#a common enemy

[a-common-enemy-story]

A Common Enemy 𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓕𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓽𝓮𝓮𝓷 - 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Elira was in her room, practicing her dance, when the door knocked. She set down her dancing scarf on her desk and opened the door. There stood her father. 

“What is it?” she asks, eyebrow cocked. Her father knows that she hates being interrupted during her practices. 

He cups his hands and his eyes avoid hers. “The Moon King has stepped down.”

This caught her attention. She leans against the doorway, crossing her arms. “Stepped down? For who?”

“That new king, Theoden.”

Her eyes narrow at the mention of him. She’s only met the man once, and that was enough. She felt a sense of danger when she was around him. She didn’t like it. She didn’t like him.

“Elira… he really does seem to be making progress.. A good, and powerful king. He could-“

“I already told you, I’m not letting you marry me off!” Elira snaps. “If you do, I will never speak to you again.”

He sighs and shakes his head. “It’s just how things are.”

She scoffs. “It’s shouldn’t be,” she says before slamming the door. She hears her father sigh and shuffle away. She covers her face with her hands.

Theoden hasn’t even been king for a month and he took down Dante? This was bad. Really bad.

••••

“The Moon King has stepped down?” Niko asked, midway through taking a bite of dinner. 

Mortimer nods, leaning against his king’s chair. “That’s what people have been saying.”

“Ohhhhh.. do they say why?”

“Something about killing his parents,” the servant answers darkly. 

Niko’s eyes downcast, his cheery attitude dissipating. “Oh.. how tragic.”

Mortimer’s brow furrows and he looks away from Niko. He thinks of what to say for a moment before ruffling his hair. “It doesn’t, matter, though. Tenebris is rather far. So, whatever drama going on over there is not going to bother you.”

“Us.”

Mortimer nods. “Us.”

••••

“Stepped down?!” Indras exclaims. 

His elderly father nods slowly, placing down his fork, resting his hands on the table. “That’s what people have been saying.”

Indras grits his teeth. That new guy, Theoden. How did he do it?

Indras remembers his strength. The pure, raw, unknown magic and how jealous he was. How he wants to fight it, overcome it. He shakes his head. “Stepping down to let another man take your place? When you’re perfectly healthy? What a-“

He glances over, Inki humming as she struggled to cut her steak. 

Indras stands up to cut it for her. “A coward,” Indras says. 

Inki smiles up at him an Indras ruffles his sister’s hair lovingly before taking his seat again. 

His father lets out a long, drawn out sigh. He does this when he contemplates his old age, wondering how much longer until he can pass on and no longer have to deal with unnecessarily stressful politics. 

Indras thinks before slamming his fist on the table. “We cannot let this deter us. We are right next to Tenebris. We are possibly next. We cannot be sitting ducks.”

“What do you plan to do?” his father asks. 

“I’m going to show this new guy not to mess with Pyronis before the idea can even cross his mind.” He snaps his head to the door. “Servant! Grab a pen and prepare a letter. Set its sights for Hoteiven.”

[a-common-enemy-story]

A Common Enemy

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓣𝓱𝓲𝓻𝓽𝓮𝓮𝓷 - 𝓢𝓮𝓻𝓹𝓮𝓷𝓽 𝓦𝓱𝓲𝓼𝓹𝓮𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓰

Are the honest always rewarded with power? Are the cowardly always doomed to face their greatest fears, face to face, and be told to either fight or run? Life is not so black and white. People are not so black and white.

The honest may be conniving. The cowardly may be generous. 

Who are we to decide that someone is all in? Chaos and destruction is layered. I’d appreciate it if you gave me credit where credit is due. I don’t make things so simple.

••••

Papers flew throughout the kingdom. Dante’s face was plastered all over the, Many of the kingdom’s people had not even seen their king’s face. They did not need to. He was never a force in their life, as far as they were aware.

But murdering his father, and using that same magic to stalk the streets of his kingdom, of the people who have never even seen him? They were horrified.

“What has he seen us do?”

“What if he kills someone with his magic, like his parents?”

“What if he already has?”

But as fear whirled through the air, some people flew the papers up into the sky, as if to shoo the speculation away.

“Nonsense!”

“Our king is a quiet man.”

“What foolish people believe things so quickly?”

But then someone had quietly whispered

“Why doesn’t our king say something about it?”

Now, suddenly, everyone is asking their king for answers. Address the rumors. Who sent out these flyers? Why haven’t you said anything? Please, you are our king. Tell us, tell us.

“You cannot keep hidden like this,” Theoden says. 

“But, but what can I say?” Dante asks, closing the curtains.

“The truth.”

“They will.. will not want me on the throne if I give them the truth.”

“Perhaps it’s for the best.” Theoden puts a hand on Dante’s shoulder and leans in, like a serpent whispering sins in the ear of innocent mankind. “You should step back for a bit. This kingly life never really was for you, right?”

“No.. I, uh, suppose not..”

“Exactly. Perhaps.. Hand the reins over for a bit. Just until this heat dies down.”

Dante knew well that this heat would never die down. It may simmer within the coals, but the moment he may step back in the pit, the flames will come back and continue to eat him alive.

“Y-You make a good point..” he murmurs.

“Exactly. I can take control here. You can rest up, perhaps pick up a hobby or, uh.. Something. Maybe take a break from the magic. That is what caused all this, afterall.”

“You’re.. correct..”

He pats his shoulder reassuringly before releasing him, discreetly wiping his hand on his shirt, not happy that he had to make that physical contact with a pleb like Dante. “Yes, of course. Perhaps we can send you on a nice trip, to get your mind off of everything. Tristien is coming up with a few ideas already.”

“He is?”

“Mhm. So you can kick back, relax, and just not worry about this. I’ve got it.”

“Ok.. B-But, um, just know that the people, they value their privacy greatly-”

“-All people do.”

“Yes, a-and they, uhm, greatly value their stores and shops. Make s-sure to keep those stable.”

“Yes, of course, I know.”

“And, um-”

“That’s enough,” Theoden says, raising a hand to silence him. “Quit your stuttering. Listen. This evening, you shall be addressing your people. Tristien already orchestrated an announcement. You will be telling everyone the truth, and that I will be taking your position. Capeesh?”

“....Yes.”

“Good. I’d go get dressed for that, if I were you. I think your people deserve to see you off in at least something presentable.”

“This… um.. Ok.”

Theoden smirks and walks away. I am not that cruel, after all.

••••

Stepping onto a platform, a twilight glow casting onto their king.

“All of what you’ve heard is true,” his voice does sing.

The people all rioted and screamed.

“Take him down, he is just a fiend!”

The smiling king steps to the front. 

He raises a hand, and the people silence with a grunt.

“Fear not, for I am here, a sinless man, so you all may cheer.”

But the people wonder who is this figure, standing so tall, and speaks so clear?

It’s Theoden, everyone be proud.

He’s going to be the one to save this town.

[a-common-enemy-story]

A Common Enemy

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓣𝔀𝓮𝓵𝓿𝓮 - 𝓙𝓾𝓭𝓰𝓮𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓽

Mistakes. We all make them. Whether it be knocking over a vase to.. killing your parents. But do tell me, reader. How long can mistakes go until they can no longer be kept secret?

And at what point can the mistake be beyond forgiveness?

••••

“I am curious,” Theoden says, slowly closing the book as the vision blurred away. “Does anyone else know about this?”

Dante clutches his hands, taking a shaky breath as he pulls his robe tightly around him. “No.”

Theoen nods, handing the book over to Tristien. “Keeping this a secret is very bad. It would do.. Awful things to your reputation. And, because of that, you’d basically lose all your powers. Because,” he squats down next to Dante, smiling, “no one will be able to go a single day without thinking about how much they hate their king.”

Dante looks down. Theoden was right. That’s why he kept it a secret. Not for respect or to keep his dignity, but to keep his magic. Because it’s all he has. He had to limit himself. Because who was he to have unlimited access to his magic when he did what he did?

“Magic,” Theoden says, a violet red light illuminating his fingertips, “is hard to control. That’s why I think not bothering to control it is fun. But that clearly didn’t work out for you.” He stands up. “Tristien! What do you say we do?”

“Well, my king,” Theoden’s advisor says slyly. “Something like this should be open to the public. It would be very wrong to not tell the civilians what they have the right to know.”

Theoden snaps his fingers. “You know what? You are absolutely right!” He looks down at the horrified Dante. “You don’t mind, right?”

Dante was about to protest, to beg for them to not tell the kingdom, to tell anyone, but then he stopped himself. Who was he to beg for something like that? His actions.. They’re unforgivable. He is unforgivable. He can’t bring himself to ask, to beg for mercy. Theoden is in the right.

Theoden and Tristien begin to walk off. “We’ll figure out what to do. You should get some rest, Dante. You’re gonna have a lot of stuff to deal with soon.”

Dante watches as they leave, a feeling of dread overtaking his entire body. He wants to disappear, he feels like his heart has stopped. He hasn’t felt this sick since..

He closes his eyes, wanting to shake the memory out. The way he could see his father’s eyes as the shadows crashed into the carriage. The way Dante couldn’t tell them he was sorry, that it was an accident, that he lost control of his magic.

What kind of person was he? Killing his own parents, all within the comfort of his own room. He makes himself sick. He deserves his comeuppance. 

He stands from the floor, dusting off his robes and walks to his room, the echoes of his footsteps the only sound to fill the halls. 

A few servants poked their heads out, curious. “Your majesty,” said one nervously. “We heard much noise. We all hid in the kitchen.. what happened.”

“Ah.. don’t worry about it,” he says, not stopping to speak to them. “Just some.. things happened. Nothing to worry about…”

He enters his room, the door clicking behind him. What will Theoden do? How will he tell the kingdom? What will the kingdom do to him? He stumbles and leans against the wall, grabbing an empty clothing hamper and throwing up. Even after emptying his stomach, he feels like dying. He sniffles and lays down on the floor, waiting for his downfall. 

••••

Theoden stopped and looked at the stained glass windows in the halls on the castle. One with soft shades of pink and gold, the geometric shapes creating the image of a woman with a kind smile and large, dark hair and rabbit ears. 

“Who are these people?”

Tristien looks over and smiles. “The gods. The one you’re looking at is Gaudium, the goddess of order, mercy, peace, all that boring stuff.”

“What’s with the ears?”

“Each god has an animal that they created,” Tristien says, waving his hand dismissively, walking away. 

Theoden stares at the window of the woman before grabbing the indigo curtain and whipping it over, covering the window before following after Tristien, safe from the eyes of judgement. 

[a-common-enemy-story]

A Common Enemy

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓔𝓵𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓷 - 𝓡𝓮𝓰𝓻𝓮𝓽𝓼

Theoden had the king pinned to his chair, staring him down. Dante tried to keep quiet, not say anything. How does Theoden know about the spell book?

“Gaudium, look down on me,” he whispers under his breath, closing his eyes, shaking. Tristien giggles and leans back in his chair.

“Don’t pray to whatever god you’re asking for help from,” Theoden says coldly. “Nothing can save you right now. I’m the only god you should ever pray to.”

He grabs Dante’s cloak and attempts to rip it off. Dante squirms and struggles, his chair tilting back, him landing on the floor with a thud. His legs go over his head and he rolls back and onto his stomach. He stumbles to his feet, adjusting his robes. "Theoden-!" Dante tries, holding up his hands. "Pl-Please don't-!"

Theoden glances back at Tristien, who just snickers. He then looks back to Dante, kicking the chair aside. "Come nowww. Why must we be so secretive, 'friend'?" At the final word, Theoden thrusts his fist toward Dante, a violet red flare shooting out into a beam, lasering through his robes, leaving a smoldering hole.

"Ah-" Dante pauses before attempting to run off, Tristien bursting out into laughter as he watched Theoden chase after him. Theoden sent after beam of power in the direction of the prince, Dante dodging it.

Magic, please, please, please! I need you! Dante thinks, staring at his hands as he runs, jumping as a laser shoots at his feet, the floor exploding under him, causing him to collapse.

He tightly closes his eyes and tries so, so hard to channel his magic. He can feel his forehead try to open up, to see, but it just won't. Just as it peeks through, there's the flash of a destroyed carriage, blood, and it immediately shuts down. He must remain unseen.

He looks up and there stood the dark haired king, blurry and unfocused, yet powerful. He reaches down into the downfallen king's robes, pulling out the red book, a glass eyeball in the center with black metal frames around the case.

Dante watches helplessly and lays his head back onto the floor in defeat, Theoden opening the book and flipping through it, seeing the names of different kings before reaching the section on Dante. "Hmm.. saving a civilian, stopping a criminal, mhm, mhm.. oh?" He stops on a page, an earlier spell, running his hand over the page. "Hey, Tristien!"

The king's advisor was leaning against the doorway. "What is it, my king?"

"When did the last king and queen die?"

"Oh, I believe it was 7 years ago. Late evening, if I'm not mistaken."

"I see. What stage of the moon was it in?"

"New moon."

Theoden nods, Dante watching in horror, covering his face. "Stop," he pleads sadly.

Theoden looks down at the page. 7 years ago, 7:39 pm, new moon. He traces a finger along the text and he blinks, a flash of light before he's met with darkness.

••••

"Open my third eye," Dante whispers, painting a circle over and over again with red paint on his fingers. "That's all I need to access all the magic in the world.." He tightens his hand into a fist, the paint smearing into the palm of his hand.

"I'm not like you, dad. I'm not powerful."

He stands and kicks the canvas aside. Nothing worked. He traces the paint over his forehead, his hair sticking to it and he closes his eyes. Shadows, taking a step through. Him, managing that? Ya, right.

"You can do it, Dante. You just need to not care what others think. That's how you reach true freedom."

What crazy words! How can one reach such enlightenment. His father is just something else. Something he can never be. And it wasn't fair!

He feels himself become drenched in sweat, magic flowing through his veins, the darkness puffing up in plumes of smoke. No one ever thought of him, anyway. That was the only time his magic was ever useful!

He jams his fingers into his forehead, staining it more with red paint. He's not good enough!

Shadows sense his feeling of inadequacy, his resentment, his fear of never living up to the expectations. His father. It all traces back to his father, putting too much pressure on him. That's how Dante saw it. Dante would never be like his father and he hated himself for it.

Shadows travelling the earth, searching the soils. Open his third eye? What a joke.

"I hope Dante will be able to come through," he hears his father's voice. "He has so much potential. If only he saw it."

But before Dante could stop himself, the shadows surged forward, like the hand of a monster, a monster that is his son, crashing into the carriage, sending it into a tree, snuffing the life of those who care about him.

The magic left him and Dante fell to the floor, his body drenched in sweat. He opened his third eye. But what has he done?

[floralcavern]

Tristien moodboard

My name is Brutus and my name means heavy So with a heavy heart I'll guide this dagger into the heart of my enemy My whole life, you were a teacher and friend to me Please know my actions are not motivated only by envy I, too, have a destiny This death will be art The people will speak of this day from near and afar This event will be history, and I'll be great too I don't want what you have, I want to be you.

Read A Common Enemy

[a-common-enemy-story]

A Common Enemy

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓣𝓮𝓷 - 𝓐 𝓕𝓪𝓲𝓵𝓾𝓻𝓮

Tristien scoured the extensive library, throwing books aside. He looked in the recent events section, the royal family section, even the history section, but he hasn't found anything other than dust and rats.

He starts to get annoyed. He clenches his fists and throws one of the books to the ground, all of the other ones on the floor begin floating and the shelves begin shaking.

I am too good for this. Why am I doing this like a human? Am I so committed to this role?

The books fly from the shelves and encircle him, pages flipping. He reaches out and grabs one and opens it. It's from the magic section. Of course. Why hadn't he thought to look there. All of the other books rain down, one of the book shelves nearly knocking over.

He opens the book and in it, it lists all of the different magics of the royal families in the world, not just these 4 neighboring kingdoms. Brusevire with illusions, Aerenthia with wind, Pyronis with fire, and Tenebris with shadows.

He flips to the section of Tenebris and he skims through. Shadow servants, seeing all over the world, yes, yes, he knows this already. This was not helpful at a-

Oh. Oh?

There exists the Spell Book of Shadows. It is a comprehensive list of each and every spell that every ruler has ever done, and it includes the time and place. It has been used for future rulers to study over the past spells of their ancestors.

He smiles and drops the book. Well then. That shall make things much easier.

••••

"Dante, why are you looking at me like that?" Theoden asks, taking a step closer. "You look as if you've seen a ghost."

Dante tries to laugh to hide his fear, but it comes out like a strangled cough. "A g-ghost? No, no, the, the Misloon is miles from here. No ghosts here, no."

Theoden is a bit confused and decides he'd have to ask Tristien about that later.

"What I mean is," Theoden says, swinging an arm around the pathetic king's shoulders. "You look scared."

Dante spirit feels like it leaves his body. He feels completely trapped. He is completely trapped. "I'm not scared, um, I just.." He tucks the book into his robes. "I am hungry! We shall.. have, have dinner, yes!"

Theoden arches his brow. "Yes.." he says slowly, his tongue remaining a bit on the s. "Dinner."

"We should go g-get your fr.. friend!" he says.

"Advisor," Theoden corrects, releasing Dante from his grip.

"Yes... adv-visor," he corrects himself.

The two step out and Theoden's hands curl into fists. Tristien better have found something while he was distracting this pathetic nobody.

The two enter the library and Dante let's out a gasp of horror. "W-W-What happened here?!" he exclaims, looking at the books scattered around. Bent pages, torn paper, stretched spines. This was awful.

"Ah, apologies, your majesty," Tristien says, emerging from the shadows. "There was some... complications."

"C-Comp.. C-.. COMPLICATIONS!?" he yells out. "This is, is.. This is.. I.. What were you-?" He lifts up a book and stares at it. “These b-books preserve ancient history. Th-They’ve been well taken care of f-for centuries! How did you- and in less than a day-?!"

Tristien walks to Theoden's side and whispers to him while Dante was in shock. "We need to find a spell history book. Did you see any important looking books in his room?"

Theoden perks up at this. "Yes, I did. He put it in his robes, though."

Tristien nods. "Then we're gonna have to get it off of him."

Theoden thinks before smirking. "Dante!" he calls out.

"Huh-?" He turns to them, still in horror. "W-What?"

"I know this certainly sucks, but let's just leave the mess for a while. Stressing won't be good for you."

"I-I can't ju-just leave it like this!"

"Trust me. Your, like, 3 servants can clean up."

"But- but- but-"

"Ah, ah ah. Cmon, 'friend.'" He leads him out of the library, Dante too stunned to really argue. They walk to the dining hall and Theoden calls to one of the servants to make them a meal and bring some alcohol. The servant nods before scurrying off.

"I-I don't drink," Dante says.

"Nonsense! We're your guests! Have a drink or two!"

"R-Really I don't-"

The servant arrives with 3 chalices. Theoden looks at the liquid inside. It was whitish-blue in color and smelled like hand sanitizer and apples.

Dante stares at the glass, sweating before glancing at Theoden and Tristien. These two can't be trusted. He's figured that out. But what can he do? They're staring at him expectantly and he chickens out from being courageous and reluctantly begins to drink.

Theoden and Tristien clink their chalices together. "To my future," Theoden says.

Tristien smirks and drinks from his glass. "Yes."

Dante chugs the whole glass, shaking with fear. It tasted awful, not even the aftertaste of apples is able to save him from gagging.

"King Dante!" Tristien calls out. "How is it?"

He's trembling and sets the chalice down. "It's, uhm.. it's.. it's.." His vision gets dizzy and he tightly closes his eyes. "It's..."

Theoden takes a sip from his own glass before pouring the rest into Dante's. "Go on."

Dante takes in a sharp, shaky breath, but doesn't say no. He gives into their stares and continues drinking.

Why? Why? Why must he be like this? A coward. A cowardly king. Cannot meet with foreign adversaries without playing into their hands. He's a failure of a king.

Dad. Dad. Dad.

He wants guidance, someone to stop him from continuing. Someone to save him from himself. But he goes, glass after glass and he loses himself sip after sip.

"So, Dante," Theoden says, leaning toward the drunken king who is slumped back pathetically in his chair. "I heard something about a spell book?"

[floralcavern]

Dante has speech hesitation disorder/fluency disorder

Story

[a-common-enemy-story]

A Common Enemy

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓝𝓲𝓷𝓮 - 𝓡𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓘𝓷𝓽𝓸 𝓗𝓲𝓼 𝓗𝓪𝓷𝓭𝓼

"Prince Dante."

Dante jumps at the voice behind him, his magic leaving his body the moment the servant enters the room.

"Y-Yes..?" he asks quietly, slowly, slowly turning to the servant, trying to hide his fear, his shame.

"Your parents."

He tightly closes his eyes. No.

"They have passed away."

••••

Dante's room was very minimalistic. A twin bed in the corner of the room, bare wooden walls, shelves filled with books, and a mirror. The most eye-catching part of the room was in the center. A circular rug with one half surrounded by unlit candles and an opened book in the center.

"Ah, that's my, um, my me-meditation area. It's where I perform my m-magic."

"You need to meditate to perform magic?" Theoden asks, picking up the book and flipping through pages casually, not actually reading the contents inside, but still absolutely terrifying Dante. Theoden smirks. So he's the kind of guy who doesn't like people touching his stuff? Theoden could relate, but it was still useful knowledge.

"My level of magic does require meditation.. M-Masters of shadow magic can do it whenever, bu-but I, um, I need to have deep focus and concentration."

"Interesting. So." He drops the book down, startling Dante. "What can shadow magic do?"

"Oh, um, well, my level is that I can, um, create, like, shadow puppets, and, uh, I can manipulate environments. L-Like, I can stop a carriage collision o-or something."

"So you've got quick reaction time?"

Dante clears his throat a bit, feeling it go dry. "Yes, I s-suppose."

Theoden peruses the books on the shelves. "Hm, well, it's not like you can do much. Seeing as how you're always locked in your room."

Dante doesn't say anything for a moment before clutching his hands together. "W-Well.. there's another.. thing."

He smirks, but hides it by keeping his back to Dante. "Oh? Do tell."

Dante shuffles slowly to the center of his mediation circle, standing. "I-I can.. see everything. I can see all over the world if I tried. Th-Though, I just keep it confined to the streets and outskirts of my kingdom. To make sure th-that everything is fine and.. keeping... people.. safe."

He nods along to his words. "What is it like, running an entire kingdom from your bedroom?"

Dante gulps. "W-W-Why does this feeling l-like an interview?" he attempts to joke.

"Bah, apologies. I'm just curious. You're in a very interesting situation and, yknow," he gestures to himself. "New king. Trying to really.. learn the ropes." He has to painfully swallow his pride with his words.

Dante blushes a bit. Theoden wants to learn from him? That is.. quite the honor, especially from someone so powerful.

"I'm not sure I can teach much," he says, embarrassed to say it out loud.

"Yes, well.." He hated the words he was about to say. "Perhaps even a fffffriend could do?" He hated that word. Friend. And with this coward? Absolutely not.

Dante's eyes went wide, shining before a look of horror came across his features. A friend means no magic. He shakes his head reluctantly. "I'm afraid I cannot."

Theoden nods, knowing Dante would decline. "A shame." He glances at the meditation circle. "I am curious, however."

"Yes?"

"Your parents passed when you were young, did they not?"

Dante feels like he's falling just at the mere mention of his parents. "Y... Yes."

"They were also young, though. Not elders like Princess Elira's father. So.. what had happened?"

Dante's breathing became ragged. He did not like the memory. "They died. In a carriage collision."

Theoden nods. "A tragedy."

"Y.. Yes.." Dante then looks around, realizing something was wrong. These questions, the visit...

Theoden smirks and lifts another book from a shelf and Dante takes in a very deep, deep breath as he feels doom begin to set in. "Where is your advisor?"

Theoden smiles. Dante quickly lifts the book that was on the floor when they had entered, holding it protectively to his chest. He realizes it now, an animal like instinct, gut reaction.

He's in danger.