So this chapter may be a tad short today, or at least shorter than the others as hope to do more character development and a tad of explanation for the last chapter.

Kuorniu War

8

Gentle Truths

Location: Ken

Faction: Alliance

Time: 10:00 am

"It's an outrage I tell you, an outrage!" shouted ArchBishop Greystone. The other members at the table had enough of this as it had already been an hour into the council meeting. All the shields sat in attendance, with the head of the main army, Lord Pantielle. The other attendant was the ArchBishop Greystone, head of all the churches in Eostia.

"Archbishop please, can you at least give a reason for this outburst?" Celestine requested as she rubbed her temple.

"Of course your holiness," he replied as he gestured toward the holographic image in the center of the table, "Sir Cyrus Raynor is a blood anarchist. His brutal executions of prisoners in Rochdale, taking action with permission, killing the heads of multiple noble households, and his execution in Feoh was just was just bloody OUTRAGEST!"

"So what's your point Greystone?" Maia yawned into her hand as she propped her feet on the table.

"My point is that he must be tried for heresy!"

His words were met with laughter from across the room as, Olga having a hard time controlling herself. "You old fool, you must really have a death wish," Olga said through her laughter.

"And another thing," Greystone continued which caused most to groan, "Not only is that which sitting at this table, but that monster isn't even here to answer for his crimes, he sent this killer instead!"

"Yo," Drake said as he readjusted himself in his seat.

"While I agree with you Archbishop," Prim began, her tone bolder than usual, "We can't deny how effective he is. In just three weeks he defeated an entire battalion of the Demon and Kuorniu army, stopped a human trafficking operation, weeded out traitors among us, and saved an entire city."

Everyone took a second to process what the pink haired princess had stated so boldly. The once so timid Princess now had a fire to her, no one knew whether it was from her near-death experience or the fact that Raynor had rubbed off on the two cousins.

"I must agree with Prim," Kaguya stated aloud in her usual calm tone, "Though his methods are out of this world, he has won us many of great victories, so as long as Celestine keeps him on a leash, we shouldn't have any further problems."

"I agree," called out Lord Pantielle, "He's not really a knight, to begin with, so it's alright if he doesn't fight like one. Furthermore, I think those bastards deserved every second of pain he put them through."

The room became quite as Celestine rose from the table and adjusted the image in the center of the table to one of Cyrus. His stoic expression was the only one they allowed them to record of him. She took one final glance at the table, before making her decision.

"Sir Raynor will not be tried for heresy, furthermore, any more investigation on him should be halted at once, all in favor?" she asked as she rose her hand. All the shield's except for Claudia rose their hands, Greystone scowling at Pantielle who rose his. "Then it is decided, the matter shall be put to rest."

"No, I won't accept it, not until he answers for his crimes. You, where is he anyway, what was so important he decided not to attend this council meeting!?" Greystone asked in a fit of rage.

"Today's Sunday," Drake replied, "He's at the hospital."

Northeastern District

Inside the halls of Saint Martha's Hostiptal, a tall woman with medium length pink hair walked from room to room. Visiting every room of the Feoh refugees, taking notes on how each patient was doing, glad to her improvements and saddened by no result at all.

"Umm pardon me, Doctor Rose?" asked one of the patients.

"Please call me Sirona," the women replied as leaned down to her the patient's request, a little girl of nothing more than fourteen years of age.

"I was wondering if you could bring this flower crown to Sir Raynor, I know it's not much but I just wanted to thank him for saving me,"

Sirona looked at the crown in the girl's hand, it was made of roses, painted black and white to resemble the knight's emblem. She took the crown and told the girl to get some rest. She closed the room door and went down the hall with a smile, walking past the men and women who were cleaning and fixing this the hospital up. If she was asked if this was the same hospital as a few weeks ago, she'd tell you she didn't recognize it. It was only a few weeks ago when Klaus introduced her to Sir Raynor himself. She was wrong to judge him as just another mercenary. Not only was he well educated in magic and alchemy, but in true medical producers as well, some methods she had never heard of even. She stopped outside the lab and gently opened the door, to her surprise, the group was still at work.

"Umm is this right Cyrus?" Klaus asked him as he moved his hand away from the bowl he was mashing.

"It needs to be a finer paste, but good so far," Cyrus replied as he appeared right next to the man.

"Cyrus, the veils have changed color, they're ready to be transferred over to the main substance!" Ruby called out from her swivel chair.

Sirona tried to keep her amazement from showing as the man zipped around the whole lab, working on multiple tasks at once. She walked in and greeted Klaus and Ruby before walking beside to what seemed like the real Cyrus and not a shadow remnant of his speed. The man was in his iconic vest and dress shirt, his hair tied back into a ponytail.

"Busy as always, have you even rested since your return?" she asked with a playful tone.

"With the hospital's main labs up and running, I wanted to have this done to present to the Sheilds at today's meeting," he told her.

"Wait you mean the meeting you sent Drake to go in your place for?" Ruby asked with a grin on her face; watching as he stopped zipping around.

Letting out a large sigh, he grabbed a container and placed it in his pocket. Grabbing his belt and coat, he stormed out the room, dragging Klaus along. Before he could walk out the door, Sirona stopped him and handed him the crown, whispering something into his ear that brought a smile to his face. He walked down the hall to the patient's room, knocking on the door caused her to rise up and see him. Cyrus looked at her with a bittersweet smile, he could still remember the site of that man violating her, the bruises on her neck and nether regions made his first shake with fury.

"I'm so happy you got the crown I made you!" she cheered with glee, bring him out of his thoughts.

"Yes but I think it would look better on you," he told her.

Confused, the girl watched him take the crown in both hands, and in a ray of white light, the rosebuds began to glow a shining red. He placed it on her head, the girl's eyes shining with wonder as she began to ask him a dozen questions, questions he told her that they'd have to leave for another day. As they walked through the halls and out of the hospital, Klaus gave Cyrus a curious look.

"How do you do it, my friend, how do you play both the hero and villain?" Klaus asked him with intrigue.

"You said it yourself my friend, I play them."

Thinking on those words Klaus gave his friend a small frown, smart enough to understand what he was getting that. He decided to leave the topic and talk of other matters instead, making a mental note to request Claudia to be a tad nicer to his friend. When they finally reached the palace they were guided to the Alliance meeting room, the shields all outside on the balcony having brunch. He walked past the curtains to have Ruu Ruu pounce on him, only to have Cyrus catch her by the face like a ball.

"Will she ever learn?" Maia asked aloud as she sipped from her teacup.

"No, I don't think so," Kaguya answered with a calm tone.

Throwing Ruu Ruu behind him, he took a seat beside Celestine, shrugging off his coat as she handed him a cup of tea. The group was all but silent, even Olga refrained from making a comment.

"So, what did I miss?" he asked them as he sipped from his tea.

"Greystone is accusing you of heresy," Maia sipped told him.

"...Pretty accurate," he calmly told as he sipped his tea.

"What!?" the group all shouted in unison.

The man was completely unfazed by the fact he was being investigated for heresy, simply sipping his tea without a care in the world. Believing his friend did not understand how bad the situation he was in, he decided to explain. "Ever since Celestine incarnation, the power structure of the Alliance has been divided to keep some powers in check. The Dawn Templars severing the goddess directly, the main army lead by Lord Pantielle, and the church lead by Greystone. The church normally doesn't get involved in much, but it's manpower consists of the holy knight under their command. Created to deal with threats such as…...well such as Olga, their purpose is to destroy anything they perceive as unholy and evil."

"They did a great job," Olga finally gave her comment as Chloe poured her another cup of tea.

"Cough, So you see Cyrus, because of your powers, Greystone believes your a threat," Celestine finished.

"Speaking of your powers what gives?" Maia asked, "In Rochdale, your powers were like Celestine's, but reports say in Feoh your powers were similar to Olga's."

The statement caught everyone's attention, even Ruu Ruu was preparing another pounce on the man. None of them truly understood his powers, with him being the fifth individual in the room with any kind of power.

"Well you hit the nail right on the head Maia," he told her, "That's because like my powers, Celestine and Olga's powers are made of light and dark magic. But that doesn't mean I'm on par with them, if Olga hadn't underestimated me that day, she would have easily won."

The state made everyone freeze, turning to face the dark elf who calmly sipped tea in quite, sending a small smile to her savior which cause a worried frown on his face.

"Either way, I guess my powers work as such due to my creation."

"Creation?" Celestine asked.

"Correct, unlike most, I'm actually a homunculus created for the purpose of war."

Everyone, even Kaguya spat their tea out. All eyes now fell on Cyrus who sipped his tea in peace. The statement that he was created, not born, took everyone back.

"A homunculus? So your not really human?" Celestine tone became serious, care much for the knight's possible answer.

Looking at them all coldly, swirling his tea around as he contemplated his next few words. He let out a sigh as he placed his tea down and rose to his feet, extending both his hands out, in the left a ball of light and in the other a ball of darkness. "Before the war, my people need a great weapon to fight against the empire's great numbers. So began research in creating a living weapon. They fabricated by soul, my mind was a blank slate, my heart was a mixture of a dragon's and human. When I was finally born, I was at the human age of six and began my training and education from that moment on. But my full power's didn't come until much later."

"And what caused it, what lead to you unlocking your abilities?" Olga asked with much interest. This caused Cyrus to look out over the city, no one could know or see what he was thinking of until he finally spoke his mind.

"It was halfway during the war, the Empire decided it needs something to combat the Revolutionary army's new weapon. They called him Brutus, a powerful warrior born from dark magic. When I faced him without my full potential, I lost to him, and everyone under my command was killed. But Brutus refused to kill me despite orders, he locked me away in a prison in the hellscape he created of the battlefield. There he tortured me every day for the next five years. By the time I had escaped, I had unlocked my powers and managed to escape Brutus. When I finally rejoined my division, I was told that my master was dying and that she had elected me to take command, holding onto life until my return….she was a strong woman."

"Cyrus, how old were you when Brutus imprisoned you?" Celestine asked the entire space around them became quiet except for the howling wind.

"Thirteen."

She reached up and held back her gasp, a tear falling down her cheek as the man continued to look out into the city. The others were in just as much shock, both of the amount of time he fought in the was and years of torture he endured. Olga, Alicia, Chloe, and Prim all flinched as they looked at the hands that grazed those scars. As the group lamented on Cyrus's pain, all he could do was remember, every life taken and every second of pain he endured under that man. His body shivering at those memories, the ones he tried so hard to lock away.

"But never mind all that, let's get onto the matter I wanted to discuss with you today," he spoke in a reassuring tone to get everyone's attention. He reached into his pocket for the container, pulling out a tea plate he poured the contents onto the plate.

"Oh candy, yum ouch!" Ruu Ruu whined as Cyrus slapped it from her hand.

"Not candy, contraception pills, I wish for your grace to require all female combatants to carry a container of them."

"And what do they do," Celestine asked as she picked on the pills up.

"They prevent pregnancy."

Once again, the room became silent, an expression of shock graced everyone's face once more. Celestine dropped the pill and turned to Cyrus, knowing the subject was one that may upset a few people. "Why did you create these exactly?" she asked already knowing his answer.

"The demon army is made up of all male races," he began, "They have to mate with humans or halflings to even get a chance at an offspring. The pills will destroy the egg before the genetic code can fully establish and a spark of life is formed. Those preventing a female captive from becoming pregnant for as long as the pill is in effect, those limiting the number of enemies we'd face in the future. My second reason is to prevent children born from human rape to be born. Not only could the child never be loved, but it will always represent that traumatic experience to a woman. My third reason is the dangers of abortion and life risks it puts a female patient in, I'd like to prevent any further deaths from such tragedies. I'll have the paperwork sent to your office for reviewal."

With all that said, no one really had anything to say on the matter, letting their silence somewhat agree with him. After brunch, everyone went on their ways, but as Alicia and PRim prepared to return to their room, they were stopped by a not so pleased Cyrus. Leading them to his study and asking them to sit as he looked into the fireplace and wondered how he was going to fraise this.

"Do you two know what love it?" he simply asked them, not even turning to face them.

"What kind of question is that love, it's love my dar…"

"Don't call me that," he told her with some venom to his tone. He took a second to recollect himself as he turned to face them. "What you both feel for me is not love, but admiration, the same could be said of Olga and Chloe but that's a talk I must have with them. You idealize me cause I saved you, those you believe you love despite hating me once and not even knowing me." He took a pause to let his words formulate in the girl's mind, their faces turning to frowns. "Prim, you drugged me because you wanted me to yourself and you felt Alicia was going to steal me away. And though I forgive you for it I am still hurt at how low you'd go just to get back at your cousin. Both this between us goes any further, I want you both to understand something. I am not immortal nor am I invincible, during each battle I have been pushing my body to the limit. If we are to have this between us, then I only have one request. That if I die, then you must both forget me for the good of your people. I also request that we refrain from any public displays of affection and any physical contact until we come to understand each other better."

His tone was firm, soft, and strong; it put the girls in a state that left them speechless. Prim didn't know what to say, but Alicia rose up to slap him across the face.

"I gave that which was most dear to me, you are mine and,"

"I'm afraid you can't buy love Alicia, you must first learn what is and then come to me once you have your answer."

The girl was left silent as his grey cold eyes looked into hers. With Alicia holding her tongue, Prim was the next to speak.

"Perhaps Sir Raynor is right, we rushed into this and I'm sorry for letting jealousy get the better of me. I….I wish to make this work somehow if you'd give us another chance."

"I will for as long as I breathe, I will both protect and cherish you both," Cyrus told them as he took their hands and planted a kiss on both.

"Very well then, time will mend this gash we have made, I'm quite surprised," Alicia told him, "Compared to the man who held me close that night, you're a lot more mannered."

"A gentleman should try."

With that, he gave them both a kiss on the forehead and escorted them out of his study. As the two girls walked down the hall, thy thought deeply about what the knight had told them.

"You know it's when he talks deep like that is when it makes my heart flutter, like a hero from a novel," Prim stated with a giggle.

"I think I know what he means about the idealization, and what's this about you drugging him!" Alicia asked with furry in her tone.

Prim felt a cold drop sweat on her next as she began to walk away as fast as she could, Alicia storming off after her. Retracking his shoulder back into his office, Cyrus groaned as his luck with women was going to be the death of him long before any blade. Reaching into his desk and pulled out an item he had been saving for a moment like this. It was a golden pipe, lighting it and taking a smoke he propped his legs on the table as he tried to relax. His mind drifted off into the world of dreams, and even further into the world of nightmares as he could still feel Brutus choking him, burning him, torturing him. He woke from the nightmare in a fit of sweat and fear, tucking the pipe in his breast pocket as he got up from his chair and walked to the fire. Looking into he could help but remember, removing his upper clothes, he let his hand explore his body, all of his scars.

"How many happy days were stolen by you? How long till we meet again? Did you really die? Or are you waiting for me to finish it?"

"You can't save anyone unless your willing to become the very thing you hate."

Upon hearing those words, Cyrus snapped his fingers and the flames went cold, the room became engulfed in darkness.

The Market( The following Week)

The city was bustling and loud as usual, everyone has somewhere to be. Cyrus looked down at the floor underneath him, his mind filled with way too many thoughts he couldn't even focus on one thing or the other.

"What do you of this dress?" Prim asked him as she held a dress out in front of Eliza, noticing he wasn't answering Maia swatted him on the back of the head.

"It's beautiful, but are you only gonna choose pink for her, perhaps black," he suggested, only to have it fall on dead ears as Prim ran over to a stand of hats.

Prim had remained in Ken while Alicia returned to Feoh to with reconstruction. And so she pleaded with Cyrus to accompany her and Eliza into the market, forcing him to even drag Maia along just so he wouldn't be bored. They went from store to store, stand to stand, he had to call a carriage multiple times to bring everything back to the palace. They continued after Prim as she dragged them even deeper into the market district, the bright sun beaming down on such a peaceful day.

"You know next you tell me you want to have a drink I'm gonna believe you, you know," Maia whined as she kicked up some dirt, "Hey are you even listening!?"

Maia turned and was greeted by Cyrus usual unpleasant glare, something wasn't right. Without warning, he dashed past her toward Prim, yanking the the princess and younger girl back as several figures flew out of the alleyways at them. Cyrus was quick to catch the arm of an attacker, twisting the blade out of the man's arm as he pierced him in the back and slit the throat of another. As got ready for the next attack he received a slay to the chest and two to the back, striking at them only to have the figures vanish. Sick of the games Cyrus threw his blade at one of the attackers as they all went in for another joint attack. He reached for his own blade and plunged it into the ground.

"Alumnus!"

The blade began to glow a great light before blasting a few figure backs, a pair of glowing wings appearing on his back. As he readied another attack from the sword, he felt a sharp pain in his hip, a blade struck right through him. His body yanked up by a chain and slammed back into the ground, a few arrows hitting him while he was in the air. The attacks gathered around the crater, brushing the smoke to the side.

"NOW I'M PISSED!"

A shadowy claw yanked one of the men into the crater, the claws digging into the man's eyes as the glowing sword cut several of them in half. Cyrus got out of the crater, bleeding and groaning, dropping the man whose eye's he had gauged. Studying the man, he wore all black with a hood and faceless mask. This analysis didn't last long as Cyrus felt a figure appear behind him, a huge hammer slamming into his back as it sent him flying. As rolled along the road, he used his claws to stop himself, getting ready with blade in hand. Before he could attack the hammer-wielding assassin, a few orbs rolled over to him, knowing what they were he summoned a shadowy shield to protect the citizens behind him. The power of the blast sent him flying through a store and into a back alley. As he crashed into a stack of crates, he tried to get up, only to be shot with a fire arrow the assassins watched the alley blowup in a puff of smoke. Cyrus appeared right next to them on the rooftop, knife in hand as he slit a man's throat and shot another in the knee. A lancer charged him and threw his weapon, knocking the gun out of Cyrus's hands as it fell into the street below.

Cyrus was outnumbered, these guys were no pushovers. Even Maia couldn't intervene with how fast they were moving. He blocked and kept them at bay, a few managing to get few slashes to his body and blows to his face. Throwing his coat off he wrapped it around an attack, he kicked the assassin into an attacking sword as he dashed away, a chain wrapped around his leg as he was yanked back. As he fell back, one of the assassins jumped up and kicked him into a nearby building. Before Cyrus could get back up they began a chant and began to blast him with a kind of black magic, his screams could be heard from the palace.

Unable to watch her master go through any more pain, Eliza ran forward and managed to find his gun after hearing where it fell. Taking aim she found she couldn't see the assassins, she could hear them, but none of them had a life force. Taking a closer look she found that one did, taking aim she took the shot. The man stepping back as the bullet flew past his head.

"Eliza no!" Prim called out as she grabbed the girl and braced herself as the assassins went for a strike, just as planned.

Prim expect herself to be dead, but as she felt the drops fall on top of her, she looked up to see a more horrifying site. Cyrus stood over her, his body filled with blades, all but his head was not bleeding. The assassins pulled their blades out as Cyrus feel to his knees, a murky shadow covering his body as his wounds began to glow.

"A strong healing factor it would seem," said the most decorated assassin with a large curve blade, "One more strike to the head should do it."

The man drew his hand back but was forced to jump back as a beam of pure light came down blocking them from their prey. Cyrus tried to get back up but found a hand upon his shoulder. He looked up to see Claudia, her blade glowing with a holy light. Giving him a stern look, she forced him back into Prim's arms, almost passing out.

"This doesn't concern you, Templar," the head assassin called out, "Just let us finish our prey and we will leave the city just as we came, silently. Besides, you won't miss him, will you?"

She took a look back at Cyrus one time before turning back to face the assassins, "He may be a disrespectful man, but I can't deny that I have seen the good in him. So if you think I'd just stand beside and let you kill my comrade then you have another thing coming!" she roared with a stomp of her foot, shaking the earth around them.

The head assassin scuffed as he reached into a pouch for a piece of cloth, cleaning his blade with it, the blade glowing an eerie black as he did so. With no warning, he went for a strike, only to have Claudia punch him in the chest. Falling to his feet she grabbed the head threw him back at the other assassins. This enraged them as they all went for a charge attack, Claudia gripping the handle of her sword with both hands as she slashed forward, a beam of golden light flying out and taking out half of the assassins as it burned them to ash. The assassins tried to regroup but were surprised by two axes taking to more of their brothers. A chain pulling the axes back as an angered Taila charged down the road in full furry. They got ready for her as green lighting struck another few, Rook appearing before them on a rooftop with Fate right next to them.

"We should be happy the Alumnus attack can be seen from the palace ay Drake?" Taila asked the man as spat the assassins.

"Yes, the boss was smart to call for help when he did, I just wished we would have arrived sooner," Drake replied as he walked up from the other side of the road with Captain Pike, trapping the assassin's between them.

The assassins were all but surrounded, but it's what they did next is what shocked them. Each flicking their hand out as a black appeared on their hand, proceeding with this action each one stabbed themselves in the heart, hitting the ground in little to a second. Shocked by the action the group dropped their guard, many rushing to Cyrus's side who was now being tended by Ruby. As he was curious with what had just happened, Drake studied the bodies of the assassins. He found that each had poisoned themselves, "To not be questioned it would seem," he thought as he rose to his feet to see Claudia.

"Thank you," Drake told her with his usual serious yet studious look, "Any more and he would have.."

"I did what was right Drake, he's a knight just like me. And judging by the lack of corpses, he managed to give the citizens enough time to escape. He's a good kid, just keep him on a tight leash will you, I don't want to always be cleaning his messes."

"You and me both."

The two gave the other a smile and shook hands, watching as more knights arrived on the scene. The reporters in the back trying to get glimpses of what had happened, and Drake simply wishing to get Cyrus out of danger.

The Palace (A few hours after the attack)

"Ow ow ow, can you be gentle, ow!" Cyrus groaned as Ruby poured drops of acid and took his stitches.

"If your little shadows weren't getting the way, I wouldn't have needed the acid," she said with a furious stone as she finished up and took a spot standing next to him.

Cyrus threw a coat over his shoulder, his entire body covered in bandages. They were all now in his study; Celestine, Taila, Fate, Ruby, Drake, Pike, Rook, and Olga. Groaning he reached into his pocket for a cigar, only to have it yanked from his hand. By some force.

"So the great powerful Cyrus Raynor needs this to get by some pain it would seem," said a stoic voice behind Celestine. From out behind her walked out Kaguya, holding the cigar before throwing it back at him.

"Enough, you had me summon my glaive here, so who were those people who attacked Prim?" he demanded, his tone harsher than usual than the girl looked at him with an emotionless expression greater than his own.

"She wasn't the target Cyrus, you were," she told him, shocking everyone in the room.

"It's true Cyrus, they were sent to kill you," Celestine added with a sorrowful tone, the image of her injured champion to much for her to bear.

"Then who are they?" Drake asked, talking up for the group as he usually does.

"They call themselves the Order of Wrath," Olga stated aloud as she to speak in a sad tone upon seeing the state of her champion.

Turing their eyes to Kaguya who gave a sigh and decided to finally speak. "The order is older than this country," she began, "Formed during the ancient great war of this continent. They worshipped a dark goddess, the original creator of the demon army. She went from land to land, casting a dark shadow over it, living no tone unturn until everyone was subjected underneath her. But the goddess heard the cries of the people, and he sent us a savior, Celestine original incarnation. She battled the goddess in the greatest war these lands had ever seen, but in the end, Celestine's previous incarnation was victorious."

"So the order is worshipping a dead goddess?" Rook asked as she scratched behind her ear.

"I'm afraid the legend lie on that part," Celestine murmured as she almost tried to hide her face in shame, leaving Kaguya to continue.

"The truth is that Celestine's previous incarnation couldn't kill the dark goddess, so she sealed her away, never to plague the land ever again.

"And all these matters now why?" Pike asked as she was the most confused in the room.

"Because it would seem that fool Volt has become a puppet of the order," Olga stood everyone as she rose from her seat, "They once believed that I was the reincarnation of their goddess, but upon seeing the truth they supported the alliance in defeating me and now support Volt to bring their beloved goddess back."

"So why attack me then?" Cyrus asked in a tone in which he already knew the answer.

"Your arrival complicated things, they now see you a threat to their order, so they want you and this Glaive of yours dead before it can gain any more power," Kaguya explained.

"Then what do you want from me?" Cyrus asked with a growl as he rose to his feet and towered over the eastern girl, their eyes burning as they gazed upon one another, like a struggle for supremacy. It caught him off guard that Kaguya smiled before answering him.

"I want you to do what you're already doing right now," she began as she turned to face out the window.

"Be what you already are on this chest board were playing on….be the champion."