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“Destruction. Such a marvelous tool when used properly.

Evil? Utter nonsense. The creation of good and evil is simply man attempting to discern what is to be deemed right from wrong. Truly based on perception; a fickle thing that changes like the wind within the eyes of those passing judgment.

No, it is not vile. It is necessary. For how could life begin anew if that which existed prior was not extinguished? All things have their purpose after all. Similar to that of the candle’s flame, snuffed so easily by the very wax it helped to produce in such a short-lived amount of time. Death eventually comes for us all.

Mankind... yes. Now there is a truly exceptional example of self-righteous chaos and despair. If it is in our way, we simply remove it. What more reasoning could one need to destroy? Petty fools I dare think. Most live their entire lives scrambling to survive while others, the supposed lucky minority, find their goals obtained. Yet even then, do the few spare the many? Some claim it is their right, others dare to state they are only doing what is best. Though within all of them lies the identical desperation to succeed; to look out for their own no matter the equal cost in lives to attain that which they seek.

As revolting as it certainly seems, I think on. Is it truly fair for one to judge? Inevitably a day arrives when one must rise above the rest to state what others are thinking who are either too ashamed to admit, or too inconsequential to truly affect matters at hand. Pawns the lot of them. Yes, it is true that pawns can, at times, be useful. However, a pawn is not allowed to be entirely self-sufficient either are they?

Imagine… imagine a realm in which no pawns exist. I seek no sheep here for this is no farm. I seek none who view themselves as so low they must follow idly while accepting that which is handed to them. No, that is not what I seek. I need wolves, yes. The pack that shall hunt beneath the stars and underneath this pale moonlight. The howl of many shall echo throughout the skies, ripping those weak ideals directly from their resting grounds.”

Malthyra sighed, pushing her arms off of the balcony to stand as she pulled herself out of her winding thoughts. She blinked heavily, her lashes beating slowly against the lids of her blood-shot eyes.

“My Duchess, you should rest,” the Captain stated, his hand reaching out to offer assistance.

Malthyra shook her head slowly, waving the gentleman’s hand away. “While your concern is appreciated, I shan't need to remind you of all that remains to be completed. There is still much to discuss.”

The Captain nodded sternly, “Yes Your Absolute. I merely meant to state that a duchy cannot be rebuilt within a week.”

She nodded softly in response. “It is no bother, Henrick. I do thank you for the thought.” Malthyra turned to look down upon the lands seen below, her eyes following a river running from the Capital to the mountains in the distance. The piercing eyes of the Duchess slithered across the land and up toward the sky, landing among the stars and the eternal darkness that rested between each of them. Her lips curled into a soft smile before she turned to face her guard. “A realm reborn is not our only concern. The girl. Has there been any change?”

The Captain sighed, bringing his hand to the back of his head to rub beneath his flowing, black locks encasing his shoulders. “I regret to inform you that there has been no difference. She simply will not eat and she continues to mutter on about hooded figures that may have taken her brother from their home.”

“I see,” stated Malthyra softly. “Take me to her.”

The girl was petrified. She sat at the table, looking up cautiously for mere seconds at a time to view her surroundings. Her eyes darted back down to the bowl in front of her, a strand of her blonde hair nearly reaching the liquid below. She was shaking subtly regardless of the fireplaces lit throughout the room.

The door to her left swung open as armored footsteps entered the room. A brief shudder clung to her spine nearly wrenching her from her seat, yet her eyes remained, watching the shaking strand of hair.

“Leave us,” she heard. The voice came from a female; the tone elegant in an almost eerie fashion. Her instincts could not decide whether she felt safe and should remain seated or if she should try to escape, yet they screamed at her to make a quick decision.

She felt the hands wrap around her shoulders. “It was too late,” she thought to herself. Too caught in her own mind to have heard the steps growing nearer from the Duchess prior to the grasp.

“Child, I shall not harm you,” Malthyra stated softly as she moved to the girl’s side. She reached up toward the young girl’s face, brushing the twisting blonde strands away to pull open the curtain they had become. “Tell me, dear. Your brother, was it?”

The girl quickly wrapped her arms around the Duchess in an embrace, proceeding to cry loudly.

Malthyra coughed, taken aback she stared ahead wide-eyed her arm still outstretched. She brought her hand to the child’s back a couple of times, patting her in an unfamiliar and odd way before pulling from the child’s grasp and standing. “There, there. Do go on?”

As the girl stifled her tears, she sat upright and eyed the figure before her. An indescribable feeling washed over her as she inspected the Duchess’s armored robes. Though it was her breath that became caught in her throat when her eyes met the Duchess' staring back at her. Her gaze faltered and her eyes quickly darted back to the robes so that she could speak.

“Yes, Ma’am. He…he was taken by some people,” the girl muttered softly.

“Do you know by whom?” Malthyra inquired, reaching to the table to pour a goblet of wine.

The girl shook her head rapidly, “No. They wouldn’t say. They kept talking to him about a place called Unseen, and then they took him! They walked off with him and no one tried to stop…”

Malthyra’s eyes widened as she interrupted the girl. “Guards!”

The door burst open once more, Captain Henrick entering with a few armored men and women.

Malthyra spoke firmly to those who entered. “See that this girl is well taken care of while we are away. Captain, we need to speak.”

Before closing the door behind them, Malthyra turned once more to the girl, a determination swelling within her tone as she spoke. “Do not fret dear, for all things come to an end.”