The mad scramble for victory over the tower continues. But it doesn’t stop there. A mystery had been beset by treachery, while greed had turned to chaos for Yuva, Lilicen and Eriquo, followed by mistrust and newly discovered revelation for the team. Saving the princess and defeating the Necromancer had become a stopgap, which means this conspiracy has more levels to it than the tower itself.
Shot, separated, disarmed, strung up and beaten, we start off volume 3 hard with Yuva and the gang clinging to life. The rogue royal guards were after them, not by chance, it turns out, but by an outside source. Since they figured the team was not making it out of the tower, one of the rogues let it slip; they were paid to root them out and take from them what no one but Eriquo knew they were carrying. The Dragonbane, an arrowhead made out of crystalized magic, a weapon rumored to have been stolen from the treasury and secretly given to Eriquo, is now in the hands of the rogue royal guards.
Dungeon Dilemma
Now, at this point, it didn’t seem right for the rogue guards to just hang around the tower if they’d gone rogue. If they’re not serving the crown, then there was no reason for them to be there; they could’ve just left. But it wasn’t until the rogues dropped the ball by so callously telling them that they were paid to stop them, further deepening the mysterious plot. Officially, it was reported that the artifact was “stolen.” Unofficially, it was secretly given to Eriquo by Captain Minsabelle, who would have access to the treasury, in order to aid him in taking down the Necromancer. But with the artifact reported stolen, that would make Eriquo out to be a thief working with co-conspirators.
If the artifact were to be recovered, that would make anyone who helped them be deemed against the crown, royalty or not. Now it would seem that whoever is trying to stop Eriquo isn’t for trying to save the princes, but rather to upend the monarchy; they’d lose one princess to the Necromancer and the other to treason, leaving whoever is behind all this to quietly seize power. On top of all of that, Eriquo was instructed to keep the artifact a secret even from the rest of the team, which shows a huge lack of trust by him and that of his charge. Yuva might understand, but Lilicen would in no way stand for that.
Men! We Don’t Know What We Did!
After surviving the rogue ambush, the group carried on rather than go back to the fort. Too much was already at stake from rival teams trying to save the princess, as well as now having learned of a secret adversary attempting to sabotage their efforts. They came across the Excavators guild, all frozen in stone, and before they could grasp what had happened, they were under attack from a Basilisk, a giant moth-like creature that with one look turned the unsuspecting into a statue. Yuza was the first to be stiffened by its gaze. Both Eriquo and Lilicen came up with a plan on the fly, Eriquo shooting an arrow into its eye, and Lilicen igniting it with a fire summoning spell. It blows the monster’s head off, releasing everyone trapped from its spell.
Yuva, being the ever dull-witted hero that he is, manages to be standing in front of the guild’s leader, apparently breaking her fall with his face. Now, was that really Yuva’s fault? In Lilicen’s eyes, YES, yes it was. The leader was a bit too grateful for Yuva personally saving her life, even more so, asking him to join their team. However, Lilicen somehow managed to keep her cool and reminded her and Yuva that they were there on official royal business, so they parted ways and in one piece.
If Dense were a Person
As a reward for saving the guild, one of the members gave Lilicen mindlink rings that allow the wearers to hear each other’s thoughts. Now, if you readers haven’t guessed it by now, Lilicen has a bit of a thing for Yuva, and it’s practically staring him in the face, but he either completely has no clue or, rather, because of Lilicen’s fiery nature, he doesn’t want anything more to do with her other than to keep it strictly business. Lilicen can’t stand the thought of not knowing what he’s thinking about her, the guild leader, the princess. She needs to know: is it her on his mind, or is it someone else? Now with the mindlink rings in their possession, this is her chance to find out. Unfortunately, his thoughts let off a little more than she cared to know: asleep, she’s an angel, awake, she’s loud, proud and in charge, which frankly, Yuva is not a fan of, where Lilicen ends up being her own worst enemy.
A Royal Revelation
When it comes to being a Dracomorph, each has their own unique abilities depending on the person’s control over said power. Some can turn completely into a flying dragon at the same time maintaining a rational or irrational mind, while others retain a humanoid form, but can focus their power in more rudimentary abilities. In Princess Ignelia’s case, she’s capable of manifesting herself into someone’s dreams, including Yuva. But the real question is, why Yuva? She reached out with her power to make contact with Minsabelle, but instead found someone believed to be in close relation to her. Either way, she was displeased by such a contact, not by it being him, but because she now knew Minsabelle was gone. She made do in the moment with Yuza, instructing him to stop the Necromancer at all costs, and bequeathed him her necklace as proof of their vivid encounter when he wakes to let him know it wasn’t just a dream.
Yuva wakes to reveal the dream to Eriquo and Lilicen, still unsure of what had transpired or even why the princess spoke to him over the others. The strength, the resilience, the connection with the princess, it all made sense to Eriquo, even unto Lieutenant Rudeum when he briefly mentored Yuva in order to test his mettle. Yuva was of royal blood, and perhaps even his sister Funapa, too. By whom was he sired? He doesn’t know, but it sure will complicate things further down the line once word gets out.
Final Thoughts
With the discovery of Yuva’s royal lineage, does this mean he has a chance at becoming the next ruler of the realm should either of the princesses not be able to? Not necessarily. Captain Minsabelle only went back to take the throne from her brother, the Dragon King, whom the royal parliament deemed unfit to rule, and since Ignelia is currently indisposed, it had to be her. Who was the one who hired the rogue guards, and how did they find out about the missing artifact?
All roads point to the royal parliament. Whether it’s to take control of the realm or simply maintain its stability while being ruled by the not-so-stable Dragon King, if the team fails to rescue Ignelia, then that’s one less heir to the throne, which makes seizing power all that much easier, if that was the goal. Lastly, is Lilicen going to roast every other woman that gets near Yuva? Absolutely! Even the princess may need to seek shelter from her, but not as badly as Yuva needs to wear his helmet even when he sleeps. He just cannot catch a break if he just so happens to mention another woman’s name without getting tormented.
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