The Day had turned late noon on the other side of the land. As the meetings held for the Lords of The Five Lands and the Church had been always held yearly, the place where the meeting was held took turns from one land to another. Early in the year, the meeting was held at Downbrigde. So it was the turn for the meeting to be held at Hurthend, the land of the vampires.

Hurthend was right on the left side of Warine, thus the distance wasn’t as far as Warine to Runalia. It took a few long hours for Ian to arrive at the Mansion of Hurthend’s Lord, Ethan Fort. When his black carriage arrived, Maroon hopped down with an inaudible movement and held his head up to open the carriage’s door. 

Ian walked down with a leisure face like someone who is about to stroll in a garden. Entering the mansion his red eyes brushed the servants who also had the same red eyes as him and heard a voice promptly calling him. “You have come, Lord Ian?”

Ian turned his head, shifting his bemused gaze to the graceful-looking man with long silver hair and pointed ears. The man had a beautiful gentle expression and a cool temperament, the type of face that would induce tranquil and bring peacefulness, the utter opposite of Ian’s mischievous face. He was the Lord of Marshforth, the Elves’ King, Lewis Miller.

“Lewis. You’re waiting for me here? What am I late?”

Lewis shook his head, his long silver lashes flickered as he smiled. “No, milord you’re actually the third one who has arrived. The meeting room is flooded with Churchmen and I found the atmosphere there is tense. Well, as you know our relationship isn’t exactly the best.”

“I see.” Ian brushed his red eyes and lift his chin to the ceiling above him and sensed more than tens of sorcerers and Hunters who specialized in exterminating mythical beings and beast swarming around with their weapons. No wonder Lewis wouldn’t want to stay in the same room as them, Ian thought. Since a long time ago, mythical beings held their negative feeling about the hunters. This hatred had taken root deep from past generations to the current one. Being in the same room with the enemy who could kill them, it was akin to how a cat trapped with mouses or perhaps dogs with the cats. The gentle Lewis chose to leave the stuffy room before his composed eyes turned to glare.

A chuckle left his lips, leaving an aftertaste of a devilish ambiance to his red lips. “I always wondered why they need those foolish little hunters when they can’t even hunt the real enemy.”

Lewis squinted his eyes from his words and accompanied him for their little talk as they ascended the stairs. “This enemy you mean, the dark sorcerers?”

Ian gave him a glance. “Who else is there other than them?”

“I thought you will not raise your hand against the dark sorcerers unless they stepped into your territory? Did something happened that makes your heart changed?” Lewis spoke composedly, his gaze was the opposite of his curiosity questioning. As knew how fickle Ian was, no one could understand what it would mean by offending him. He knew his question this time was a little personal, thus he laid his question simply not really waiting for Ian’s answer. If Ian chose not to answer, he wouldn’t push the matter and left it there.

“Well, I did say that. And precisely those little eyesores have made a move to something precious to me. They stepped their feet to my territory thus it’s time for them to meet their end.”

Lewis mulled over what Ian could mean but even after his long acquaintance with him, he still couldn’t understand a thread of the man’s thought. What he knew now, the man is making a new enemy and that’s enough. With his age, Lewis has learned how to not poke his nose to where he doesn’t belong. He nodded once, replying briefly. “I hope that you will find what you want from today’s meeting then.”

“Lord Ian and Lord Lewis, good afternoon.” Ethan Fort, the Lord of Hurthend called from behind, his face was greener than both the men in front of him but he was quite good at composing himself as the new Lord who has just ascended the throne. Beside him, Oliver who has taken the post after Kyle’s teachings and another young man with a splendid black hair and a pair of blue eyes bowed to the two Lords. The young man had charming features, tall nose, fair skin, and well-shaped lips, he was wearing the custom uniform of the church, a red and black coat covering over his shoulder.

Lewis saw the three men and returned with a gentle greeting. “Ethan and Oliver, good afternoon.”

Ian, on the other hand, replied to their greetings lazily. “Good afternoon to you too.”

Lewis shifted his glance toward the young man beside Oliver and smiled. “Is this young man, Dalton Lone?”

Oliver glanced at Dalton and confirmed. “Yes.”

Dalton Lone saw the cue from his senior and greeted with a bow again, weaving his mild smile and returned. “Yes, my lord, my name is Dalton Lone.” Ian saw the young man and sensed that he wasn’t a hunter but did have some power inside him.

Lewis raised his hand slightly and praised. “Thank you for your help last time at Marshforth. I have heard that you helped the town people from the magical beast that were roaming amock. I heard you were very gallant when you fought with the beast but now seeing you again, I could see the braveness from you.”

Dalton respected Lewis’s magnanimous praise and humbly reply. “Thank you very much for your praise, my lord. I was only doing my job to protect the peace between the town.”

Lewis expressed his agreement from Oliver’s humbleness and continued to greet the other. Ian leaned on the wall beside him. His scarlet eyes reflected another pair of the same claret eyes and spoke with mirth. “Congratulation on your ascension as the Lord, Ethan.”

Ethan shook his head, his expression had a little objection to Ian’s grinning and his congratulation but he didn’t play to Ian’s tune as he knew he was doing it in purpose. “This ascension would never happen unless it is from your help, my lord. Thank you very much.”

“What about Lukas?” Ian brought up the name of the previous Lord of Hurthend, Ethan’s senior. Yet hearing the name Ian mentioned, in an instant, a frown knitted the fair forehead of Ethan. He looked utterly angered and annoyed while gritting to his teeth, he muttered out. “Please don’t ever mention that name again, My lord.”

Ian’s eyes turned crescent shape, he chuckled and patted Ethan’s shoulder. “Alright then.” He crossed his arm and asked veered their conversation smoothly. “However, seeing you, I suddenly reminded of something. I once heard a fascinating tale of the vampire’s land. Would you mind telling me something about this tale?”

Ethan raised an eyebrow. Ian’s sudden politeness didn’t sound any humble and instead sounded eerie to his ears. Yet to the man, he had owed something too large and returned at the end. “What tale may it be?”

“A tale of an oracle.” Hearing this, Ethan’s face changed.

“For thousands of years, there had been oracle passed down from one generation to the others. An oracle that told they would have to find a certain something or perhaps-” Ian narrowed his eyes, grinning devilishly. “-someone.”

Ethan showed an unwillingness to answer Ian’s question, especially after seeing that annoying grin from the corner of his left lips. He brushed his eyes around the people beside him, making space for no one to overhear their conversation and slowed in a lower tone. “It isn’t a tale but as you have said, an oracle. A future reading that was done a thousand years ago.”

Ian inclined his chin and chuckled. “Fascinating, a thousand years ago and what did this future reading claimed?”

Ethan sighed. The oracle was something passed from the generations. Telling an outsider certainly wouldn’t sit well with him. However at this point, that the oracle had caught Ian’s interest, Ethan was left with no choice. Once something had caught Ian’s eyes, for his entire life, he wouldn’t let it go. Like the case, Ian who had been intrigued by the oracle would not leave the case until he heard the content. Ian was always like this, giving people choices when in truth there was only one choice. “It’s a cryptic message. ‘Full Moon laughs after the Sunset. When Scarlet Moon rises, beware of the lingering nightfall. After you passed out the darkness, one should never forget to recall the melody. It is not yet the end of the journey. Beware of the light as it is the end. Before the world engulfed by the light, search for her who would defeat the light.’ that’s most of it.”

“You remember the poetry by heart? How worthy of approval.” Ian praised heartedly, however with his expression and the faint traces of grin on his left corner of lips, the praise sounded like a tune of sarcasm to Ethan.

Ethan learned to brush it off mildly. “It isn’t by heart, my lord. Since we were born we have studied this oracle. It’s planted down to the soul.”

Ian hummed between his pursed lips. He retraced the cryptic message and sotted what he could find. “The light is the end. Before it is engulfed, search for her. So the “someone” you are searching for is the “her” that the oracle mentioned?”

Ethan raised his brow and clapped soundlessly “As expected nothing will ever miss you eyes, milord. I’m impressed.”

Ian noticed his cynical tone but placed the matter away. He asked again, “Do you know about the meaning of the rest of the message?”

Ethan shook his head. “No, no one did for a thousand years. We only know we have to search for the person the message mentioned before a calamity would befall to us. However, I do not think such a message would have to be headed with much diligence. The message had been passed for a thousand years and no one knows whether the contents are true or whether this calamity would really happen.”

Just then as they talked, two men had also arrived at the second floor of the mansion. They looked at the other three Lord and bowed.