn't seem to be any guards around. It seemed that the empire truly believed that Lady Merces' revolutionary army had been quelled now that she was incarcerated.

Basil bade them farewell after handing them a map, and returned to the McBride's manor at once.

At long last, the first step into ending this war was set in motion. With fiery hearts and steely determinations, Sigil and his group entered the hidden pathway.