The Shadow Lord sat on his throne fashioned from the luminescent heartwood of the Ice Sentinel tree. Its blue-silver bark is polished to a mirror-like finish, reflecting all of the light in the chamber. The back was decorated with preserved leaves of the tree; their translucent and crystal-like structure makes it seem as though the entire throne was encased in ice. The arms end in stone carvings of the sapphire-colored fruits that grow from the tree once a year.
The room wasn't highly decorated by any means. There were some additional chairs on either side of the throne and a rug that ran the length of the room from the door to just in front of the Shadow Lord's seat. The room was otherwise stark, with a single window looking out at the Secret City, the noise of the bustling metropolis just barely making itself heard.
A few Shadowkin stood vigilant behind the throne, keeping watch on the Shadow Lord as he listened to requests from the citizens. At his side, in the chair directly to his left, was the Changeling. It had been about 25 years since the incident in Cold Home, and they grew up in the castle, never truly wanting anything. They were treated like the child he never had and were given the name Lyren.
Suddenly, the doors to the chambers burst open with two Shadowkin dragging with them a larger, olive-skinned Human with a shaved head and a dark beard caked with dirt. His clothes were ragged, with dark spots of dried blood.
"Let go of me ya shifty bastards," the human said, resisting their hold. "I'll rip every last one of ya apart!"
When they got in front of the thrones, they threw him to the ground. Lyren inched forward on their seat, smirking as they looked between the human and the Shadow Lord.
The Shadow Lord shifted in his seat and looked at the two Shadowkin. His hand began to trace the stem of the carved fruit on his throne.
"What's this? Why are you bringing this man before me?" The Shadow Lord asked. "Typically you'd bring criminals to the guard, not me."
"We have a thief who discovered an artifact within the mines and decided to steal it," one of the Shadowkin said stepping forward. Its voice hissed as it opened a leather pouch carefully and tossed an amulet decorated with crystal scales and a gem that looked to swirl with the colors of the ocean. "One of our Sages determined this would be detrimental to our operation. We noticed this one was disappearing from their assignment and found them to be studying it."
"Detrimental how?" The Shadow Lord said stepping forward. "Where did it come from?"
The human pushed himself up to his feet and was grabbed immediately by the Shadowkin.
Lyren grabbed their dagger that was concealed up their sleeve as if they were itching to use it. The emerald green stone that was shaped for the handle felt cold in their hands as they twirled it to get the human's attention. The human scowled but put a hand up as a promise of complicity.
"M'lord good folks are gettin' sicker and sicker down in the mines includin' my sister. I dunno why... but before all this I taught at the Etherhart Academy. And I think-"
"You think my father got here by believing every thief that was brought before him?" Lyren asked with a laugh. Looking back at some of the Shadowkin who nodded in agreement. "He has had hands cut off from those who thieved. So I hope you're ready to-"
"Lyren, silence!" The Shadow Lord's voice boomed as he stood from his throne. Lyren turned their head with a start and made themselves small in their chair. "Might I remind you that had our first meeting followed those rules, you'd have no hands and be begging on the streets?"
"Yes, my lord," Lyren said, as they spun the dagger in their hand and stabbed it hard into the arm of the chair, its polished green hilt reflecting light on the floor.
The Shadow Lord turned his head back to the human and motioned for him to continue.
The human pulled himself from the grip of the Shadowkin and dusted himself off. He looked at Lyren and then back at the Shadow Lord.
"I... I think this here amulet may offer some sort o' protection from whatever's down there. It doesn't seem to cure anythin' but maybe we could do somethin' with it." he said, motioning to the amulet on the floor. "I can't make out the inscription."
The Shadow Lord stepped forward towards the amulet as one of the Shadowkin ran forward to try and grab it first. The Shadow Lord bent down and grabbed it before he inspected it, going back up to his throne. He ran his fingers over the raised ancient lettering. Lyren eyed the amulet, their magical blood reacting to its immense power.
"You are hereby banned from the mines, effective immediately," the Shadow Lord said while deep in thought.
"But m'lord, it's the only thing that pays anymore, and I gotta-" the man started before being cut off.
"And you will be my royal scholar," the Shadow Lord said. Lyren looked at him with surprise. "You may gather your things and your sister. Take some time to think it over, but then you may live here in the keep."
"The Royal Scholar?! I'm your goddamn Messenger, and you're going to make this... This..." they waved their arm, searching for the words, the anger building in their voice. As their emotions began to take hold, Lyren's face began to shift between various races and people. "This Peasant will be your scholar?! This is ridiculous."
The human looked shocked as he too searched for the words.
"I-I don't know what to say m'lord. M'name's Heinbrandt. My family fought for you, even during the Sunfall Wars." He said solemnly. "I will not let you down."
Heinbrandt turned and left through the doors, as the Shadow Lord held the amulet in his hands and looked to Lyren.
"I didn't think I'd have to explain this to you. But this is a lesson of mercy. We are leaders and if our people are in need we must help them. Do you understand?"
Lyren nodded, their ears red and their eyes covered by silver hair.
"I thought things would be different with you. And at first things were. But now I'm just another tool to you!" Lyren yelled. "I run your fucking messages so they're not intercepted. And when I'm not doing that you keep me here in this fucking cage. Am I a pet to you?! Your goddamn dance monkey?"
"I'm trying to help you. If you want to be a good leader, you need to know what it's like to work. You need to have empathy, Lyren," the Shadow Lord said calmly. "I know you had it hard when I found you, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone. But I won't be here forever and... And I don't want you to make the same mistakes I did."
As the Shadow Lord turned and walked out of the room, the Shadowkin looked at each other for a few moments before looking back at Lyren.
"Young master... May I have a moment?" one of the Shadowkin asked as he approached.
As Heinbrandt walked down the hallway in his new life, thinking through the logistics of moving his whole life to the castle, he heard the sound of different footsteps echoing in the dark, stone chamber. As he turned he saw The Shadow Lord, the regality from the throne room replaced by a more youthful jog as he looked like he wanted to catch up to him.
"Ah, m'lord I wanted to thank you again. I b'lieve this'll help a lot o' good pea-" Heinbrandt stopped speaking suddenly as he felt a sharp pain in his chest and looked down to see the hilt of a dagger sticking out of him. He coughed and blood dripped on the emerald handle. "B-.... Th-..."
The Shadow Lord continued his approach and reached forward, grabbing the handle and twisting it, causing Heinbrandt to collapse on the floor.
"This, too, is a lesson in mercy," he said as he stepped over Heinbrandt's bleeding body and continued down the hallway, twirling the dagger in his hand. His shadow shrank as he turned the corner, and their footsteps sounded lighter. As Heinbrandt took his last breath, he could hear the Shadowkin talking down the hallway.
"They will do nicely," the Shadowkin said with a low chuckle. "Mother will rejoice."