The Crimson Prince： Awakening 33 Chapter 4: The Late King

As Will opened the unfamiliar door within his own mind, his breath caught. He didn't know what to expect to see as he stepped in, but nothing could have prepared him for the sight before him. Walking inside, he was greeted by a ruby red pathway within a solid gold floor. Pillars of solid gold adorned with rubies on either side of him leading up to a throne of the same design. As he looked around, he noticed a red tint in the reflection of the floor. Looking up, he was greeted by what seemed to be a full sky of red and gold flames.

Shutting the door behind him and taking in his surroundings, Will couldn't help but be struck with awe. Walking towards the throne, he couldn't keep his eyes forward. This is within my mind? He thought as he stared at the inferno.

"A bit hard to take in isn't it?" A voice rang from behind Will making him jump. Turning around, he saw a man no older than himself. Taking in this new person within his mind, Will noticed similarities in his face and build. Though the man had blond hair and blue eyes, he had the same jaw line, nose and look within his eyes that Will saw every time he looked in the mirror. Though that was where the similarities ended.

Where will had a pair of blue jeans, white t s.h.i.+rt, leather jacket and his lineage blade with dog tags adorned around his neck, the man in front of him was entirely different. He had a ruby red robe adorned with gold lining and a gold crown adorned with every color jewel surrounding the bottom. As Will took in the crown, he noticed it was the same one that his father had worn in the picture within his uncle's cottage.

Seeing Will's reaction, the other couldn't help but laugh. "The reactions never grow tiring." he said as he put his hand out for Will to shake. "I am Cainus Ragnos, First King of Ebonhart." He said as Will extended his own with a confused look. Either Cainus had died a young man or he was a fraud, which seemed unlikely to Will due to the consciousness residing in his own head.

"How are you the same age as me?" Will asked, raising an eyebrow as Cainus walked towards the golden throne.

"Let me get this straight Will," Cainus said with a grin as he sat down on the golden seat. "You find out that there's another person sharing your consciousness and the first thing you ask is of my age?" He couldn't help but let out a little chuckle at the thought.

Will smiled nervously at the spirit within his mind as he thought about how ridiculous the first question might have seemed to the late king. In all honesty he didn't truly know how to start a conversation without seeming insane to himself. Here he was within his own mind, yet never had he felt so out of place.

Cainus gave Will an appraising stare, his eyes bored into the young man in front of him. "I must say, you are quite different than the other candidates that have come to me. Come closer to the throne, let me have a better look at you." He said as he waved a hand to Will to approach.

Will walked forward on the red carpet, putting himself almost directly in front of the throne. Stopping three steps away, something happened that he was not prepared for.

The endless sky of fire descended upon him in a swirling vortex of crimson. Within seconds not even the throne was visible as the flames spun faster. It felt as if Will had seen this before.

It was the same vortex cage in which he had caught Michael in when he had just lost Maya. Thinking back to that time made Will's heart ache, yet at the same time a moment of confusion crossed his features. Though he had used this cage once before, he had never stopped to think about how he was taught to do such a thing. He had only just begun to tap into his gifts back then, it was something he didn't know if he was even capable of now.

"I've been trying to talk with you for some time now." An ancient yet strong voice boomed through the inferno. "You have only just awakened, a child with a man's responsibility. You need to be trained, to be guided." Will looked around for the man speaking to him, yet found nothing but the crimson haze which was swirling around him.

Will felt his lineage blade burning around his neck, beckoning to be called forth. As the flames raced faster, the blade burned with even more intense heat. Within moments, the cross seemed to turn white from the heat which slowly took on a red tint.

While Will was fascinated by the changes in which he was seeing within his blade, against his better judgement, he touched the cross. He had expected a searing pain from the white hot metal but instead was greeted by a cool touch. The moment his hand made contact, the blade shot outward coming to life as if all on its own. Not even disconnected from the chain, the pillar of flame in which usually formed the blade only added to the inferno surrounding him.

Standing in the middle of a storm of red, Will started to see gold form within the flame. Slowly the cyclone of fire lost its speed. He noticed cracks within the gold and red walls and if he didn't know any better, he would have sworn he saw green gra.s.s and trees. The area in which he saw, he knew like he knew himself.

As the last of the flames dissipated, Will's blade became a cross once more and hung around his neck. Standing in what was once a red and gold cyclone of flame, he saw himself standing in a place he had longed for months to see. Looking around, Will saw the same two football posts, the swing set and long gra.s.s of his field back in Minnesota. Staring in amazement, he couldn't help but feel the nostalgia of such a place. 'Why would he bring me here?' Will thought as he walked to the swing to sit down.

"I didn't bring you here Will," Cainus said as he took the swing next to the teenager. "You brought us here." He could see the confusion settling in on Will's face and held up his hand, asking for patience. "This place is considered your place of power Will, the place in which you've felt more yourself than ever before." He said as he started pumping his legs to gain alt.i.tude on the tiny swing.

"This place does hold a lot of memories for me," Will said with a faint smile. The field was where he had always taken Bianca, where he would spend most of his free time. The countless hours of laying under the stars, or climbing the football post, or even having the team over to go over strategies for the upcoming game. He could have gone on and on within his mind of all the things that had happened in his field, but instead his thoughts rested on one particular point in time.

Thinking back on the time Bianca first found out about his gifts and how she did left a sour taste in his mouth. The field was also the same in which the wraiths tried once more to capture him. The very same place where he finally unleashed his lineage blade and confronted the five robed figures. Within these thoughts, the very sky turned a deep red, just as it was before in the throne room. "Your true power comes from your mind William," Cainus said as he watched Will's reaction to the feelings the place had given him. "If you can master everything within, anything would be possible outside the confines of your minds walls." As he explained, Cainus took a finger to the sky and began stirring it. As his finger made the motion, the sky followed suit as it began to stir a fiery red and gold. As Will looked up, he could see what could only be described as a funnel of flames. "You have much to learn William," Cainus said simply as he allowed the funnel to drop around himself. "The flames don't just come from within, but from everything around you." The young king chuckled as the flames seemed to seep into him. "It's much easier if you don't think of this power as just fire, but of life itself." As he said this, he allowed the pressure from the absorbed flame to lift him skyward. As Will watched in amazement, the young king was floating above his head.

If there was anything Will could take from the talk with Cainus, it was that he did have a lot to learn, yet it also filled him with ideas. "Your job is to teach me a little more about Crystallia and the workings of the magic surrounding it then?" Will said as he looked up at Cainus with a hopeful expression.

"I could teach you a great many things William," Cainus said as he pushed himself upward into a flip, landing in front of Will. "But the first thing you must learn is of the land in which you will travel to in just a few short days." Cainus's voice became stern, much like the one in which Will heard in the inferno. "Knowing your true lineage is something that would help profoundly while you are within Crystallia. You are a piece of the puzzle in which has been missing for many years now." Knowing the thirst for knowledge that was building within the younger man, Cainus lifted his hand to Will. "In order to know your true lineage, we must come to an understanding Will. I'll be here for quite some time, decades in fact to train you as the future king."

An eyebrow went up as Will looked at the upturned palm that was awaiting his own hand. "I don't think I'm the prince you want, I'm just from Minnesota." He knew he was long past that excuse, though to his defense, he didn't know anything about leading let alone ruling a kingdom. "Isn't there a cousin of mine or maybe a brother or sister that might be up for the job?" Will asked as he took a step back. "All I wish to do is go to Ebonhart and confront my father, maybe take down the advisors while I'm at it." Cainus chuckled at the young man trying to rationalize not taking his birthright.

"Do you believe If you don't take up your responsibility, you will have a normal life?" Cainus asked Will with a sad smile on his face. Waving his hand, five different color flames appeared before Will. Inches above the gra.s.s of the field, orange, red, silver, black and grey flames rose. In mere moments, the flames spiraled upwards taking form as pillars. As they reached the top, each flame took the shape of Will's friends. "These are the companions you've awakened on your journey," Cainus said with a wave to the flames. "Would you abandon them by running?" he looked at Will with a stern expression. "If you give up, you will also give up on them. If you walk away, the altered life you've given each one of them won't just stop. They will constantly be hunted down and slaughtered to join your other friends within the darkness of the black flame."

Will looked at his friends, starting at Michael. He had sparked hope within his uncle the moment he met him. The training in which he had gone through to get his gifts was all the result of that hope. Looking at the orange flame, Will wondered if he could truly just walk away.

Walking to the crimson flame, Will stopped when he saw Bianca. Twice he had already saved her, there would be more times in which she would be targeted. He was no longer just Will Carter, he was Prince Ragnos, heir to the throne of Ebonhart. His enemies already knew his circle and wouldn't stop their a.s.sault just because he backed down. She would be hunted down just to use her to bait him.

Looking at the silver aura of Leo's flame, he felt just as bad if he were to stop. Leo had travelled from Minnesota to find him and Bianca. Will knew he wouldn't just stop at New York.

Lastly Will looked at Maya and Jake. He had brought both of them into his life not knowing what consequences would follow. If he were to be able to live with himself, he had to get them back. He had to end the curse the black flame had on Jake as well as somehow fix whatever was wrong with Maya. That can only be done if the advisors are finally dealt with. Will thought as he finally came to terms with what had to happen.

As the wind swayed the blades of gra.s.s around them, Will could smell the fresh cut smell of the field, the spring weather that set in around them. "If I do this, I need to get stronger." Will said as he turned to Cainus. "If I go in like this, it won't change anything."

Cainus gave an approving nod. "Before we start talking possibilities Will, there's something that must happen beforehand." He said as he lifted his hand. As his hand raises, a gold flame formed within his palm. "Nothing too bothersome, think of it as a pact. From here on, whatever you do Will influence the kingdom of Ebonhart and the people within. You will pledge to uphold the laws in which I will teach you in the upcoming years and lead our people out of these dark times." Taking a pause to allow Will to process what he had just heard. "Lets make it simple. Call it the Crusader's Pact."