Shortly after arriving back at the city castle, Daein helped Cassiel into some new clothes that fit him perfectly.
A pure black nobleman's suit, unfit for a king although it was the best suit he had.
As soon as Cassiel was dressed, he headed out to a tavern in the eastern part of the city, which is where he told his soldiers to meet him two hours after he entered the castle.
Upon reaching the tavern, Cassiel entered to find only eight soldiers remained there, waiting for his arrival.
"Where are the rest of you?" Cassiel said in an agitated tone, his face darkened with anger.
"They dispersed after you left... some said they'd meet back with us in an hour, and others told us straight up they weren't coming back. I believe they got scared after seeing a battle for the first time..." A soldier said, responding to Cassiel.
"I see... and what is your name?" Cassiel responds
"My name is Albus Apolis, my king." The soldier says, looking Cassiel dead in the eye.
"You have a good name, boy. I personally hope you can make it out of this next battle." Cassiel ends off the conversation with that, as he motions for the last eight vampires to follow him out.
As Cassiel turns to leave the tavern, a group of vampires walk in, bumping into Cassiel on the way.
"Hey, apologize." Cassiel said, turning and grabbing onto the vampire that bumped him.
The vampire turns to look at Cassiel, before laughing, which causes Albus to send a forceful punch straight into his stomach.
"You dare laugh at the king? This requires punishment. My king, I will meet you outside, please allow me a moment." Albus says to Cassiel, as the vampire falls to the ground.
"Very well." Cassiel says smirking, motioning his hand for the rest of his soldiers to follow him out.
The vampire group consisted of 3 more vampires, whom all charged at Albus as Cassiel made his way outside, with Albus following soon after
"Albus, why did you let a man like Thain Noir rule as king? You seem like you'd have been very capable of handling him yourself." Cassiel questioned.
"I had to bide my time, Thain was a nobleman, I'm just a mere commoner... to be frank I wasn't near Thain's power either." Albus responded.
"I believe you just lacked the confidence to fight him, Albus. From what I can see, you aren't far from where Thain was at." Cassiel finishes the conversation with that, as he then heads back to the city castle to speak to Daein, as the rest of his soldiers follow.
.....
.....
Shortly after arriving, Cassiel introduced his soldiers to Daein, to then have him show them to their quarters for the time being, before having Daein show him to his own room.
"It's quite spacious, Daein."
"Is it to your liking, my king?"
"Yes, I believe it will do just fine. Be off to bed yourself, we must gather as much rest as we can before tomorrow."
"Of course, however I do have a question... what is this act you're putting on, Cassiel?"
Cassiel turns to face Daein with a glare.
"You're too smart for your own good. I need to act this way to gain the trust of my people. You should know better than anyone how I'd like to be, but this isn't the time for it. I need to be a king before I am a warrior. Now don't piss me off Daein, go get your rest."
"...Of course, my king." Daein says, leaving the room and shutting the door behind him before walking off to his own room.
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.....
Across the land, it's seen again that even during the night time, Falvi is preparing once more for an attack on the castle.
"Falvi, please reconsider. You're not in the best of shape to be doing this right now." Bathall pleads.
"Then who else? Who else has the strength to lead the charge. It has to be me, Bathall." Falvi says, annoyed.
"Me. I'm strong enough, you need to stop looking down on me. Let me lead this charge and you can have the tales of victory. If you die, this whole operation would have been for nothing. You need to realize that." Bathall responds in an angered tone.
"Fine, you can go tomorrow, however Bathall, be careful of a vampire with white hair. I had believed I killed him in our last fight, although now that I've had time to think, I didn't see a single trace of him."
"But you used your spear of calamity, that's your strongest skill of course there wasn't anything left of him."
"Don't be brash, Bathall. That vampire was fighting me on equal terms, if not that, then he was winning. He wouldn't have been completely disintegrated by it. Be careful."
"I will, Falvi. I'll bring back the head of the city lord as well, and I'm leaving a couple soldiers behind here for you."
"Very well, carry on now." Falvi responds, ending the conversation as Bathall turns to head out while commanding orders to the soldiers.
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.....
As the sun reaches over the city walls, a new day starts as mist braziers get set off to cloud the city from any light, which wakes Cassiel.
As he gets up, he dresses himself before leaving his room and heading down towards the blacksmith that Daein showed him the other day.
Finally reaching the shop after an uneventful walk, he enters inside before calling out to the blacksmith.
"Hildric! I have returned for my gear. I hope you have kept your promise." Cassiel yells out.
Hildric appears from the door to his smithy to greet Cassiel, before motioning for him to come over.
"I hope you'll be happy with my work, my king." Hildric says softly, still in remembrance of what he did yesterday.
Hildric then pulls out a box, opening it to reveal a set of armor forged in a cold black iron, the strongest material he has to offer.
The chest piece was long and smooth, lined in the metal Hildric loved, with two iron studs on each side of the chest.
In the same box was a pair of pauldrons, and engraved and etched nicely despite the material being difficult to work with.
Pulling out another box, Hildric opens it, revealing the gauntlets and boots he had crafted.
The gauntlets, forged with the toughest leather on Rampiel, and the same metal he had used on the chest and pauldrons, the iron covered the fatal spots of his forearm, while leaving flexibility on the underside for optimal use.
Despite the boots being almost completely iron plated, Hildric had put the same engravings as he did on the pauldrons, while leaving the boots still light and flexible.
The sight left Cassiel stunned for a few moments, he never expected such beautiful craftsmanship.
"Oh I almost forgot, there's a helmet-"
"Enough, worry not about that. I dislike helmets, they cover my vision." Cassiel says, cutting Hildric off.
"Keep it as a trophy so you brag that you made armor for the king. Take this coin as well, I'm sure gold is still valuable in this time." Cassiel says, now realizing he doesn't know much of what's changed in the last couple decades.
"This... is extraordinary, thank you my king." Hildric says, his eyes glistening with pure joy, leaving Cassiel to wonder if gold has more value than before.
"I'll be off then, I suggest you have enough food to stay inside for the next couple days, Hildric." Cassiel says, leaving the shop and returning to the castle.
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.....
Upon entering, Cassiel is greeted by his soldiers, all lined up in a straight orderly fashion, equipped with what elite guards are normally armored in.
"I assumed this is the vision you had in mind for these men, my king." Daein says, appearing from the side.
"It is, I'm glad you took notice, Daein." Cassiel responded.
"Soldiers, from now on all eight of you will be my personal guards, and because of that I will be personally training you all from now, until the end of the day. This is to prepare you all in advance to the battle happening soon. I hope you're all ready, I will be meeting you all in the field soon." Cassiel says, as he then orders his soldiers to head out to the training field behind the castle.
"Daein, I will meet back with you soon to discuss battle preparations... and I'm also going to need you to catch me up on everything that has changed in the last 500 years..." Cassiel says, as he then follows his soldiers out to the field for a long day of training.